When a local youth theatre group takes on some of the biggest songs of the West End and Broadway stages you know they have some big boots to fill. However BIGLITTLE Theatre School have done it again with their latest rendition of Broadway Showtunes, a celebration of everything theatre all on one stage. With classic hits and lesser known favourites, Broadway Showtunes takes you on a whistle stop tour and introduces you to songs from across the decades in about 2.5 hours.

With ages ranging from their youngest to their oldest performers, it’s a marvel to see how the directors and those behind the scenes have managed to get this huge group of 150 young performers on stage. From the choreography to staging and song choice, everything has been meticulously picked to create something wonderful for audiences to watch. Whilst the majority of the principal roles are held by the schools Professional Development Programme, there is still plenty of time for the younger ones to shine and showcase their talents in scenes and there is rarely a time where the majority of the cast aren’t all on stage! 

The show opens with the most apt song of all, Hello from the wonderfully hilarious Book of Mormon where you are introduced to the brilliant male performers of this cast and then you are whisked through shows such as Crazy For You, Oklahoma and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before ending act 1 with a show stopping performance of Defying Gravity from Wicked. 

The second act opens with hilarious My Favourite Year before the younger performers take on Footloose along with one fo my personal favourites, Seussical. The Professional Development Programme take on a show stopping performance of Parade and the show ends with one of the slickest Fosse tributes I've seen in a long time. 

To fit more than 17 shows into a musical celebration is no mean feat, but these performers take it in their stride as if they do it every day. Wite more energy than the Duracell Bunny and a can of Red Bull, it's admirable to see these brilliant youngsters put so much passion into what they love. 

As previously mentioned, the talent is staggering. It’s awe inspiring to see so many future west end stars take to the stage and I loved the characterisation of the characters in the Beauty and the Beast section and the emotion of the wonderful performer who sung “She Used To Be Mine” from Waitress. The youngsters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory blew me away, especially the young Charlie Bucket and Megan Shaw has a future in green as her performance as Elphaba was west end worthy! The second act packed even more of a punch with both the Eliza's in the My Fair Lady section perfecting their accents, the stylistic performances of the dancers in the Fosse tribute, and the brilliant Sam Trotman giving all the emotion he could in the Parade section. Abby Grindey and Jack Kiteley wowwed the audience and sung with professionalism and emotion as they performed "Rewrite the Stars" perfectly, despite a dodgy microphone moment. 

It’s brilliant to see how much talent can be packed into one stage and one theatre school. Whilst it’s easy to say that this is just another youth theatre production, you can't deny that there is just as much talent, skill and musicality on stage as there would be in any professional production. It's clear to the audience members that some of the future of the showtunes world is on the BIGLITTLE theatre school roster and Broadway Showtunes is one show not to be missed. 

Running until Saturday 15th July, tickets can be purchased at the following link: https://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk/events/broadway-showtunes-2023

For more information on BIGLITTLE Theatre School please follow the link: https://biglittle.biz/