BRING IT ON
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
Date: 30 December (Thursday), 2:30pm
Seats: Stalls, Row FF, 5-6
(Seen with Jess!)
London has been a little bit crazy! Most everyone seems to have Covid, and it has really been affecting the west End shows. Many cast members have been out due to getting sick, and self-isolation requirements for close contacts mean that there have been 3rd covers playing roles for the first time. Great for the understudies and cover actors, but not so great for other shows when they have to get cancelled.
This show (Bring It On) was actually also cancelled in the lead up to Christmas, but luckily everyone was back in for this show. It was only a few shows after the Christmas break, after all. Jess and I decided to catch a matinee over our Christmas break.
We didn't know much about this musical. I have seen the movie it is based on, and Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on the music and lyrics - plus I didn't realise until the program that Jeff Whitty (of Avenue Q fame) wrote the book! So it has pedigree.
We actually almost ran late, as the tickets on the TodayTix app only had 'Southbank Centre' down as the theatre, so we headed for the main building. We popped to the bathroom beforehand and got to the theatre at 2.15, only to find out it was the wrong theatre and we needed to go to the Queen Elizabeth Hall in a different building! Luckily it was right next door so we still made it in time.
Unfortunately, the show itself wasn't a stand out. The music was fine - it wasn't particularly memorable (I couldn't sing you any songs from it) but you could tell Lin had a hand in it (particularly when someone started rapping!) The dance and cheer parts were definitely the highlight. The performers were amazing dancers and they were doing actual cheer, basket tosses and the like, right there on stage, which was very cool!
Some of the performers were great. I really liked the girl who played Eva (Campbell's nemesis - played by Alicia Belgarde), she was a little powerhouse when it came to singing and dancing! Bridget (Chelsea Hall) was also amazing, and unexpected because she seemed like she shouldn't have been very good. So great. I did feel like some of the actors might have been a bit poorly or off-colour though, as some weren't great. I think that some of them were on their first job as well, which might be a factor.
All in all, it was good. I am glad that we saw it, but I would rather go and see something else again instead. But I'm always glad to see something new!
