"MADD A to Z Of Musical Theatre" by Midlands Academy Of Dance And Drama.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

This showcase has been done a little different to their previous showcases as they have taken a theme of performing songs from musicals, going down the alphabet; and yes all the letters were used!

The other main difference was the change in venue to the Squire Performing Arts Centre at the Girls High School, as previously their showcases had been at the Nottingham Playhouse.

Midlands Academy of Dance & Drama (MADD) is one of the oldest and most prestigious Musical Theatre & Dance Colleges in the UK. All the tutors at the Academy are working professionals in their own right therefore bringing direct industry experience and knowledge into their studios, benefitting the students.

In addition to over thirty members of staff, MADD welcome guest practitioners from across the industry including Directors, Choreographers, Playwrights, Casting Directors and Agents, providing their students with the best insight into a business that is so hard to make a dent in.

This showcase highlighted twenty six different musicals performed by students and 2024 graduates of the college.

As always with these showcases, I end up being educated as well as entertained, with three of the musicals being completely new to me, "The Pirate Queen", "Tuck Everlasting" and the musical version of "Young Frankenstein". Soundtracks I'll be looking out for tomorrow.

The showcase started off, as you'd expect at "A" with "The Arabian Nights" and ended with "Z" for "Zorro" and a rousing dance and song fest in the song "Bamboleo", a song made famous by The Gipsy Kings. If you're wondering, "Q" was a medley from "Avenue Q" and "X" was "Xanadu".

The weather outside may have been wet, windy and cold, but with scorching choreography, inside was hot, hot, hot. 

Tori Robynn, Luke Haywood, Mark Hedges, who also did a fantastic job as MC for the show, providing us with information on the musicals and performers, as well as information that you could use to impress at your next musical theatre soiree, choreographed some brilliant energetic and acrobatic performances with two beautifully emotional pieces choreographed by Stewart Avon-Arnold. There was also a medley from "Newsies" choreographed by two of the students, Jamie Jessop and Lolita Akopiantaite.

I was going to mention some of the highlights for me, but I couldn't decide out of the twenty-six which were my highlights, although I will readily admit I absolutely loved "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from "Mary Poppins", possibly due to the complexity of the number, and who couldn't keep their feet still during the "On Your Feet" Megamix. I also loved the quirky choreography and staging by Tori Robynn for Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Variations".

It was great to see the "Class of 2024" graduates Lolita Akopianaite, Sonny Cross, Kiera-Marie Fallows, Lucy Grayson, Grace Kille, Anna-Ray Leggett,  Anastasia Maia, Emma Muirhead, Alannah Norton-Pickering, Rebecca Spooner, Boo Allsopp, Jamie Alan - who must have springs built into his feet, Emily Grant, Ellie Hill, Demi Kemp, Lucas Moore and Kwame Amoateng. A whole variety of Musical Theatre, Dance and Foundation students also showed off their talents as well as part of the showcase.

The only thing that marred the showcase in the afternoon, the performance I attended, was the sound, and the old issue of mic packs either not working or late mic cues, which must have been frustrating for some of the performers as in parts their vocals were covered by the ensemble. 

The lighting was brilliant, as was the stage management.

I could not think of a better way to spend a wet afternoon than see the stars of tomorrow performing songs and routines from some of my favourite musicals. The standard of MADD students is still as high as the previous years, especially with the fluidity of the staging, which is a particular favourite part of the staging.

The "A To Z Of Musicals" was at Squire Performing Arts Theatre for two performances only with a matinee and evening performances.