A NIGHT ON BROADWAY, presented by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society, directed by Garth Tavares (Savoy Theatre tonight, tomorrow and November 12-14).

IF you’re looking for a night of musical nostalgia, coupled with some great dance routines and stunning vocal performances, then you can’t go wrong with A Night on Broadway.

This revue focuses solely on the music from hit Broadway and cinematic musicals – a total of 21 songs or medleys, most of which will be very familiar to the audiences, although the ones from Spamalot, Crazy For You, Wicked and Rent will probably be new for most people.

With the exception of the hilarious lead into When You’ve Got it, Flaunt it from The Producers, none of the numbers is preceded by any dialogue to put them in to context.

But once you’ve settled in to the structure of the revue, you can’t help but sit back and enjoy (and quite possibly sing along).

Every performer in the ensemble is given the opportunity to shine in at least one solo spot. Ann Yates easily has the most phenomenal vocal range in the cast and her performances in the Phantom of the Opera medley and Somewhere Over the Rainbow are true show-stopping moments.

Rose Cowpar gets to rock in a rendition of River Deep Mountain High from Leader of the Pack and also ham it up as a fallen theatre star in the hilarious Diva’s Lament from Spamalot.

Lesley Speyers gets the chance to be serious as the Phantom and as Beast from Beauty and the Beast, but also to clown around in The Producers scene, excelling at each part.

Other humorous moments to watch out for include Meggan Botha and Werner Viljoen in the quirky duet Damn it, Janet from Rocky Horror and Maryanne van Eyssen’s performances in the Mamma Mia and The Producers scenes.

Yates and Botha also keep the audience laughing in a scene from Wicked, a prequel to the Wizard of Oz which turns out to be about when the Wicked Witch of the West was at university.

Faye Gatley, Catharine Hill and Olwethu Mdala also give great solo performances.

Melissa Jantjies and Joel Tommy excel in A Whole New World from Aladdin, while Joe Erasmus, Tiaan Bosch, Damien Anderson and Darren Scharneck all have their golden moments.

There are also some great ensemble moments, notably the Radio Gaga scene from We Will Rock You, a couple of scenes from Rent, and Moulin Rouge, and the fun closing medley from Back to the ’80s.

With a few exceptions, both costuming and props have been kept simple, with only lead characters in specific costumes while the ensemble keeps to a standard outfit.

The orchestra is excellent throughout and the lighting, video backdrops and sound engineering all add up to make for a top-quality show which will keep musical favourites in your head long after you have left the theatre. – Reviewed by Leon Muston ARTS EDITOR mustonl@avusa.co.za