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The Musical in Concert
Theatre Royal, London
April 8-9
Based on the manga by Naoshi Arakawa
Music by Frank Wildhorn
Lyrics by Carly Robyn Green and Tracy Miller
Directed and Choreographed by Nick Winston
Cast: Zheng Xi Yong, Rumi Sutton, Rachel Clare Chan, Joanna Ampil, Dean John-Wilson, Eu Jin Hwang, Julie Yammanee, Jade Albertsen, Lauren Chia, Hannah Yun Chamberlain, Imogen Rose Hart, Yuki Abe, Chris Fung, Ernest Stroud, JoJo Meridith, Michael Lin, Samuel How, Jason Wang-Westland.
A high school musical in which the hero is a gifted pianist who inspires the heroine to become a violinist is more than ever a romantic dream when budget cuts are forcing music off the national curriculum.
In the fantasy world of “Your Lie in April”, based on a Japanese manga, adapted into a television series, a film, and now brought to London’s West End, even football is relegated to a poor second to musical prowess when it comes to winning teenage hearts.
However implausible that might seem, director Nick Winston makes the heartbreak that ensues powerful and intense as it is for teenagers waking up to the world and experiencing as brand new what could seem merely hackneyed.
In another antidote to our cynical times, he draws out the characters’ kindness, which prevails over school teasing and the terrorising of the hero’s tiger mum (Joanna Ampil).
For the many superfans, it inspires rapturous applause.
Even with the distance of age, there is much to enjoy, not least the youthful surge of audience emotion.
My reservation is the casting undermines the main tenet of the story that the April lie is the love the charming Kaori (Rumi Sutton) claims to feel for the sports captain Ryota Watari (Dean John-Wilson) when his warm humour and engaging presence risk stealing the show.
As Kõsei, the tormented pianist meant to be the emotional centre of it all, Zheng Xi Yong really can play, but is at his most believable as “Friend A”.
His Friend A meanwhile, another potential show-stealer, is Rachel Clare Chan as Tsubaki Sawabe.
She wins us all with a declaration of unrequited love hilariously overheard by half the school.
Your Lie in April
The Musical in Concert
Theatre Royal, London
April 8-9
Based on the manga by Naoshi Arakawa
Music by Frank Wildhorn
Lyrics by Carly Robyn Green and Tracy Miller
Directed and Choreographed by Nick Winston
Cast: Zheng Xi Yong, Rumi Sutton, Rachel Clare Chan, Joanna Ampil, Dean John-Wilson, Eu Jin Hwang, Julie Yammanee, Jade Albertsen, Lauren Chia, Hannah Yun Chamberlain, Imogen Rose Hart, Yuki Abe, Chris Fung, Ernest Stroud, JoJo Meridith, Michael Lin, Samuel How, Jason Wang-Westland.
A high school musical in which the hero is a gifted pianist who inspires the heroine to become a violinist is more than ever a romantic dream when budget cuts are forcing music off the national curriculum.
In the fantasy world of “Your Lie in April”, based on a Japanese manga, adapted into a television series, a film, and now brought to London’s West End, even football is relegated to a poor second to musical prowess when it comes to winning teenage hearts.
However implausible that might seem, director Nick Winston makes the heartbreak that ensues powerful and intense as it is for teenagers waking up to the world and experiencing as brand new what could seem merely hackneyed.
In another antidote to our cynical times, he draws out the characters’ kindness, which prevails over school teasing and the terrorising of the hero’s tiger mum (Joanna Ampil).
For the many superfans, it inspires rapturous applause.
Even with the distance of age, there is much to enjoy, not least the youthful surge of audience emotion.
My reservation is the casting undermines the main tenet of the story that the April lie is the love the charming Kaori (Rumi Sutton) claims to feel for the sports captain Ryota Watari (Dean John-Wilson) when his warm humour and engaging presence risk stealing the show.
As Kõsei, the tormented pianist meant to be the emotional centre of it all, Zheng Xi Yong really can play, but is at his most believable as “Friend A”.
His Friend A meanwhile, another potential show-stealer, is Rachel Clare Chan as Tsubaki Sawabe.
She wins us all with a declaration of unrequited love hilariously overheard by half the school.
Barbara Lewis © 2024.
By Barbara Lewis • music, musicals, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, music, musicals, theatre