Bugsy Malone
by Alan Parker
April 2008

The Show

Gangland Boss Fat Sam is the owner of the best Speakeasy in town and has many illegal 'rackets' on the go within his empire. Fat Sam's weapons of choice? Custard pies! Bugsy is engaged to help out Fat Sam when Dandy Dan's rival gang get their hands on new weapons that fire splurge, making Fat Sam's custard pies look amateur and ineffective. And worse, he's gradually losing his own gang as the ruthless Dandy Dan picks them off easily putting Fat Sam's whole empire at risk. Bugsy has another problem though. He's just met would be singer and star Blousey Brown and completely under her spell has promised he'll take her to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. But Sam needs him and Bugsy needs the money Sam offers, so the Hollywood trip is looking unlikely. And then he gets mugged..... and Sam's girl Tallulah causes him all sorts of problems. How will Bugsy save the day and avoid the wrath of Blousey (not to mention her baseball bat)?

The Cast

In order of appearance (sort of)
Roxy Robinson … Vanessa Thomas
Bugsy Malone ... Joe Viner
Bronx Charlie … Lisa Merriman
Yonkers … Rebecca Bouston
Shoulders…. Mark Oliver
Benny Lee … Rhys Pritchard
Doodle ... Tom Ransford
The lads who wander around taking off splurged bodies and placing/playing scenery … Liam Stobart & Timmy Oliver
Barber ... Martha Cornwall
Flash Frankie ... Molly Piggott
Pop Becker … Freddie Goff
Fizzy ... Harriet Stack
Singers ... Annabel Adcock, Grace Thomas & Flora Harvey
Blousey Brown ... Emily Rooke
Tallulah (Top diva & Fat Sam's girl)… Eleanor de Rohan
Loretta (Showgirl) … Grace Thomas
Bangles (Showgirl) … Hazel Cornwall
Dotty (Showgirl) … Annabel Adcock
Tillie (Showgirl) … Flora Harvey
Joe the Barman … Freddie Goff
Customers at Fat Sam's ... Sophie Trigg, Mary Ann Wall, Victoria Stack, Molly Piggott, Martha Cornwall
Knuckles (Fat Sam's Right Hand Hood) ... Kirstin James
Ritzy (Fat Sam's Gang) ... Lewis Tudge
Louis (Fat Sam's Gang) ... Eliza Nenadich
Snake Eyes (Fat Sam's Gang) ... Alicia Parker
Fat Sam (Gangland Boss) ... Richard Hope
Cafe Customers ... Harry Hall, Kirsty Trigg, Mary Ann Wall, Sophie Trigg
Waitress ... Vanessa Thomas
Violinist ... Flora Harvey
Dandy Dan (Fat Sam's Arch Rival) ... Rupert Adcock
Louella (Dan's Girl) ... Alex Guy
Butler ... Molly Piggott
Oscar De Velt ... Liam Stobart
Singer ... Mary Ann Wall
The Great Marbini ... Freddie Goff
Ventriloquist ... Sophie Trigg
Snake Charmer ... Vanessa Thomas
Dancer ... Vicky Stack
Mystic ... Vanessa Thomas
Jolly Jade the Juggler ... Kirsty Trigg
Mime Artists ... Vanessa Thomas & Sophie Trigg
Bonnie & Clyde ... Freddie Goff & Kirsty Trigg
Lena Marrelli ... Mary Ann Wall
Seymour Scoop (Ace Reporter) ... Vanessa Thomas
Sound Man ... Archie Cornwall
O'Dreary (A Detective) ... Martha Cornwall
Captain Smolksy (O'Dreary's Boss) ... Molly PIggott
Shady (A Two-timing Canary) ... Harry Hall
Chinese Laundry Workers ... Mary Ann Wall, Sophie Trigg, Kirsty Trigg
Looney Bergonzi (A Crazy Hood) ... Tom Ransford
Leroy ... Tom Ransford
Cagey Joe ... Lewis Tudge
Boxers ... Archie Cornwall, Molly Piggott, Kirsty Trigg, Alicia Parker, Eliza Nenadich, Martha Cornwall, Sophie Trigg, Mary Ann Wall
Pickett ... Alex Guy
Down & Outs ... Archie Cornwall, Lewis Tudge, Alex Guy, Eliza Nenadich, Harry Hall, Kirstin James, Alicia Parker, Kirsty Trigg
Babyface ... Vanessa Thomas
Guards ... Liam Stobart & Timmy Oliver

