Simply The Music Of Scott Alan – Well, Not Simply!
Name of Show: Simply The Music Of Scott Alan
Date: 26th September 2010
Starring: Scott Alan, Shoshana Bean, Ashleigh Gray, Alex Gaumond, Sierra Boggess, Louise Dearman, Patina Miller.
Words and Music: Scott Alan
Opened: One Night Only.
Theatre: New Players Theatre, London
Seats: C1&2
Seat Review: Incredible seats, beautiful theatre.
Price: £22.50
Visit number: One night only so first. Also my first visit to this theatre.
Rating out of 10: 10
Recommend: 100% I will definitely be at Scott’s next London gigs!
Describe it in 5 words: Beautiful, emotional, epic, outstanding, perfection.
Strengths: Well, simply is one word I would not use to describe last night. It was the most incredible evening ever. There was so much talent in one place at one time, singing beautiful songs with heartfelt emotion in an extremely intimate environment. The theatre must seat no more than 300 people and so made a perfect setting for Scott’s timeless ballads. Scott opened the show with a little introduction and welcomed on (in my eyes) the most anticipated act of the evening, Miss ASHLEIGH GRAY!! Having not seen her perform since Gray Day at Wicked this was a very, very special moment. While I tried to focus on her voice, immediately my eyes were drawn to her eyebrows! She has the most incredible eyebrows ever…I long to know how she styles them! Does she thread? Pluch? Draw them? Are they tattooed?? Either way, if you’re reading this Ashleigh please tweet me (@minihobo) your secret!
After getting over the shock of the continued perfection of her brows, I was left awestruck by that gorgeous voice. De-greenified and in a completely stripped down performance she still has the power to bring so much to the songs she sings. When, oh when, will she be given a West End permanant lead role?? Please someone hire her soon. We were also introduced to the other special guests of the night: Patina Miller, Stuart Matthew Price, Louise (woooop) Dearman, Jodie Jacobs, Sierra Boggess, Alex Gaumond, Grainne Renihan and the legend that is Shoshana Bean. I will not go into too much detail on all of them or you would be hear all night but I will simply say this!!:
Jodie Jacobs was the most underrated of the night, I hadn’t heard of her until the performance and, WOW she blew the roof off with that powerhouse voice. She would make a GREAT Elle Woods! Sierra Boggess has the most beautiful jawline ever…and her voice rocks too! Wicked does NOT allow Louise to show off the extreme tonal range that she has. It was really lovely hearing her sing in a lower key and it really emphasised the quality of her voice. And special mention must be made for the backing vocalists from the Musical Theatre Academy. They were so enthusiastic whenever they came on, they never upstaged the main vocalist although my eyes were immediately always drawn to them so well done girls if you read this! Some future leading ladies were on stage last night.
Lastly, Shoshana! There’s nothing I can really say that would do her justice. She was outstanding. She sang ‘A Little Hope’ written about South Africa and her flag and ‘Home’, arguable Scott’s most famous track. She was so hilarious on stage but yet portrayed raw emotion in her voice.
Those in the audience were also honoured to be one of the first to hear ‘Home: The Scott Alan Song Cycle’. It is almost a medley of Scott’s songs that, simply, tell a story without the need for set, lighting, costumes or even script. It was a truly sensational performance and fully deserved the standing ovation it recieved at the end. The performers continued even though they lost their backing music, the piano was silent for about a minute of the performance but returned for the final few bars.
Flaws: None apart from the minor technical hitch.
All that is left to say is that I had such a good night, it felt really special to be a part of such a small audience and I will remember it for a long time. Scott writes incredible music and I cannot wait for him to return with more of his music!
Did you go? Write a little mini-review below if you wish!
MHxXx
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Below I will leave you with my favourite song of the night…Shoshana Bean singing ‘A Little Hope’ featuring the backing singers: Ziggie Sky Ward, Kay Victoria Hindmarsh, Erica Birtles, Lauren Austin, Bethan Forsey, Stef Booth, from the Musical Theatre Academy…
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Tags: Alex Gaumond, Grainne Renihan, Jodie Jacobs, Louise Dearman, patina miller, Scott Alan, Shoshana Bean, Sierra Boggess, Stuart Matthew Price
Absolutely CRACKING night!
Ashleigh sung beautifully, as we all knew she would. It was so emotional to see her perform again and, I agree, she needs a lead in something soon, or there really is no justice in the world.
It was my first time seeing many of these wonderful people perform and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of talent there was in that theatre last night. Simply amazing.
I loved loved loved LOVED the song cycle, it seriously needs to be made into a show, because it was EXCELLENTE. It made me laugh and it made me cry and absolutely captivated me. Wonderful stuff.
Shoshana was INCREDIBLE. Like, so amazing. She totally owned that stage, and sang with such beauty and emotion that I welled up several times during “A Little Hope.” Jayero and I loved her chav-snap, and her obsession with prawn cocktail crisps and Flashdance (“What a feeling…”) She’s just a legend, basically!
Louise I already loved, but I agree that it was great to see her sing something other than Wicked even though she is, of course, a fantastic Glinda.
Patina was just generally awesome. I loved her funky clicking.
Stuart Matthew Price’s voice is perfection. That’s all I will say.
I must get to see Sierra soon – her voice is enchanting! And I loved Jodie too. She has an amazing voice, and acted her songs well too. I hadn’t seen Alex in Legally Blonde, but my Mum had (I think she fancies him – cringe) and his song was incredible! Gave me mega chills. Grainne Renihan’s voice was gorgeous. You can tell she has a lot of experience.
I will end by saying that I am extremely jealous of Mr Alan’s phenomenal songwriting talent, and I will definately be at his next gig. Fantastic show, and a wonderful review by you too!
I dont think an adjective exists that truly conveys how spell-binding Scott Alan’s concert was.
I booked the moment his dates were announced, before the guests were announced, as I had a feeling Ashleigh would be present. She was, of course, and needless to say she was the star of the night for me. Recieved the loudest applause (except perhaps, for Shoshana) and was her usual, melodicly mesmerising self. It was also an honour to be able to have a catch up with her and be reminded she remembers her fans, who they are and what they’re up to. She even asked me how my half marathon went – now THAT’S a memory…. and part of what makes her totally worthy of my (and our!) support.
Stuart Matthew Price I had met before at the Richard Beadle gig and he blew me away this time. I always knew he was good, but the emotion when he sings is unmistakeable. He acts his little socks off every second of the way and not onlny that, is such a lovely, down to earth guy. Amazing.
Patina, Shoshana and Sierra were peeps I had heard much of but never had the privilige of seeing, so it was a joy, quite frankly, to finally get the chance!
Louise = stunning. What a beautiful voice. ‘Free’ was one of the two times I shed a tear during the show.
Jodie Jacobs has got to be one of the most underrated peeps out there! Im ashamed to say I hadnt heard of her before that night, but hopefully, now we have persuaded her to get Twitter, her name will be out there a lot more and she will get some fab roles.
Scott is a very open and honest person, and that really comes across in his music. Some people may have slagged off his potty mouth or his ego – but all I saw was a man, opening his heart to strangers and letting them see inside. That is brave, admimrable…and nothing to be criticised for.
Wow, that’s a very cheesy review Ive just written but it was a magical night!
Lovely to catch up with so many of my friends too. And any chance to dress up in a frock is always good! Hehe! Bloody love these late night random gigs. Cant wait for the next one!
p.s. I am SOOO buying Stuarts album now!