Some of the cast of Pretty Woman reunite for this Thespie Reunited concert Never Give Up On A Dream
“It’s a hard winter’s day
I dream away”
With Aimie Atkinson as their creative producer, it is perhaps little surprise that Thespie’s Reunited series has a Pretty Woman the Musical special leading its programming into the new year. But no-one should begrudge them that and Never Give Up On A Dream has much to commend it.
I can’t lie, Pretty Woman the Musical did not do it for me but this show opens up the pop songbook far and wide to take in the likes of Roxette (‘It Must Have Been Love’, natch), Queen (a fiery group ‘Somebody to Love’) and Tony Bennett (Bob Harms in spine-tingling form on ‘Who Can I Turn To’).
The joy of these concerts is often in the arrangements, or rearrangements, that take advantage of the unique configurations available. So whilst it is always a pleasure to be wowed by Rachael Wooding’s passionate ‘With You’ (from Ghost), there’s unexpected pleasure to be had in hearing her duet on ‘Everything I Do…’ with Atkinson, backed by luscious harmonies from the company.
That includes Jemma Alexander, Hannah Ducharme, Serina Mathew, Joanna Woodward and Charlotte Yorke, backed by music director Gareth Weedon, all finding their moments to impress. And the gorgeousness of the harmonies even makes the Pretty Woman originals sound good.
