Fame – The Musical
Published By Dónal on Saturday January 23rd, 2010 at 21:55
When I watched the 2009 version of Fame in the cinema last year, (having first seen the 1980 version on DVD some months previous) I could never have imagined how much more this show would come to mean to me just a few short months later.
Auditions for “Fame – The Musical” (presented at the Theatre Royal, Waterford by Stella Maris Secondary School, Tramore) were announced in my school, in late November. I remember my very first thoughts were “please, don’t be full of 80’s cheese!” followed by “I hope I get in, this could be a lot of fun!”. I’m glad to say that I auditioned and got in, that there’s only a little bit of cheese and the craic is mighty!
Tramore’s own Anne O’Riordan (star of countless local productions and had a small parts in the RTÉ’s “The Clinic” and the film “32A”) is making her directorial début with a bang up-to-date production of the musical version of Fame. Music Teacher and all-round musical genius Damien O’Brien is Musical Director and is currently working on all the various songs with us and putting together our impressive harmonies.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been sinking my teeth into the lead role of Nick Piazza, an “ambitious, enthusiastic, classical actor who is very serious about acting and has hidden romantic interest for Serena Katz”.
A lot of my closest friends are heavily involved in the show and I’ve made loads of new friends (for life) along the way too! Here’s to the best production of Fame ever seen, break a leg everyone!
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Just when I thought Fame couldn’t possibly seep into my conciousness any further, I was watching The Late Late Show last night when on came an item launching a new TV talent search produced by RTÉ and ScreentimeShinAwiL entitled, you guessed it: “Fame – The Musical“.
From the press release:
RTÉ Television and Screentime ShinAwiL (Popstars, You’re A Star, The Apprentice & Dragons’ Den) today (Friday 22 January), launched Ireland’s biggest ever musical-theatre search to find the male and female stars of Fame The Musical. The search for the male and female lead will feature in a 10-week TV series on RTÉ One television in April, with the winners embarking on a nationwide tour of the West End production, Fame The Musical.
Leading the search will be stage producer Robert C Kelly, actor and director Simon Delaney and actress and singer Erica Gimpel, who starred as “Coco Hernandez” in the original “Fame” TV series. Auditions will take place in Dublin, Cork and the heart of the West End in London where budding Irish performers can showcase their talent.
The judges are looking for singers with a strong dance and acting ability to step forward and wow them. After auditions and an intense workshop phase where performers will be put through their paces, the judges will select who will go through to the live TV shows and battle it out over eight weeks, on the Helix stage, live in front of the nation. Only two will be crowned the winners and take their pride of place in the nationwide tour of Fame The Musical.
In case you’ve never heard of Erica Gimpel before, heres a video of her in action in “The Kids From from Fame” performing “Showtime”.
A very experienced director, Robert C Kelly; an absolutely legendary actor, Simon Delaney and an actress who starred in the classic TV version of the show, what a super team!
So, it sounds like it’ll be a great show and an interesting watch for the Tramore cast of Fame given that we’ll know the script back to front by the time this show airs in April!
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