BWW Reviews: WEST END WOMEN, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, December 1 2014

Having seen countless musical collaboration concerts over the years, I thought I knew what I was in for with West End Women. However, instead of relying on celebrity status to sell tickets the producers have booked the highest quality talent from musical theatre with Ria Jones, Kerry Ellis and Joanna Ampil. From the elegant backdrop to the song selection and beautiful dresses this was utter class from start to finish.

While each leading lady has her role that she is best known for, the producers weren't afraid to mix things up a bit. While Kerry Ellis is obviously well known as Elphaba in Wicked, she had the chance to sing the Glinda parts of For Good. All three have performed as Fantine in Les Miserables so we were treated to the most beautiful trio arrangement of I Dreamed A Dream. I'm at risk of listing the entire setlist when discussing highlights of the concert - there were so many.

I had never been lucky enough to see Ria Jones before and I think I might just have a new favourite diva. Her performance of All That Jazz prompted the loudest applause of the night and I adored her medley from Evita. Between songs the onstage banter between the three was relaxed and I believe unscripted, which added a really lovely touch. Joanna Ampil was incredible in every song she performed and you could have heard a pin drop during Memory and On My Own. I have seen Kerry Ellis numerous times and I am always surprised by how much she still blows me away. Her voice is just beautiful and it was a real treat to hear the Elaine Paige part from I Know Him So Well. Kerry also really shines during the more upbeat and fun songs where she really just looks like she is having the best time on stage.

Although he was billed as a "special guest" Rory Taylor got a large share of stage time, which I was very grateful for as I am a huge fan. He added a lovely balance to the evening and his rendition of Bring Him Home was stunning. I loved the touring production of RENT so I was thrilled to find that it was the same musical director, band and several ensemble members behind West End Women. Seasons of Love was the Act 2 opener and Rory, Kerry and Joanna followed with a fabulous Without You. I know I said that I didn't want to go through the setlist but you would be surprised how much they managed to fit in and I haven't covered. It would be remiss of me not to mention that there was a Miss Saigon medley - and it was amazing.

The other thing that made this concert stand out against the many others that I have seen is that everybody onstage appears to be really enjoying themselves. It isn't simply a case of going through the motions and doing karaoke versions of showtunes (believe me, I have sat through that numerous times) these are songs that they genuinely enjoy performing and seem thrilled to be singing together. The arrangements of the songs are beautiful and the whole concert seems to have been put together with a great deal of care.

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