Fame - The Musical

This touring production celebrates 30 years of the musical production and follows the fortunes of the Class of 1980 at New York's High School for Performing Arts.

From their auditions to graduation we follow as the students study drama, dance and music. The familiar songs and dance routines played against a simple but effective set depicting Year Book photos of past students.

With so much history and familiarity come expectation. Sadly, this production fails to deliver. It's hard to pinpoint where is misses the mark – but it's not the high octane energetic production you would anticipate. The cast don't seem to gel on stage and this translates to lack lustre dance routines and weary scenes which simply don't engage the audience.

Among an average cast, there are a couple of notable exceptions: Molly McGuire as Serena portrays a humorous and attractive character. The musicianship of the "music majors" Louisa Beadel (Lampchop) and Simon Anthony (Schlomo) outweighing the skills of others in dance or drama. In particular Alexander Zane, in his professional debut, who plays a mean trumpet.

Mica Paris plays Miss Sherman and her classroom solo is undoubtedly the highlight of the show.

Unlike the lyrics of its most memorable song, this production is unlikely to "live forever" in the memory of audiences.

Paula Luke