Magical musical comedy among shows set to be staged in coming weeks

I guess it could be described as a magical musical comedy, and funny it certainly is! I have to admit it is not my favourite fairytale – it’s a bit too bawdy in parts to be a true children’s story – but there is no doubt about it, everyone loves it!

From September 12-16, Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre Company is bringing Shrek to life at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre to celebrate the group’s 90th anniversary.

Director Paul Lumsden said, “This is a great musical comedy, stuffed full of fairy tale characters and really does have something for all the family. It has all the cartoony fun that children love and the laugh out loud jokes that us grown-ups will appreciate, as well as fabulous music.”

The songs in the show do vary from the film version, but still includes the much-loved Monkees hit “I’m A Believer” and then you can look forward to “Story of My Life”, “What’s Up Duloc?”, “Donkey Pot Pie”, “Beautiful Ain’t Always Pretty” and “Freak Flag.”

Paul is joined by musical director Sheila Pearson and choreographer, Maggie Jackson, who together with a stellar cast of amateur performers can guarantee a great night of entertainment.

For tickets, visit lichfieldgarrick.com or call 01543 412121. For more information on Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre Company, call 07971470578.

In complete contrast, Unity Productions is presenting The Long Road by Shelagh Stephenson from September 1-3, at the Oldbury Rep’s Studio.

How would you deal with the pointless killing of your youngest child? Grief does differ from person to person, but what would you do?

This is the question Mary faces as she comes to terms with losing her son, who was the victim of a random stabbing by a girl on by cocaine.

The play is about a family, trapped in grief and suffering, and therefore no freer than the killer behind bars.

It’s thought-provoking, emotional, and well worth a watch.

For tickets, visit oldburyrep.org or call 0121 552 2761.

Rent remains a huge favourite amongst am dram performers and the latest version can be seen at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton, from September 5-9, presented by Wolverhampton Youth Music Theatre.

This is an exceptionally talented group and I have seen many of their productions. It may be on a smaller scale than some and obviously in a small venue, but the quality of their performance and production is as close to professional standard as you can get.

Rent is the tale of a group of Bohemians living in 1990’s New York, when AIDS was rife and deaths from the disease were at their height.

Songs from the show include “Take Me or Leave Me”, “Halloween”, “One Song Glory”, “Seasons of Love” “and of course the title song, “Rent.”

It’s sad, moving and such a special musical.

For tickets, visit wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre/ or call 01902 321321.

Stourbridge Theatre Company, who perform at Stourbridge Town Hall, is presenting Two Tales of Murder on September 9.

This is exactly what is says on the tin. An evening’s gripping entertainment in the form of two short plays. The first is called A Small Family Murder by Simon Brett.

As a husband and sons are interviewed about the death of Valerie Treyalyan, deep secrets are uncovered, and the clues begin to mount up in this tale of death and betrayal.

The second play is entitled Murder in Little Grimley and is a much more light-hearted affair.

Described as a killer comedy, it is the story of a hapless amateur dramatic society who are keen to write and perform their own whodunit, but then find themselves involved in a real-life murder.

For tickets, call 0333 666 3366, visit the group’s Facebook page, or simply buy on the door.

Once the Musical enjoyed a short, but very successful West End run as well as winning no less than nine Tony Awards over the pond. Now, the Midlands based production company Let Me In, is bringing Once to The Hub in St. Mary’s, Lichfield during August, and September.

Once is the story of a guy who gave up on love and music, and the girl who inspired him to dream again.

From the very first note, Once draws you in and never lets go. It’s emotional, captivating and a very unique show featuring some of the best folk music songs you will ever hear, including the wonderful “Falling Slowly” written, composed and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. If you haven’t heard it, you haven’t lived. It is simply beautiful.

Director Christopher Buckle said, “We are so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to bring this beautifully human story to the Midlands in this brand-new regional debut.”

He continued, “We also wanted to ensure our production stays true to the message at its core, as well as the experiences Glen and Marketa had that translated so beautifully to the stage and screen. We therefore designed a range of accessible performances to ensure that anyone who wants to experience Once the Musical, will have opportunities to do so. We believe that theatre has the potential and responsibility to support the strengthening of communities and in actively fighting against injustices that provide a select few in-society opportunities that should be accessible to everyone."

Once the Musical runs standard performances on August 26,27, then September 1,2,3,8,9,10,15,16 and 17 ay 8pm.

Then there are Pay What You Can performances on August 30,31, September 6,7,13, 14 at 8pm, and relaxed performances on September 3 and 10 at 4pm.

Finally, there is a dementia friendly performance on September 14 at 5pm.

Visit thehubstmarys.co.uk or call 07761966126 to book.

That’s all for this week. Contact me at a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662, or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Break a leg!