TALENTED young actors in Chipping Sodbury proved if You Give a Little Love it certainly will all come back to you in their glitzy, gangster production Bugsy Malone.
Shooting Stars Theatre Company once again pulled out all the stops to stage this much-loved musical set in 1920s Prohibition New York when Fat Sam (Joe Heron) faces losing his entire empire to long-term rival Dandy Dan (Flow Hillson).
Sam’s only hope is chancer Bugsy Malone (Jake Palmer) and well, everybody loves that guy, including showgirl hopeful Blousey Brown (Ellie Carter) and Sam’s glamorous girlfriend Tallulah (Rhiannon Williamson).
Chipping Sodbury School student Jake Palmer takes complete control of the stage from his first perfectly-accented American line. The young actor and singer’s attention to detail is impressive, giving everything he has to become everyone’s favourite hero and at the same time show his heart has been stolen by Blousey.
Rhiannon Williamson, who sings alongside Jake in local band Broken Vinyl, really ups the stakes with her singing, belting out a brilliant version of My Name is Tallulah while Ellie Carter is perfectly cast as nervous newcomer Blousey.
Liam Palmer is adorable as Fat Sam’s general dogsbody Fizzy while Ryan Sheppard plays witless boxer Leroy with a perfect amount of indifference. Alongside the principal characters are a splendid array of aspiring dancers, singers and actors from the local area who bring this mobster musical to life with brilliant individual performances, well-choreographed dance routines as well as the odd splurge gun or two.
Shooting Stars performs two shows a year and holds auditions for new members in September.
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