West End stars showcasing their immense talent singing songs from animated films
This production is the third iteration of West End Does: The Magic of Animation, with previous concerts running in 2018 and 2019, and it remains a fabulous showcase of West End musical talent. The concert featured a number of the biggest hits from the world of musical animation including Poor Unfortunate Souls from the Little Mermaid, and When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt, and all were performed exceptionally well by an all star cast.
If you want fantastic performances by fantastic performers singing fantastic songs, then the “West End Does” concerts are for you. There are far too many highlights to list, as nearly every song was individually brilliant and you can absolutely see why these performers are where they are today. I was not familiar with all of the songs performed, but this was entirely irrelevant as the charisma and sheer talent displayed on stage kept me fully entertained.
Despite the incredible performances, the momentum of the concert did unfortunately come to a screeching halt during some of the between performances moments. This involved the host performing a few mind-reading tricks with the audience, which while good enough fun on its own, often felt overly long and entirely disconnected from the rest of the show. I am not sure if it was felt that the audience would get bored if it was just song after song, but when coming to see a musical theatre concert, that is exactly what I think most people would expect. That’s not to say there isn’t scope for more than just songs. However, I remain unconvinced that mind-reading tricks were the best choice.
Perhaps these host interludes were included to provide some variety, as at times it was slightly samey with a performer coming out, standing on the stage, singing beautifully, and then leaving as the next one came on. However, the show itself demonstrates that it is able to deliver fantastic variety within the songs themselves. The final 3 songs of the first act were an exceptional run that provided variety and was absolutely spell-binding. It starts with a campy villain performance, before then moving into 2 songs back-to-back from The Prince of Egypt, the first of which made excellent use of Guildford School of Acting Choir, and then ending the act with a powerhouse performance of When You Believe. With this, the Choir of talented future West End performers could perhaps have been utilised even more, with another highlight being when 2 of its members joined the professionals acting as the muses from Hercules in Zero to Hero.
In conclusion, this show has innumerable highlights, which in isolation are absolutely 5 star moments, however as a cohesive show I was left slightly lacking and wanting more variety and less mind-reading.
“West End Does” is returning on 14th December with “Christmas in Concert”, so if you are a fan of hearing Christmas songs being sung incredibly well, then this has got to be a show for you.