Reviewed by Claire Turner
I cannot recommend Funny Girl The Musical enough! It is just amazing, brilliant and fantastic!
At the start of the show, the orchestra played us a medley of the songs we were about to hear. Then the cast entered and the show began.
Funny Girl The Musical tells the story of Fanny Brice, a Brooklyn comedian and singer. Not known for her looks, Fanny Brice (played by Natasha Barnes) wasn’t the automatic choice to be a Ziegfeld Follie on Broadway, but with her determination she caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld and made her transition to Broadway. Fanny meets and eventually marries Nick Arnstein (played by Darius Campbell), unfortunately Brice’s success is her downfall when Arnstein embezzles all his money and ends up in prison!
Natasha Barnes (having been cast as the understudy to Sheridan Smith who unfortunately was too poorly to perform) was AMAZING and I don’t think she knows just how good she is yet. Her voice is strong and she belts out ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ to rapturous applause.
Darius Campbell (who I remember as Darius Danesh from Pop Idol) played the role of Nick Arnstein very well. He has a super voice and the chemistry between Arnstein & Brice is clear from the start.
The costumes are in keeping with the time period (1920’s) and the staging perfect – rolling on and off the stage!
It was a lovely evening so we treated ourselves to a cheeky Rossi’s ice cream to help with the walk up the stairs from the seafront (free to park after 6pm).
A great evening overall and Funny Girl gets a very well deserved 5 stars out of 5!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £28 to £55 (booking fees may apply).
Funny Girl the Musical is at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend from 19-24 May 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135.
Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7RA | 01702 351135
