Manchester at the Musicals - Sheridan Smith & Friends

MANCHESTER AT THE MUSICALS WAS AN UTTERLY EXHILARATING CELEBRATION OF MUSICAL THEATRE AND CHRISTMAS - WOW!!!

When Manchester decides to do something, they don’t mess around, and Manchester At The Musicals at the Co-op Live was no exception.  Talk about go big or go home!  What an utterly exhilarating celebration of musical theatre and Christmas.  It was one mind blowing performance after another, with huge West End stars, multi award winning musicals, Manchester Camerata, Pendleton Theatre School Choir, Christmas belters, audience participation with carol-oke, concert tickets being given away in Christmas crackers, festive fun, snow, and even the man himself – Santa!   Manchester At The Musicals brought out the best in everyone, with a real spirit of togetherness in the air, and it was a very special evening I will cherish in my ‘best of’ memories for a very long time.

Hosted by the dazzling Samantha Barks (Frozen, Les Mis, Oliver) and charismatic John Owen - Jones (Phantom, Les Mis, Great British Bake Off), we willingly submitted to the world of musical theatre, with each mesmerising moment thrilling us anew.  It was like the best decorated Christmas tree, each individual performer and each song shining bright and hypnotising us with its brilliance, collectively creating a masterpiece.  Opening with our very own Manchester Camerata and Pendleton Theatre School Choir, the eager audience were whipped up into a festive frenzy before we were treated to John Owen-Jones’ rendition of ‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,’ leaving everyone in the mood to celebrate.  And before anyone had time to catch their breath, we were emersed in Wizomania as the insanely talented Alice Fearn (Wicked, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen) blew the roof off with ‘The Wizard And I.’  What an absolute powerhouse!  It was also thrilling to hear her chat about her time spent with Ariana Grande in the Wicked movie, where she plays Glinda’s mum.  So how do you follow up such a moment as this?  I know!  We’ll send Alfie Boe (Les Mis, La Boheme, Finding Neverland) out singing the ’Greatest Showman!’  Talk about raising the roof!  Only a few songs in and the atmosphere was electrifying.  Perfectly timed, therefore, was a serene and beautiful follow up by Samantha Barks with the Christmas classic ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ making us all misty eyed and gooey. 

Sheridan Smith (Funny Girl, Legally Blonde, Opening Night) exploded onto the stage with a contagious blast of electric energy, demanding our attention with ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade,’ making it appear effortless.  I remember seeing Sheridan Smith in the role of Fanny Brice a few years back and was just as blown away this evening as I was then, hearing her own one of my all time favourite musical theatre songs.  Next up was the incredible vocal gymnastics of Elesha Paul Moses (The Bodyguard, Tina: The Musical, The Voice) raising the roof with ‘I Have Nothing’ from The Bodyguard, giving us all goosebumps and shivers of joy as her voice rang out through this stunning arena.  Alfie Boe rejoined us with a beautifully nostalgic ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ his voice lapping over us in gentle waves of all things Christmas, continued by the rousing duo of ‘Fairy Tale Of New York’ by John Owen-Jones and Alice Fearn that raised the roof off!  Samantha Barks made our hearts ping with her emotive ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ before all the cast came together for ‘White Christmas,’ a beautiful and sentimental close to the first half, with voices that would melt your heart and warm your soul.  Complete with an entire arena joining in, and even snow, it was a glorious moment giving you the ‘aaahhhh – sigh’ shivers.

The second half was exquisitely kicked off with Elesha Paul Moses rocking the arena with ‘All I Want For Christmas,’ making the entire place bounce, before Sheridan Smith slowed things down with one of her breath taking performances from Cilla – ‘You’re My World.’  And as if we hadn’t been treated enough, Samantha Barks returned with frozen fractals, bewitching us all to ‘Let It Go’ with a spellbinding performance that brought out everyone’s inner Princess powers!  But this show still wasn’t done with us, and as John Owen-Jones started singing his ethereal performance of ‘Bring Him Home,’ you could hear a pin drop.  As Alfie Boe joined him and took us to heaven, the awe in the room was palpable and this duo brought about the first unanimous and explosive standing ovation of the evening.  What an incredibly privileged moment it was to witness.  With only a quick Christmas tune for us to catch our breath, we were once again taken to a highlight moment, this time by Alice Fearn as she bewitched each and every one of us with the song of the moment ‘Defying Gravity.’  She made the entire audience take flight and deservedly scored the second unanimous standing ovation.  You could somehow feel the power soaring through her as it filled Co-op Live.  Outstanding. 

Alfie Boe brought tears of purity and beauty to us all with a stunning performance of ‘Oh Holy Night,’ blending the caressingly soft with the commanding strength and power of his voice.  And then before you’ve had chance to pretend you’ve simply got glitter in your eyes and aren’t crying at all, Elesha Paul Moses comes back to shut the house down with Tina’s ‘Proud Mary.’  There were dance moves, shimmy’s, shakes and slays from the audience, and this may have been the point where I lost my voice!  The Co-op Live was partying hard and it was incredible!  As all the cast came together for a bouncing Christmas medley finale, the Christmas spirit was completely alive and I personally could not have felt any happier in that moment.  What a fantastically perfect evening celebrating musicals, Christmas, and the untouchable talent that we have here in the UK and in Manchester.  This was my first time at Co-op Live and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of helpers there were to guide us to the right places.  My whole personal experience of this venue ran so smoothly and it was a thrill to finally attend a show.  And what a show!  Manchester At The Musicals was an event and a half and I cannot praise it enough.  My Christmas wish is that it becomes a Christmas tradition, returning every festive season to indulge and delight us musical theatre lovers, and celebrate in style, with an all star cast, and Manchester’s finest musicians.  So let’s hope I’m on Santa’s ‘good list’ this year and that my Christmas wishes come true.  If so, I’ll see you next year Manchester At The Musicals!

WE SCORE MANCHESTER AT THE MUSICALS...