(© Tristan Fuge)
This year’s Edinburgh Festival, which launches this week, is bigger than ever before, highlighting some of the top talent from the UK and around the globe in all forms of the performing arts. But will it be better? With no dedicated venue for musical theater, you’ll have to hunt high and low for hidden gems; and as always there are also hundreds of comedy shows and plays vying for your attention. Here’s a shortlist of six shows that are definitely worth catching.
Alan Cumming – I Bought A Blue Car Today
The Scottish-by-birth, American-by-choice actor brought his one-man show to London last year, and if his run at the Vaudeville Theatre is anything to go by, this is a must-see. Cumming picks a diverse range of songs, from the expected to the off-the-wall, and arranges many of them in an unexpected way, and links them together with truly personal anecdotes. His performance of Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich’s “Taylor The Latte Boy” is worth the entrance money alone.
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
This talented crew has been performing all over the world since their stint at Edinburgh last year. You go along, give your suggestions for a theme, a storyline and song styles, and they’ll make it happen right in front of your very eyes. Brilliantly, they’ve carefully chosen their usual late-night spot — but they’re also offering three matinees for those averse to staying awake too long.
Barbershopera
Since their venture onto the scene and a successful limited run on the London fringe, the very funny a cappella musical comedy group Barbershopera have been talent-spotted by the BBC. They’ve already got a great record at Edinburgh — back in 2008 they won the Most Promising New Musical and Best Lyrics accolades at the Musical Theatre Matters Awards — and expectations are high for their new show, in which God summons four dastardly horsemen to unleash total destruction: cue mistaken identity, four-part harmony and at least one hobby horse.
Five Guys Named Moe
Television watchers see Clarke Peters now and point at him exclaiming: “That’s the guy off The Wire!” Musical theatre aficionados know him better for playing Billy Flynn in Chicago, the title role in Porgy and Bess, and Walter in the recent London concert of Chess. Even if you don’t know him, it will be a delight to see him return to the Olivier Award-winning show that made him famous in this 20th-anniversary production, full of dance, comedy, and jazz.
Flawless
Susan Boyle may not be appearing in Edinburgh this year (or any year), but these Britain’s Got Talent contestants will be bringing their special brand of urban dance to the festival. They were knocked out early on in last year’s final, but have recently gained a certain cachet through their starring role in the recent movie Streetdance. In any event, they’re definitely an act to catch live.
Next Thing You Know
The Sell A Door Theatre Company are gaining a reputation for creating brand-new musicals. This one muses on the nature of grown-up life and the harsh realities it entails, set to songs by Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham. Since the show is described as going “beyond the usual happily ever after,” don’t expect straightforward romantic musical comedy — which is probably a very good thing.
