Performed by the Saturday and Tuesday Children's groups and the Mini group.
Bugsy Malone was held at The LB Theatre in March 2004. Leighton Buzzard Children's Theatre led by Sally Allsopp took 99 local youngsters aged 5-14, rehearsed weekly in Heath and Reach and let them take part in one or two of the 4 shows which were held in aid of Cancer research Uk. There were two main casts who both worked really hard to produce a fun filled, lively entertainment with touches of brilliance, plenty of ah factor and many moments of madness.
Bugsy played by Kraig Rutland in all four performances was excellent, he was a real cool guy with a good speaking voice, complimented by great acting skills and super stage presence.
The Friday evening cast included James Leaver as Fat Sam who had just the right amount of panache to play the gang land boss. Knuckles played by Georgina Liscio was excellent. Fat Sams moll Tallulah was played confidently by Bethan Dumpleton who commanded the stage and sang and acted with great maturity. Blousey Brown played by Caroline Adams was sweet but feisty- super characterisation, with lovely singing. Dandy Dans gang was led by Daryl Humphries who gained confidence throughout the performance. He loved the final splurging and was really keen to see justice done with his gang in tow- great fun. Other characters included Charlotte Howard who played the bar man and cleaned up all the splurge, polished the glasses and even scrubbed the floor. Emily Beckwith was wonderful as Lena, the overbearing star of the show- a real star in the making! Fizzy played by Amber Nightingale sang beautifully, her haunting melody "Tomorrow" rang around the theatre and merited the cheers from the audience. Jason Dass played Leroy with great skill, excellent comedic timing and a good powerful voice.
The Saturday cast was led by Edward Percival as Fat Sam who gave a thought filled, mature performance. Tallulah played by Emer Downey showed her mischievous smile and great singing voice, she had the audience in stitches when she flirted with Bugsy. Naomi Chadwick acted and sang beautifully as Blousey Brown and David Rourke showed great promise as Leroy. Little Dominique Kelly as Captain Smolskey was brilliant- commanding the stage with a clear voice and super expression, ably supported by Jessica Lee as O'Dreary. Nick O'Brien as Dandy Dan had a great voice and lovely stage presence. Sarah Gallagher as Fizzy had a beautiful, haunting voice.
Both casts worked hard from the tiniest little boxer to the main characters.
The gangs splurged, sang, danced and did everything brilliantly. Fat Sams gangs rendition of "Bad Guys" was super- some real charachters emerging from the chorus!
The simple set was effective and the props all worked well, copious amounts of splurge, silly string and custard pies made sure a good time was had by all. So many stars in the making- great music, great fun.
£600 will be donated to Cancer Research UK as a result of these young peoples efforts- WELL DONE