Showcasing the very best in local young talent, the Alexandra’s annual Stage Experience is open to anyone aged 9-24 years old who have a passion for performance, wardrobe, stage management or behind-the-scenes technical skills. Over the last few weeks, young performers and technicians from all over the West Midlands have intensively rehearsed to bring their latest production to life. 

With music by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, lyrics by Amanda Green and book by Jeff Whitty, Bring It On The Musical is very loosely based on the 2000 cheerleading film starring Kirsten Dunst.

Campbell Davis (Laura Bryan) achieves her goal of being named captain of the Truman High Cheerleading Squad, only to have her hopes dashed when she discovers that she has been redistricted to inner-city Jackson High School. 

Now at Jackson with her friend Bridget (Eden Wedgbrow), Campbell is horrified to discover that the school doesn’t have its own cheer squad, but has a dance crew, lead by the formidable Danielle (Brittany Jarman-Watson). She approaches Danielle about creating a cheerleading squad, and, after lying about the prizes available for the winning team, Danielle reluctantly agrees. But can Jackson achieve the impossible and get into the National Championships?

While I have never seen the musical before and only watched the movie once, it was one of my favourite shows this year with a wealth of talent throughout. Bryan excels in the role of Campbell, with strong vocals and an excellent presence whenever she is on stage. Jarman-Watson was equally as impressive as Danielle (with a powerhouse voice) and her character development from strong and no-nonsense to sweet and compassionate was a joy to watch. Eden Wedgbrow was fabulous in the role of Bridget – often stealing a scene with many of the comic moments within the show. There is great chemistry and vocal abilities throughout the cheerleading teams – the conceited and egotistical Skylar (Alexia Mouzakitis) and Kylar (Holly Boden) from Truman, and the sassy La Ciengega (Molly Ann Bache) and Nautica (Demi Mitchell) from Jackson and I enjoyed the contrast between the two. There are some rather impressive RAP moments from K’Vae Brown as Twig and Aidan Cooney as Cameron too. 

Bessy Hingley was probably the biggest surprise as the seemingly sweet and innocent (and most youthful looking of all the leads) Eva, who suddenly morphs into the scheming villain, and Hingley does this beautifully. 

Similarly to last year’s production of FAME, the ensemble performances really took the show to a new level, not just with their well-executed vocals and choreography, but with the addition of cheerleading routines, and it was done mostly with precision and accuracy. 

I’ve been privileged to watch Stage Experience performances on numerous occasions, and yet again it is extremely impressive to see such talent and maturity in such a young group of performers. Absolutely a must-watch!

Bring It On will be on stage at The Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 19th August 2023. Purchase your tickets here!