By Tim Todd
On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to Beyond the Barricade 25th Anniversary tour at the Granville Theatre in Ramsgate. This show is the brainchild of Andy Reiss and David Fawcett, the show is very simple, but very, very affective.
The show is made up of three musicians and four singers (David, Andy, Katie Lemming and Zara, as Sarah Ryan was Unavailable) singing hit songs from several well-known west end and Broadway musicals including The Lion King, Hamilton, Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story.
The show ends with several songs from Les Misérables including Stars, Bring Him Home, Master of the House and a 4-person version of One day more (usually in the West End this is performed with a cast of over 35)
All the vocalists have played principals at Les Misérables, which as many will know is the West End’s longest running musical.
For me personally i found Andy’s vocals were exceptional considering he was also playing keys and providing musical direction to his fellow colleagues. Some of my favorite songs he led on were Master of The House, Stars and You’ll be back from Hamilton. I also found that David gave an exceptional rendition of Bring Him home (One of My favorites from Les Misérables). Katie and Zara provided superb versions of Don’t cry for me Argentina and Thing of me from Phantom of The Opera.
It was nice and unexpected to hear some newer musicals including Come from Away, Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen.
If you are a musical theatre fan, i would recommend you see Beyond the Barricade before it finishes its 25th Anniversary tour, I really hope it returns to The Granville Theatre at some point soon.
I’m giving this show a star rating of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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