(4 / 5)

Having never seen the film, I went into The Karate Kid: The Musical with minimal expectations. I have obviously seen the infamous crane kick, heard the iconic ‘wax on, wax off’ and had a basic premise of the plot of the underdog rising up to win the Karate Competition against the bully, with the aid of the slightly enigmatic, but hilarious Mr Miyagi.

What I found in this production was a hugely pleasant surprise. It’s a well paced script, with lots of great songs, incredible lyrical, beautiful choreography, clever staging and set and a really fantastic cast! The beats of the film are all hit here and I was informed by my friend, (who has seen the film!) that the final karate competition fights were recreated incredibly faithfully. Book Writer, Robert Mark Kamen, has captured the essence of the film to great effect, whilst expanding certain key scenes, such as the drunken Miyagi scene, to quite devastating effect.

Director, Amon Miyamoto and choreographers, Keone and Mari Madrid weave a seamless story on stage. The choreography is stunning and perfectly executed by a talented ensemble, with incredible timing and poise. They shift seamlessly between the soft, lyrical movements of the karate lessons with Mr Miyagi to the harsher, stronger movements of the Dojo of the Cobra Kai. This is also directed ably with them bringing on set, remaining on in scenes to become the various backdrops of the show, (including some excellent buzzy flies to catch with a certain set of chopsticks), and creating the karate sequences of the production. My particular favourite was the final crane kick which was executed seamlessly with the aid of these talented performers.

The set is also very cleverly designed to evoke the dojo, with sliding screens, freestanding ones that are moved onstage and offstage to great effect, and other interesting set pieces which move us with ease between the various settings. The set never imposes upon the action and in fact only heightens the depth and interest of the different environments that they create. The lighting too is excellent, with a fantastic colour palette which aids in conveying the story.

The cast are, without exception, incredible. We had several understudies on opening night at Cardiff, but there was not a pause or stutter in sight, the complicated fight choreography delivered to perfection. I adored Sharon Sexton as Lucille, Daniel’s slightly chaotic, yet loveable mother. If I Could Take His Pain Away was sang beautifully, a real highlight of the show. Abigail Amin portrays Ali (with an ‘i’) Mills and also has a fantastic powerhouse voice. Her rendition of Who I’m Going to Be was a heartfelt ‘I want’ number which was beautifully delivered.

Gino Ochello was a truly wonderful Daniel LaRusso; his pain at losing his father is palpable; he is instantly endearing and loveable as the titular Karate Kid. He delivers every musical number with incredible sincerity; his voice easily switching between a beautiful softer resonance and a fantastic, strong belt. Finally, Adrian Pang truly embodies Mr Miyagi, owning every moment he steps out onto the stage. He has the audience in the palm of his hand, having only to say a single word or give one look to have the audience chuckling. His performance is nuanced, and the more somber moments had tears rolling down my cheeks. He is worth the admittance price alone; this is a truly lovely interpretation of the character.

New musical theatre pieces can be hit or miss admittedly, but this is a sure fire win; the pacing is good, the dancing and movement is exceptional, the songs are a great listen and the performances are really brilliant. In a time where audiences won’t always take a chance on new work, I really implore you to go and watch this production; it really deserves to succeed and to have a life beyond this premiere tour.

(4 / 5)

A true staple of musical theatre around the world, Annie is one of those musicals that everyone knows and loves. Whether you grew up with it on a VHS tape (like me), have seen a local amateur company perform it (also me, five times…) or have seen the show before, it’s just one of those classics that just refuses to go away. And why should it? The songs are brilliant, even the lesser-known ones, there’s plenty of opportunity for some great dance numbers, there’s a rag tag group of girls stealing the show and everyone’s hearts and of course, a fluffy yellow dog to add to the mix. Who could ask for anymore?

The tour feels slick and updated whilst retaining all the charm of the original. The overture is done away with in favour of getting straight into the action. We’re directly into the orphanage and I must say, the children performing are exceptional. They truly give everything to their scenes and dance numbers. There are multiple casts of children, of course, and our Wednesday night Annie was Sophia Saravanan, who was a wonderfully endearing ‘little orphan’ with a voice entirely capable of belting out those famous numbers. I really enjoyed the interactions between the youngest cast members; they’re given the scope to act how children would in those situations and they are delightfully naughty and excitable because of it.

The chorus is small but mighty, with them making up the Hooverville residents, the staff of the Warbucks mansion, the New York tourists and performers and even the cabinet of the president of the United States. They are a hugely talented ensemble, the dance numbers are a particular highlight of the production. I really enjoyed the transition of NYC from a movie to a Broadway theatre, as it gave plenty of scope for the chorus to also be the Broadway chorus in a high energy tap number.

The cast are also excellent. The role of Miss Hannigan is shared on the tour by La Voix and Claire Sweeney, and Cardiff has Claire take to the stage. I really enjoyed her portrayal, especially her rendition of Little Girls. I also enjoyed the darker take to Lily and Rooster portrayed by Amber Kennedy and Christian Cooper and really appreciated that they were given a lot more stage time in earlier scenes to establish their characters. Easy Street with Lily, Rooster and Hannigan is a real show-stopper with excellent choreography. Our Warbucks and Grace Farrell are played by Alex Bourne and Tanisha-Mae Brown. I thought their relationship with Annie was really endearing and they both have fantastic voices to boot. No-one but You sang by Alex was a lovely, heartfelt highlight of the show for me.

With its puzzle piece map of New York backdrop (helpfully annotated by the orphans), and its all singing, all dancing portrayal of this classic show, this is really one not to miss. Make sure you stroll on down that Easy Street, because the sun will be coming out tomorrow and, ‘aw gee,’ it would be such a shame to miss it!