Come early for the interactive pre-show experience; enjoy close-up performances, curious characters and savour delicious food and drink. Then take your seats in a 700-seat Big Top where circus meets musical theatre in an epic Spectacular featuring a brand-new story inspired by the 20th Century Fox Motion Picture and featuring all the hit songs by Pasek and Paul including ‘This Is Me’, ‘Rewrite the Stars’, ‘A Million Dreams’, ‘Tightrope’ and ‘The Greatest Show’.
‘COME ALIVE!’ will feature the finest international circus stars (Cirque de Demain Medal Winners, Cirque du Soleil) and musical theatre talent from the West End. At the helm of the production is Drama Desk award-winning Creative Director Simon Hammerstein. As co-founder of The Box and the mastermind behind Usher’s sold-out ‘My Way’ Las Vegas Residency and producer of Queen of the Night, Hammerstein brings his unique flair and live experience expertise to ‘COME ALIVE!’.
The circus itself is, in the main, entertaining without being in any way memorable or groundbreaking. Circus choreographers Tilde Björfors and Mattias Andersson play it far too safe given the quality of the cast and the facilities (one of the updates to the venue was adding a huge mother truss to support the rigging). Some parts feel more plastic than organic and there’s rarely a genuine wow factor. There is very little on display that really stands out from what can be seen in big tops up and down the land. When the story calls for explosive action, Björfors and Andersson cram too much in with dazzling aerialists pitching and yawing above busy ground-based colleagues. creating a confusing and overloaded panorama. On press night, the trapeze act and the teeterboard piece both ended in very noticeable mistakes; in the latter case, the team decided to repeat the last segment while the next set of acrobats awkwardly waited in the background; whether this is a sign of general nerves or backstage shenanigans is hard to tell.
These are copper-bottomed songs but there aren’t enough for a show that, at 100 minutes, is more than twice the length of the soundtrack. Some of them are done a disservice by becoming additional rinky-dink instrumentals. While creative director Simon Hammerstein has engineered a spirited experience, it lacks a knockout performance. You can’t help but notice that Keala Settle from the film is headlining a much cheaper musical elsewhere in town.
2024 | West End |
West End |
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