Natalie Weiss Stagey Sunday: Leicester Square Theatre, London
Reviewed 22nd April 2018
Wow! Natalie Weiss must forever now be known as the absolute Queen of mash-ups! This one-off concert, the first in two years, from the Broadway star Natalie Weiss was full of belts, riffs and sensational vocals.
Natalie, who was most recently Molly in Ghost and previously appeared in the Les Miserables Tour in America, interspersed her superb set with stories about herself. She is certainly not afraid to take the mickey of herself and has a fantastic comical way of telling every story. YouTube videos catching her mid burb during her 2016 concert in London and embarrassing family photos of Natalie in her youth played on two screens to the side and perfectly complimented her stories and songs.
The audience were a mixed bunch. Clearly there were some performers, avid fans and relative newbies and Natalie’s eclectic set list ensured that everyone had something that they would recognise and enjoy. However, when someone sings as well as Natalie it is hard not to enjoy it. A clever mash-up of Natalie Imbruglia’s song Torn and You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen was brilliantly performed and acted. Another brilliant mash-up was her collection of songs to ‘strut’ to. This hilarious mash-up consisted of a range of songs from Rent to Hello Dotty, Barbie Girl to Mary Poppins! All of which were performed effortlessly despite the swift change of song, rhythm and pace.
Natalie’s set list included some modern chart hits like Castle on a Hill and theatrical songs such as She Used To Be Mine from Waitress. It seems that Natalie can tackle almost any song and give a flawless performance. This was demonstrated perfectly as she sang With You from Ghost whilst also fighting her way out of a giant paper bag! Whilst the scenario had the audience giggling, the emotion from Natalie’s voice was audible and when she finally emerged triumphant from the bag the emotion was plain to see on her face. If Stephen Schwartz really did say she couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag perhaps he needs to see this performance!
Natalie was joined onstage by Alice Fearn, current Elphaba in Wicked, for one duet. The song suited both their voices perfectly and their vocals complimented each other. Natalie was also accompanied by a 5-piece band and three fantastic backing singers, each of whom got their, brief, moment in the spotlight. The harmonies created were lovely and the subtle lyrics and one-liners performed by the backing singers were great.
All in all, this was one seriously stagey Sunday concert from a highly talented singer who certainly knows how to put on a show and entertain an audience. Lets just hope that she doesn’t leave it another 2 years before her next concert this side of the pond!
Musical Manda 