you can't stop the beat - 20th birthday gala concert (2022)

Director - Deb Brook 

Musical Director-Alice Brown 

Choreographer-Amy Evans 

Saturday 9th July 2022

Can I start by saying, it’s always a pleasure to accept an invitation from Youth Onstage as myself and my fellow audience members know that we will be in for an enjoyable evening’s entertainment and on this occasion, as part of their 20th Birthday celebrations, we were treated to an exceptional concert showcasing the versatility, talent and professionalism of all involved. The production team had carefully chosen the different musical numbers from many West End and Broadway popular musicals that amateur performers will undoubtedly have to wait many years before they can obtain the licenses to perform for us. More traditional well-loved productions were also not forgotten, including the opening number of the concert, ‘Broadway Medley’, and then in Act 2 ‘Consider Yourself’ from the iconic Oliver! Both showcasing all 27 cast members.

It’s so challenging to write this without just actually listing the items in the programme verbatim, as every single cast member was absolutely amazing. However, I would like if I may to mention just a few of what I felt were my personal highlights that will be remembered from the superb content.

Ellie Snowdon and Deanna Mullen sang their version of the wonderful song about friendship ‘For Good’ from Wicked. Carly Taylor and James Woodward then took us to Little Shop of Horrors with their tender rendition of ‘Suddenly Seymour’ and Gemma Hudson took us to ‘Somewhere that’s Green’. I love the musical Everybody’s talking about Jamie; ‘He’s My Boy’ was performed with such emotion by Lisa-Marie Holmes. ‘Hello’ from the Book of Mormon was both funny and skilful with its complex timing and the lads were fantastic. My absolute favourite musical is Hamilton (afraid to admit how many times I’ve seen it!) with a close second of Dear Evan Hansen and the performance of ‘Tonight /You will be found’, ‘Dear Theodosia’ and ‘Does anybody have a map’ were all, in my humble opinion, faultless, performed by Nico Eynon-Colon, Mark Cornaby, Matty Brook, James Woodward, Hannah Brook and Carly Taylor and also including the older ensemble. Lyndsey Thompson sang a beautiful version of ‘Tell me on a Sunday’. One on my wish list to see in the future is Six, the title song, ‘Six’, was performed with the required energy and assertiveness by Phoebe Mason, Lauren Chapman, Ellie Snowdon, Lucy Forrester, Hannah Brook and Hannah Thomas. 

All of the above, plus musical selections from: In the Heights, The Addams Family, Matilda, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek, Waitress, Spamalot, Legally Blonde, The Jersey Boys and Hairspray were enhanced by perfect quality sound and lighting effects, great choreography and complimentary costumes.

The whole celebration evening, including a fundraising raffle and cupcake sale, birthday cake and also not forgetting the stylish printed T-shirts that were all part of an unforgettable 20th Birthday celebration that the audience thoroughly enjoyed, resulted in a completely justified standing ovation.

I’m sure Deb passed on my congratulations to you all on the night and my initial comments still stand so for the record: “Tonight was just incredible, not only the choice of content but also the talent on the stage was absolutely amazing. Each and every musical number was perfectly chosen for those performing resulting in a truly fitting 20th birthday celebration. Honestly, I can say it was one of the best concert style evenings I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending” - you should all be very proud of this achievement.

Youth Onstage continue to grow from strength to strength. It’s so admirable and an incredible achievement that with Deb at the helm you have encouraged and developed so many past members to pursue and gain careers as musical performers in the West End and around the world. 

Thank you once again for the invitation and allowing my husband and I to be included in this truly memorable evening.

Reviewed by Joyce Eyre (NODA)