Review: Born to Perform by Chesterfield Studios

Budding stars sang, danced and cartwheeled their way through a magical showcase of musical theatre.
Born to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate TheatreBorn to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre
Born to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre

Ambitious songs and difficult dances were polished to perfection and delivered with flair by young pupils of Chesterfield Studios Academy of Performing Arts.

Solos reflected the familiar and not so well known West End and Broadway musicals and were delivered confidently by those tasked with the responsibility. Chelsea Hawkins was first up to perform Someone Else’s Story, followed by Martha Barrratt whose singing and dancing reflected her song’s title, I Was Born To Entertain. Jessica Sharratt impressed with the song I’m Not Afraid from Songs For A New World, Charlotte Noakes injected much personality into So Much Better, Sam Widdowson brought the aah-factor to his performance of Pure Imagination which he sang to a little lad and Ryan Mitchell earned cheers for his rendition of This is the Moment.

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With no scenery and just lighting to create atmosphere, it was nice to see a few books and bottles on stage as props in Naughty from Matilda, which was delivered with just the right balance of charm and comedy by its four performers.

Born to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate TheatreBorn to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre
Born to Perform at Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre

The tap-dancing lower intermediate musical theatre group brought plenty of personality and megawatt smiles to the Bugsy Malone selection and the junior musical theatre class looked angelic as they sang Part of my World.

Senior musical theatre students turned up the heat with a seductive All That Jazz song and dance and the upper intermediate musical theatre ensemble lit up the stage with songs from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Sadly, the volume of the music buried the opening lines of a couple of soloists on the first night of Born to Perform in the Pomegranate Theatre. Hopefully, this will be resolved for the second and final performance this evening (Wednesday, June 17) at 7.30pm.

Roseanna Sanderson directs the show and shares choreography credits with Paula Wilson. Jonathan Francis is musical director.

Photo by Ian Boler

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