Ariel Company Theatre wows with Junior Musicality production

On a warm and steamy August night, the students from Ariel’s Sussex drama academies really brought the thunder to the New Bury Theatre in Hurstpierpoint with this year’s Junior Musicality performance. The show is a compendium of the top West End and Broadway musical hits. Celebrating its 18th year, the 80 selected students invited across Ariel’s 6 academies, range from 8 to 19 years, produced a show packed with a wide variety of musical theatre numbers and different genres.

The show was rehearsed and produced in just a week and is renowned for its high standards and slick performances, but this year it was the energy that the students brought to each of the numbers which really resonated and lifted the audience. This was particularly evident in the big ensemble numbers, from the opening ‘Willkommen’ from Cabaret to the memorable and atmospheric ‘Battle of York Town’ from Hamilton. The older students showed maturity throughout their performances, wholeheartedly embracing their roles and demonstrating strong vocal skills and physical acting abilities.

Likewise, it was so inspiring to see the youngest members of the cast wholeheartedly enjoying their performances and bringing so much enthusiasm and proficiency to numbers such as ‘Me Ol’ Bamboo’ from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with its complex dance moves, the comedic ‘Miracle’ from Matilda and the enchanting ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’ from Encanto. The littlest ones really gave it all they had and their energy was infectious.

The shows production team also provided a platform for individual vocal strengths to be appreciated, with numbers which punctuated the evening with emotion, comedy or storytelling. Highlights included teen angst number ‘Micheal in the Bathroom’ from musical ‘Be More Chill’, taking us through the social anxiety of being a teenage boy at a party he did not feel comfortable at - hence hiding in the bathroom!

The song ‘Therapy’ was plucked from popular Netflix’s biographical musical drama ‘Tik Tik Boom’ which tells the story of composer Jonathan Larson, a very quick and funny duet. Focusing on word play and intonation the performers excelled as the pace of the song built prompting cheers from the audience. Likewise ‘If you were Gay’ from people and puppet phenomenon ‘Avenue Q ‘was equally as funny and endearing. Another clever choice was ‘Cell Block Tango’ from ‘Chicago’ which gave six older female vocalists the challenge of delivering this funny, atmospheric prison number right on cue along with relevant accents and acting through song demands.

Talking about the song choices Ariel’s Musicality Director and Academy Principal Nicci Hopson said: "Producing the show is a very collaborative process, it involves the whole team and many hours of deliberation and considering what will make the show balanced and give all the students a chance to shine. I am lucky to have such a great team of colleagues who are so passionate about musical theatre and know both the classics and new emerging shows. We are delighted with this year’s show and the feedback we have had from parents and the students who have had such a memorable experience.”

The second act of the show gradually built towards an animated finish with a dynamic rendition from new show Back to The Future of ‘Johnny B Goode’ which along with strong ensemble harmonies featured faced-paced Jive dancing, full of energy. Followed by more, carefully choreographed movement in ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ from Moulin Rouge. The show finished spectacularly with a Mamma Mia medley, ultimately featuring the whole cast and many well-known ABBA hits this lead to dancing in the aisles and a standing ovation, the evening was certainly an 18th birthday celebration not to be missed!