I need to confess, I’m a bit of a movie buff as is my wife. I loved movies so much I used to watch anything and everything.
Eventually this led me to one of my early careers managing video stores for a large national chain (which is where I met my wife!). It was great because I had access to even more movies and did I mention met my wife there?
So when the opportunity came to do this review I was rather excited. I read the promo info and as I read through all the songs and all the movies they were from I could remember each movie and each song.
Both of us (my wife and I) were actually really looking forward to it and thankfully, it didn’t disappoint.
As always going to Stage West is a winning situation, even if the show was mediocre the food is always fantastic and it makes for an entreating date night.
Fortunately though, the show too was a hit!
Not only were the songs great to hear and flashback to, but the cast were quite good and the costumes were perfect. As always there were a few standouts and a couple flat parts but when you’re dealing with an ensemble cast that involves singing multiple different styles and eras it can be a challenge.
But oh those standouts!
So let’s start with the MC, Andrew McGillivray. He was hilarious and interacted with the crowd non-stop. He really helped make the show.
Each segment began with Andrew in era specific (or upcoming song specific) costumes and he’d take us through various insights and tips into the history of the songs, the groups performing them and how they came to be.
It provided some great insight and for a trivia junkie like myself it was truly enjoyable.
As for one of the other standouts we had some local homegrown talent on the stage.
Tara Jackson was born and raised in Calgary and her talents were definitely on display as she ran through a huge vocal range as she knocked out songs from multiple eras.
As she belted out hits by Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and more she added her own elements to make the songs simultaneously remind you of the original movies as well as made them a bit of her own.
As for the songs that the group went through there was definitely something for everyone. From original songs like the Chattanooga Choo-Choo from Sun Valley Serenade through to animated movies such as Let it Go from Frozen they covered a wide breadth of music.
If you’re looking for a fun night out, it’s definitely one you’ll enjoy.
