The Best Yet!
In February, students from the Drama and Music Departments collaborated to perform the musical Legally Blonde at the Rhoda McGaw theatre. As a community you turned up in force to support the 300 students that took part and we couldn't be more grateful for your feedback. We have appreciated every kind email and have included some of your words below.
As one of the most popular current musicals to perform, Legally Blonde posed a significant and unique challenge for students as the music was complicated and the vocal ranges intricate. As usual, the cast, band and crew rose to this challenge in a manner that left me in awe every time they performed. Throughout the week, these students performed the show multiple times, rotating in and out of the theatre in different cast configurations and shifts to ensure the production ran as smoothly and professionally as possible.
The show itself presents a unique challenge for students at Key Stage 3 and 4. The melodies are designed for mature voices, the choreography was complex and varied, the music runs fast, and each scene smoothly transitions into the next leaving little room for set changes. I cannot tell you how astonished I have been of the monumental efforts of our students. They rose to the challenge and found their stride from the very first rehearsal. By making use of a wider student leadership team, students have been able to increase the economy of scale, achieving feats that would be otherwise impossible alone.
This core team of student leaders has now been expanded and their efforts are worth a significant mention. Known colloquially as 'SLT', these students are lead by the Executive Producer, Amelia Peters (Y10), who spent months scheduling, consulting cast, carefully directing scenes and leading the team while working directly with a team of dedicated student Producers (Georgia Kinner, Alice Betterley, Florence Holmes, Vivi Lenti, Ella Parsons, Bona Masso and Naya Harrison) who take on additional responsibility by problem solving, undertaking administrative work and assisting with creative decision making.
Event Management this year was led by Lily Skeet and Nour Kara-Mohammed, who have excelled this year by maintaining not only the planning and organising of the entire event but also dedicated themselves to managing merchandising and programme sales. Vocally, we are supported by Luci Francis and Molly Ward, who assisted with harmonies and vocal coaching. Leading backstage was the Crew Managers; Emi Bicker, Jamie Urquhart, Isla Hill and Lily Payne, rotating and planning set changes using professional set notation.
Choreography was a particular challenge this year, and the monumental job fell to the Dance Captains, Ava Couzens, Grace McIntyre, Rachel Bishop, Layla Bradshaw, Bethany Holt, Lucy Fernandez, Mae Farrimond and Ava Malone, producing some fantastically impressive dances.
Front of House was given entirely to the Theatre Management team, who scripted their interactions with audience members to ensure an enjoyable and smooth journey to their seats. This team comprised of Grace Hardicre, Molly Pilbeam, Natasha Godfrey, Zach Holmes and Lily Cook.
Finally, a special mention needs to be made to the Stage Managers Rosa Harris, Sophie James, Evie Croft and Elsie, who organised the cast through the backstage tannoy system through a series of cues that took months to plan and execute. They were supported by Ellyn Leigh, an exceptionally talented Resources Manager who sourced, catalogued and organised the props and items needed for the entire show throughout the rehearsal process and every single run.
Students have dedicated hours of rehearsal time to painstakingly arranging each song, dance and scene with a determination I have not yet seen while working on a school show. I am very proud of their efforts. The performance itself ran for 6 nights from Tuesday 11th February to Saturday 15th February. As a sell out event, the students did you all proud and I cannot express how proud I am of them all for their achievement. I have shared your kind words below, so that students can see how much their hard work is appreciated by the wider community.
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I just wanted to take moment to express my sincere appreciation for the incredible work you and your team put into Legally Blonde. The production was fantastic and it was evident how much passion, dedication and creativity went into bringing the show to life ! A very special thank you for including our daughter as Greek Chorus, it was so wonderful seeing her learn the dances and singing was an absolute joy - she is already looking forward to the upcoming shows! Also thank you for our other daughter's ensemble performances, she had so much fun and it was super valuable in building her confidence and skills - I thought the costumes were great. Your leadership and vision created something amazing, all the time and effort you put into the show has made a memorable and a very rewarding experience for all involved.
A huge congratulations to you and your team for another amazing show! We absolutely loved watching it and it was wonderful to see the result of all of the hard work from you all. Both children really enjoyed being part of the whole process and we were so proud of them both and all of their friends. It has been great to see them growing in confidence this year and it seems like they have really found their place and risen to the challenge. She has been desperately missing the rehearsals and everyone this past week and now can’t wait for the next thing!! Thank you for all that you do and all of your time and hard work, and thank you for encouraging and supporting our children.
WOW! I Just had to get in touch to say how I was blown away by the Legally Blonde show last night. I have seen many a school show and this was a hugely ambitious production with spectacular ensemble work in all areas - acting, singing, dancing, musicianship, set and lighting, to name a few. Please pass on my congratulations and best wishes for the rest of the performances to all those involved - both staff and students.
I am writing to express our deep appreciation for all you did to make this production a phenomenal success. The show was so mind blowing that I thought I was watching a West End show! This would not have been a success without you all who spent days and nights to plan, rehearse and lead the children.
I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful performance of Legally Blonde last week. We came on during the evening and we both loved the performance. It was so funny, which I had not appreciated about the show. Elle was exceptional and held the show competently. The rest of the cast were so strong and we thought the whole production was superb.
Thank you SO MUCH for inviting us today. The performance was incredible. We had children singing the songs all the way back to school. Please send my congratulations to the cast and crew. It really was great, and I was smiling throughout. It was so lovely to see some of my ex-students and feel full of pride.
Good luck with the rest of the shows Winston!
What an amazing show! Congratulations it was incredible. The cast, crew, tech and pit band were all outstanding! Please pass on my congratulations.
Just want to say thank you for giving my daughter such a wonderful opportunity, and for trusting her with having her own songs. When I tell you she has had the best time this week, I truly mean it. She’s grown/rekindled friendships, which has meant so much to her, and she is absolutely buzzing with confidence from all the compliments she’s been given. It has been a very positive experience for her, and one I’m sure she’ll treasure forever. Well done on another wonderful show. Those kids are so lucky to have you.
Also I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your efforts with the show it really was brilliant and we all really enjoyed it. I know have a very excited 9yr old who can't wait to be big enough to join Winston so she can do shows like her big sister. But also for giving my daughter such a wonderful opportunity helping back stage and training under SLT. She has always enjoyed performing but now seeing her so excited about getting involved with the behind the scenes stuff as well is great, she is absolutely loving it, so thank you.
Please can you pass on how much all the children and staff at our Primary School loved the show. It was so funny and confidently performed. Many of the children were singing the songs on the way back and they kept talking about their favourite parts of it. Having taught a number of the cast, it always fills me with pride to see the confidence the students have and how well they are doing. Thanks for the invite and I look forward to seeing next year's show!
Hello, just to say I saw the show on Wednesday and was once again blown away. I can’t imagine the amount of work that has gone into producing something of such a high standard. Have to give a special mention to Tilly who played Elle as she was truly outstanding. Lucy is loving every minute of the show. I am seeing it again this weekend and I can’t wait!
Further to my previous email I just had to send this! I watched the other cast today and they were also fabulous! I will be singing “Oh My God…” all night!!! Loved it!
WOW Wow, OH my god that was the most amazing show what an awesome cast smiled and cheered all evening Thank you cast of 13th Feb
Wow, please tell the Legally Blonde cast that it was so incredibly good and they should all be so proud of themselves because WOW! The acting, the singing, the dancing, all 100/10!
Mr Harrington-Tucker
Head of Drama
