Stephen Dunstan

Stephen Dunstan learns to bend and snap on his latest musical outing to the Winter Gardens Opera House. Legally Blonde is the latest musical film adaptation to grace the Winter Gardens closely following The Bodyguard, Shrek and Madagascar among others. This time it’s an amateur staging by Encore Productions, though generally you would have been hard pressed to tell it apart from the professional outfits. Younger readers may not be familiar with the original film that came out at the turn of the millennium. It is a tale about a party loving cheerleader who is ditched by her boyfriend as…

A vibrant adaptation with plenty for younger audience members, but slick and cheeky enough to keep adults engaged, this musical adaptation of the Dreamworks animation is a top rate family entertainment. Hot on the heels of Shrek at Christmas another classic kids film musical came to the Winter Gardens last night. Madagascar starts at six o’clock for each of the three evening performances in this cameo run and being able to get children home by mid-evening is a smart move. The adaptation is faithful to the plot of the original Dreamworks animation. Animals in New York’s Central Park Zoo escape…

Storm Jocelyn rolled into town along with the Calendar Girls last night, bringing some much needed sunshine to the January malaise I’m fond of talking about the weather at opening nights at the Winter Gardens. Last night you couldn’t really ignore it, as Storm Jocelyn rolled into town at the same time as the late Bill Kenwright’s musical adaptation of Calendar Girls. In contrasting ways the weather and the production made an impact on those who made the effort to make their way to the Opera House. It’s kind of hard to remember that twenty years ago ‘respectable women’ of…

An all singing-all dancing musical adaptation of the hit Dreamworks film has arrived in town. Stephen Dunstan took his daughter along – 23 isn't too old for true family entertainment. Following the recent storms and incessant rain, the opening night of Shrek the Musical’s extended run at the Winter Gardens was blessed with a calm evening. There was a real festive energy in St John’s Square as lots of young people were gathered both for the hit musical and the Blackpool Music Service Christmas Festival. In both cases an important question would be how entertaining were they for the accompanying…

It might be a show based on men getting their kit off but that's never been the point of The Full Monty. Stephen Dunstan saw the stage adaptation of the classic film at Blackpool Winter Gardens It’s over a quarter of a century since the release of the British film comedy The Full Monty. It remains one of my favourite films, the racy finale coming at the end of a warm portrait of a community following the closure of the Sheffield steel plants. Tonight a stage adaptation of the film by the original screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy came to the…

TV personality and veterinarian Noel Fitzpatrick – or Supervet – arrived at Blackpool Grand Theatre with his one man show this week. Stephen Dunstan says it was a strange concept for a show but had all the emotional elements of the best telly. A lectern with laptop, a hay bale and an old fashioned radio on stage before the show began were an intriguing combination. They didn’t entirely clarify how the show would go beyond Noel Fitzpatrick’s long-running television series, but an appreciative audience were taken on an interesting journey. Things kicked off with a pre-recorded film, rather reminiscent of…

A strong vocal lead carried the legacy made by Whitney Houston in the 1990s hit film. The Bodyguard is at the Winter Gardens Opera House until Saturday. For those of a certain age mention The Bodyguard and their mind will wander back to the early 1990s Warner Brothers romantic thriller, and in particular Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You that featured on the soundtrack and spent ten weeks at number one. Since 2012 there has also been a stage musical, and a large audience was in the Winter Gardens Opera House on a damp November…

The sun will come out tomorrow, and for all of Annie’s run in Blackpool until Saturday. For this evening’s premiere this meant alfresco drinks and dining for many beforehand, and summer dresses and t-shirts in the auditorium. It boded well for a great evening and the large audience was not disappointed. Casting can be crucial in productions of established favourites, and one of the interesting features of this production is Craig Revel Horwood in the key role of orphanage matriarch Miss Hannigan. For the opening night only however this role was undertaken by Jodie Prenger. As a Sandgrownun with rich…