Review: BKLYN THE MUSICAL, Lambert Jackson Productions (Online)
Photo credit: Sam Diaz and Dean Johnson
It has now been over a year since theatres were forced to close and whilst we remain unable to gather in traditional performance spaces, we have come to fully embrace the internet as our new stage. The arts industry has continued to work tirelessly to innovate, adapt and create new exciting work that we can all enjoy from the comfort of our own homes.
After delighting audiences last year with a digital revival of First Date, Dean Johnson directs a new online production of Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson’s BKLYN - The Musical, filmed at the Ugly Duck space, with musical direction by Leo Munby.
BKYLN uses the ‘play-within-a-play’ concept to create an engaging and interesting musical that tells the story of five street performers using their musical talents to create the tale of talented singer Brooklyn who, after losing her mother, travels to New York to find the father she has never met, and prove to popular stage artist Paradise that she’s not the only diva in town.
With a cast including Emma Kingston, Marisha Wallace, Newtion Matthews, Jamie Muscato and Sejal Keshwala, BKLYN brings together these incredibly fine voices who bring this musical to life with bundles of passion and talent. With this small company, we are taken on a journey from the streets of New York to Paris as we are swept up in the doomed romance of Faith (Keshwala) and Taylor (Muscato). Years later, we see their daughter Brooklyn (Kingston) alone in the world after her mother’s depression over Taylor’s failed promise to return caused her to end her life. Brooklyn, having never met her father, travels to New York to find him and finds herself swept up in a diva off style competition with Paradise (Wallace) as she is guided into the life of her father Taylor by street singer (Matthews).
The set is simplistic yet highly effective, with papers spread around the space to both form walls and backdrops for musical numbers. A paper rose pulled from the wall plays a pivotal role throughout, and the use of papers to create the setting is particularly effective in Kington’s number, ‘Once Upon a Time’.
The music of BKLYN is beautiful and although it may not be crammed full of earworms, this is a true example of how music can be used to create a sense of location and can effectively guide you through a memorable and emotional story. The five performers create believable characters, each with their own issues and their own story to tell, and it is easy to find yourself drawn into their stories and wanting what is best for them.
Lambert Jackson productions’ online revival of BKLYN is a slick and stylish production that provides a masterclass in acting through song from its talented cast.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Rebecca Wallis
Tickets are available from Stream.Theatre here until 4 April.
Please note this review also appears on the Musical Theatre Lives In Me blog.
