Fame Lyceum Theatre Sheffield Review
Fame
Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
31 March to 5 April 2014
Reviewed by Ella Richardson
Absolutely AMAZING!!! I just wanted to start with that before I say anything and I challenge you not to be smiling ear to ear and humming for the next few days after. The start of my evening went really smoothly, parking was easy and the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield was well signposted and the surrounding area really beautifully lit up which had me smiling before I had even entered the beautiful theatre. The queues weren’t too big when waiting to buy snacks and drinks for the show and very reasonably priced, not much more than if you were to go to a general store.
We took out seats in the very intimate beautifully crafted theatre hall and the seats were perfect, we could see every bit of the stage and once the performance started we were glad of it. All that can be said about the opening act is ‘WOW’ I had my jaw wide open from the get go, these dancers are phenomenal and the singing voices they managed to sustain were completely pitch perfect, whilst doing high kick, the splits, amazing lifts, amongst other moves that I would never in my life attempt to pull off. There were a few of the actors that really stood out from the get go, I was drawn in by the beautiful lines and extraordinary movement from Alex Thomas who plays ‘Tyrone Jackson’ his dance moves were mesmerising and he showed real presence in the starting scene without being too overpowering. The big, strong, velvet like voice stood out for me straight away was that of Joseph Giacone who plays horny Latino ‘Joe Vegas’, there are few voices that have me drawn in and mesmerised but his was one of them, even in his rendition of ‘can’t keep it down’ I was hooked on his beautiful tones and played his role unbelievably and really interacted well with his other cast members. The last person who stood out right from the start and if I’m honest remained my favourite character throughout was Molly Stewart’s portrayal of ‘Mabel Washington’ she got the mixture of comedy and serious moments perfectly, It was lovely to see that she wasn’t made the butt of the joke in every scene and that there were lots of moments that the comedy act was dropped, which was lovely to see.
The use of the stage was really well done throughout the whole production as it wasn’t a massive stage and the two moving blocks made the setting for all of the scenes, I thought it was unbelievably done, usually you have the people behind stage moving the scenery wearing dark colours but this was made all part of the production with the cast moving the staging as part of their routines and all really professionally, so not only do they have their dance moves, singing, lines to remember but they were also the props people and on occasion using the big stage lights as part of the production, so my hats completely off to them and the fabulous job they did of all the roles. The other fantastic part of this production was that the band weren’t hidden away in a pit, they were on full stage, lit and high up so that everyone could see the excellent work they were doing as for me the music is a massive part of the production and I always find it a bit odd that they are usually hid away so it’s amazing to see a show doing something different.
We had the will they/won’t they couple of love birds, with the very beautiful Sarah Harlington playing ‘Serena Katz’, she really stood out to me for playing the character amazingly well but also the strength of her voice and her range is as beautiful as her appearance and her ability to draw you into her world and exactly how she is feeling, your heart breaks for her. Also the teacher for me although not seen very often always had a presence about them and there was no mistaking which role they were playing and the beautiful soulful voice of Landi Oshinowo just blew us away in her solo songs as well as her input in the end song, it really shined,
The second half of the show was filled with drama and tears, the star of the second half was definitely Jodie Steele who plays ‘Carmen Diaz’ although it was minimal input, her presence was very much known and her acting skills just perfect for the role she was playing, I loved the scene where she dies I think it was amazingly portrayed and beautifully played out, and there was a few tears shed from me and a many around me. Jodie finished off the show perfectly with some audience participation, because we all know and love the FAME theme tune and you could constantly see people tapping and wiggling to the song when it was heard throughout the show in snippets, so to finally hear the full song performed so amazingly and with such power and be encouraged to get up and have a boogie was the perfect end to the perfect evening.
AMAZING!!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost £24 to £35 (plus booking fee).
For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.
Lyceum Theate, Norfolk St, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000