Musical Direction & Choreography by Libby Vale

Directed by Barbara Hockley

The Crew & Credits

Voice Coaching ... Greg Swinford & Libby Vale
Props ... Sally Handley
Lighting ... Boz Farey
Stage Manager ... Barbara Hockley
ASMs ... Liam Stobart & Timmy Oliver
Splurge Guns under the control of ... Scarlett O'Donnell
Sound Engineer ... Ryan Maddox
Poster Design & Artwork ... Emma Gibbons
Costumes ... Alison Stobart & Barbara Hockley. With thanks to Ann Watson at The Conquest & Liz Burton at QE.
The Backstage De-spluging Stations were manned by Alison Stobart, Rosie Nenadich, Tracy Stack, Derry Hall, Bob Rooke, Sheila Steeds, Sally Handley & anyone else we could find able to operate a wet sponge
SOUND
Recorded by ... Jim Rolt
Sound Actors ... Josh Herriott, Mary Ann Wall, Victoria Stack, Alex Cofield, Kris Newby, Bethanie Evans, Bethan Clement, Matt Oliver, Joanna Handley
SET
Designers ... Barbara Hockley & Emma Gibbons
Construction ... Trevor Smith & David Hugman
Painters ... Barbara Hockley & Christine Hall
Dressers ... Barbara Hockley & Sally Handley
Shrubs & Cut-out Dandy Dan ... Martha Cornwall, Emma Gibbons & Connie
SPECIAL PROPS
Period telephones, microphone, leads & shoe shine box were made by Richard Orgee
The Splurge Guns were made by Jim Rolt (including the one that went horribly wrong for Knuckles)

THE BUGSY BAND:
Greg Swinford on Keyboard (Thursday & Friday)
Helen Doyle on Keyboard (Saturday)
Helen Doyle on Flute (Thursday & Friday)
Jim Rolt on Bass
Keith Handley on Drums
Kirstin James (aka Knuckles) on Saxophone
Matt Leek on Trumpet (Thursday & Friday)
Michael Prestage on Trumpet (Saturday)
Sam Hughes on Guitar

The Review

OTR May 2009

The Conquest Theatre stage turned into prohibition era Chicago for three nights at the end of March with an excellent production of 'Bugsy Malone' from the Conquest Youth Theatre, directed by Barbara Hockley. The musical was originally written by Alan Parker for a cast of children and wow! this cast must be exactly what he had in mind. Talented, hardworking and enthusiastic, the company of 8 to 14-year olds put on a wonderful show and their capacity audiences adored them.
Onto an evocative set strolled the eponymous Bugsy: Joe Viner was a likeable, humorous hero in this tongue-in-cheek tale of gangland rivalry. He delivered his quickfire lines in a faultless American accent and was absolutely convincing as the city slicker who lives on his wits and stays just this side of the law but exudes a powerful charm.
Emily Rooke played Blousey Brown, the sweet-faced singer from the sticks. Emily has a beautiful singing voice and her solo songs had a lilting and longing quality that held the audience attention, especially in 'Ordinary Fool'. Her acting emphasised precisely Blousey's wit and her spirit and determination.
Eleanor de Rohan was Tallulah, giving a memorable interpretation of the sophisticated but streetwise diva. In 'My name is Tallulah' she was glamorous and languid, singing and dancing in authentic style. Her spoken exchanges, particularly with Bugsy and Fat Sam, showed very good acting ability.
Fizzy was acted by Harriet Stack in wistful mood. In her lovely solo 'Tomorrow' she sang heartrendingly of Fizzy's thwarted ambition as a dancer, successfully holding the stage in this difficult sequence integrating the song with a slow tap routine.
Richard Hope gave us a splendidly irascible Fat Sam, in full control of his lines and with noticeably confident stage presence as he stormed around the headquarters of his racketeering empire.
The role of Dandy Dan was performed by Rupert Adcock, word-perfect and cool as the ruthless tactician. He controlled his gang with aplomb and maintained Dan's superior manner throughout the show.
Delightful players entered the action as other characters: Lewis Tudge gave a fine rendition of Cagey Joe's 'So you wanna be a boxer'; Kirstin Thomas played a loveable Knuckles, the loyal but inept hoodlum; Tom Ransford certainly packed a punch as Leroy the 'heavyweight' boxer; the inefficient Captain Smolsky (Molly Piggott) and sidekick O'Dreary (Martha Cornwall) made the audience giggle; Vanessa Thomas took several nice cameo parts and I especially noticed her brief appearance as an exasperated waitress.
The showgirls were a lively, entertaining troupe, tap-dancing stylishly in routines impeccably choreographed by Libby Vale. The atmosphere of the brash Speakeasy came across in their songs, and their costumes were stunning, absolutely right for the era. In fact all the costumes in this production were wonderful, featuring natty suits and homburg hats for gangsters, together with lavish day and evening outfits for their molls. Every character's clothing had been considered carefully, including multiple costume changes for the majority of the cast.
The set with its Art Deco backdrop gave an instant evocation of the period, while the multi-levelled stage represented the street, the Speakeasy, Dandy Dan's home and Fat Sam's office. This meant that the action could move smoothly from one place to another. Specific props are worth a mention, too: for example old style telephones faithfully reproduced and fitted onto the set, and splurge guns specially designed as the modern weaponry at the centre of the turf wars. There must also now be a few more people in Bromyard who can mix a mean old-fashioned custard pie!
An on-stage band of local musicians accompanying all the numbers contributed to the feel-good factor of this fantastic show. Finally, though, a performance cannot take place without backstage support from innumerable crew. Watching 'Bugsy Malone' it was obvious that much devotion had gone into its realisation. I'm sure that the event I saw and enjoyed so thoroughly had entailed endless design, preparation, rehearsal and backstage manoeuvring and I greatly admire all the people whose skills contributed to this fantastic production. I look forward to the next appearance of the Conquest Youth Theatre.

Pictures of Bugsy Malone in rehearsal

Click any thumbnail to see a larger version

Please note: The Splurge guns, some of the costumes and props used in this production can be hired from Offbeat Theatre