School's Out Michelle Moss School Of Dance And Performing Arts

THE Michelle Moss School Of Dance And Performing Arts has undertaken its first musical show, School's Out. It features highlights from six musicals – High School Musical, Fame, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Annie and Grease – with a wide range of different ages playing the lead roles.

All the cast have clearly worked very hard over the past few months to create a great show and it was a credit to them, especially given the pleasant weather which no doubt deterred a few theatre-goers.

The show opened with High School Musical and although the cast put in a strong performance, it did strike me that nobody looked as though they were enjoying themselves very much. But once the nerves abated, the confidence of the performers grew.

Congratulations are in order to both Charlotte Price and Natasha Walker, who stepped in with just two days to go to take on the roles of Jan in Grease and Carmen in Fame – you'd never know they hadn't been playing the roles for long. I very much enjoyed the highlights from Wicked and Annie. For me, the star of the show was Filippa Distefino, who played Elphabe in Wicked, and Rizzo in Grease. Kayleigh Barnes as Annie was a pleasant surprise as well; she started off quietly then suddenly let loose with an amazing voice.

The cast should be pleased with themselves, but next time, please smile – it makes the audience feel better too.

Victoria Power