Review: Reprise - A Night of Musical Theatre at Curve, Leicester
For two nights only, Leicester’s Curve Theatre is staging a concert of musical theatre songs from past shows that have graced its stage. I was lucky enough to attend this evening’s opening show. Presented in Curve’s smaller Studio space, Reprise is an intimate concert-style performance featuring three faces that will be familiar to regular Curve visitors.
The Reprise performers were Carly Mercedes Dyer (who was Olivier-nominated for her role as Erma in Anything Goes and who has also appeared as Cassie in A Chorus Line and Anita in West Side Story), Jessica Daley (who you may remember from Billy Elliot, and who has also played such iconic roles as Eva Perón and Christine Daaé) and Djalenga Scott (who starred as Velma Kelly in Chicago and whose other stage credits include Rizzo in Grease and Anita in West Side Story.) The singers were accompanied by Musical Director and pianist George Dyer, who has worked on shows such as The Wizard of Oz, Billy Elliot, andWest Side Story.
The Reprise setlist included songs from an array of musicals including Chicago, West Side Story, Billy Elliot, A Chorus Line, The Wizard of Oz, An Officer and a Gentleman, and more.
All three of these highly accomplished performers have gorgeous voices that shine together as well as individually. The stripped-back nature of the show, featuring just vocals and piano, allowed the singers’ voices and the beauty of the music to shine. Some surprises, particularly a delightful turn involving Daley playing a saxophone and a pair of feather fans for a routine to “Sisters” (from White Christmas), appeared out of a chest on the stage.
Some of my personal highlights were Dyer’s powerhouse rendition of the showstopping “Push Da Button” from The Color Purple, Scott’s fierce-yet-emotional performance of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” from Grease, and Daley’s tearjerking “The Letter” from Billy Elliot. The performance was bookended with a delightfully appropriate choice: “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard.
In between songs, the performers joked with each other and the audience and told stories from their careers so far. At the end of the first act, we were all invited to put our questions for the performers in a hat, which were answered at the beginning of the second act. This was a fun twist on the musical theatre concert genre and worked really well in the small space, blending comedy and the kind of getting-to-know-us chat that reminded me of some of the best post-show cast discussions I’ve attended.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening with something for every lover of musical theatre. Catch it if you have the chance!
Where to get tickets
Reprise will run for one more performance on Thursday 6th April 2023. Tickets are available from the theatre.