Culture writer Youssra Al Hajji reviews the Alexandra Theatre’s recent production of the renowned musical, Fame, arguing that the show never gets old
Fame! I wanna live forever… and oh my god, how the audience was singing and dancing along. People clamoured to their feet and a feeling of nostalgia, hope, and never-ending possibility filled the air. After three stagnant years occupied by COVID-19, this all-time favourite was brought to us by Stage Experience at the Alexander Theatre, and I cannot express enough what a raw and emotional show they delivered.
Fame was originally written as a film by Christopher Gore in the 1980s before developing into a TV series in 1982. As a dance show with music at its heart, it was only a year later before it was unsurprisingly resurrected after the end of its six seasons. And now, in 2022, this exhilarating stage show which has captured audiences’ hearts since its very first performance in 1988, has been brought to the Alexandra Palace in Birmingham.
Woven all the way through is the simple and beautiful message that working hard and not giving up are the true paths to success and fame.
Fame tells the tale of many young performers-to-be who come together at their new performing arts school. With their fumbling hopes and varying backgrounds, we are pulled back into the familiar stumble-and-steady-yourself environment of high school, with hopeless expectations, not-so-brilliant ideas that seem genius, first experiences, and not to forget the countless witty and hilariously immature jokes and comments class time seems to be made up of. But woven all the way through is the simple and beautiful message that working hard and not giving up are the true paths to success and fame, whilst the consequences of falling to pressure, addiction, and temptation are lightly but seriously warned of through the heart-breaking portrayal of lead singer of the title song, Carmen Diaz.
But we’ll get to that later. The show begins on a musical high as the cast is introduced through the songs ‘Pray’ and ‘Hard Work’, setting the scene of post-auditions as students open their acceptance letters to the performing arts school. Interestingly enough is the minimalistic nature of the set throughout the entire show: two staircases on either side connected by a corridor balcony above and against the back of the stage and a simple brick wall pattern.
With juxtaposing sentiments, ‘Fame’ captures her hunger for acknowledgement and success, creating a brilliant energy that reflects Carmen’s hopes for stardom.
Only simple props are ever used, such as a recurring locker that is wheeled in, a musical set with drums, tables, and chairs. Other than that, the simplicity allows for an honest focus on the performance of the actors themselves and the emotion they portray whilst also reflecting the common setting of a high school.
And the actors did not disappoint in the spotlight. Laura Bryan, playing the role of eventual drop-out Carmen Diaz stole the show, not once, but twice with her stunning performance of both musical numbers ‘There She Goes’, ‘Fame’, and ‘In L.A’. With juxtaposing sentiments, ‘Fame’ captures her hunger for acknowledgement and success, creating a brilliant energy that reflects Carmen’s hopes for stardom. Supported by the rest of the company, Laura’s tone and voice were stunning, the emotion behind it cathartic for the audience. Opposingly, ‘In L.A’ portrays Carmen’s downfall after straying off the path and Bryan managed to invoke a deep sense of pity and sympathy for the character as she sang of the trail of broken dreams she was now a part of as a spiraling addict. The social commentary through the symbolism of her death by overdose reiterated the message of the show and reminded me once again why Fame, a supposedly light-hearted comedy for many people, was also powerful and still loved through the ages.
Hancox’s range was impressive; the simple spotlight outlining her figure in purple accentuating the climax of her frustration at the futility of her first love.
On that note, happily enough for us, the rest of the remaining characters are shown to have a bright and happy future for themselves by the end of the show. Mason Daw and Freya Hancox play the not-so-star-crossed lovers of Nick Piazza – an earnest and budding actor obsessed with Shakespeare – and Serena Katz – already head-over-heels from seeing Nick’s toothpaste commercial, also hoping to become an actress, but tired of playing Nick’s mother in every scene. But thankfully they’re not doomed, though Nick does eventually take the role of Romeo to Serena’s Juliet in the school play. And so Serena gets to play a love scene as she once sang about in the musical number ‘Let’s Play a Love Scene’. Hancox’s range was impressive; the simple spotlight outlining her figure in purple accentuated the climax of her frustration at the futility of her first love. Dramatic, I know, but nevertheless sweet.
The show ends after prom announcements of everyone’s futures and the proceeding performance of the title song by the entire company seemed to eradicate the earlier tragedy of Carmen’s death. It was light-hearted and hopeful with a good sprinkle of fun. Yes, the audience was singing, yes they were dancing along and yes, admittedly, I’m still singing the songs inside my head. Why? Because this show never gets old, and the performance at the Alexandra was no exception.
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