Review: THE THEATRE CHANNEL, Episode 8 - Stephen Schwartz (Online)

The Theatre Channel is back this week with a brand new episode and we "couldn't be happier"... it's a Stephen Schwartz Special! With songs from classic musicals such as Pippin, to new ones such as Dream Big, keep your eyes open for that Besties, this episode is another joyous delight...

We open on ‘Magic to Do’ in the form of the current (but unfortunately not for long) Charing Cross cast of Pippin. When we reviewed this production two months ago, we gave it 5 stars so you already know it's going to be good. The cast, led by the charismatic Ian Carlyle as the Leading Player, truly capture the imaginative nature and ethos of the show, welcoming you into the episode with open arms and a classic example of one of Stephen Schwartz's works.

We then go into the main performances from the Café Five and special guests, such as Melanie Le Berrie singing ‘Beautiful City’ (Godspell) and Alice Fearn singing ‘It's An Art’ (Working). Seeing these performances presented in such a fresh digital format, it reminds us that good things have come out of the pandemic, and proves how creatives in our brilliant industry can never be stopped. Now, theatre is becoming more accessible thanks to projects like this! People at home can log onto Stream.Theatre and watch an incredible standard of performance from the comfort of their own home.

A stand out performance for us is actually a brand new one: Stewart Clarke and Christine Allado singing from a brand new piece of work by Stephen Schwartz - Dream Big! Their voices blend together so wonderfully and the music truly soars; it is reminiscent of how the Phantom and Christine sing. Clarke just *needs* to be in more shows! He was excellent in Be More Chill and now in this episode of The Theatre Channel, when will we see him again?!

Another brilliant performance comes from Jo Eaton Kent singing ‘I'm Not That Girl’ from Wicked, with excellent directorial choices from Fabian Aloise in choosing not to link the lyrics of the song in the obvious way but clearly focusing on the love triangle. In a Q and A after the premiere, Jo made a point of mentioning this, and informing us of a lyric change too, so look out for that Besties; it's a wonderfully grounded performance. The digital format of this project allows all performers, especially Jo, to give us a much more naturalistic and nuanced performance that would otherwise be missed from the back half of a theatre. It's a treat to behold.

We'll leave some of the performances and special guests out of our review so as to remain a surprise for you when you watch it Besties, but just know that you have so much to look forward to with this episode, and each song is presented by Schwartz himself, with anecdotes and fun facts.

The episode closes with ‘When You Believe’ from The Prince of Egypt, an anthem that has been beautifully reduced to six people and a simple piano. The song takes on new meaning when not performed by a cast of almost 50 at the Dominion. It's like being let in on a group of friends rehearsing, such a wonderful atmosphere and again, their voices blend beautifully.

The Theatre Channel has proven that, although it can be a wonderful thing, spectacle is never truly needed for art, especially in theatre. And by reducing songs to their most simple form, can sometimes create something entirely new.

The team can be quoted on saying that they are "not trying to replace the live experience, but enhance it" and we believe that is truly what they have achieved here, especially with this episode so enjoy it now while you can, Besties!

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Callum Wallace

The Theatre Channel Episode 8 is now available to watch via stream.theatre here.