Musical Theatre Academy – Something Old Something New

Something Old, Something New was presented by students from the Musical Theatre Academy (MTA) at the Bridewell Theatre, London.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, the MTA (Musical Theatre Academy) was founded in 2009 by composer/musician Annemarie Lewis Thomas.

And it’s a success story. The school is the only organisation to have won The Stage School of the Year Award twice and it has secured impartial, professional agent representation for every student it has trained, over three quarters of whom are working at any one time.

Something Old Something New is the MTA’s annual spring revue. It’s unusual for a student show in that it features the entire college – both first and second years, 15 of the former and 19 of the latter.

And SOSN19 is immaculately directed (by Steve Elias) and choreographed by various people to ensure that every student’s talent is highlighted and there’s certainly a lot of theatrical ebullience and ability on show.

Material ranges from numbers from Little Shop of Horrors and The Witches of Eastwick to a bit of The Full Monty and a good song called ‘Musical Theatre Boys’ by Cinco Paul. Accents are competently adjusted as appropriate.

Amongst the graduating year (the MTA’s is a two-year, intensive diploma course) all of whom are very watchable, Mara Nunes stands out like a beacon.

Whether she’s slinking sexily in ‘More’ from Dick Tracy, bantering words at speed in ‘Willow’ from Venice, shining as an office girl in a song from 70, Girls, 70 or being smug in a number from The Sweet Smell of Success, she lights up the stage whenever she’s on. She’s lithely electric in ensemble scenes too.

There’s also some deliciously good work from Laura Gomez Gracia in a whole range of roles but particularly as the initially sullen and then illuminating Dolores in the Sister Act medley which is presented as the finale to this show with lots of glitz and glitter. Gomez Gracia has learned to exploit her statuesque build to fine comic effect.

And all this is very ably supported by an excellent six-piece band on the gallery above, led on keys by Lewis Thomas who also arranged the music.

It’s a warmly entertaining two hours of theatre whose fizzing energy more than compensates for occasional weaknesses in solo singing.

Susan Elkin