Review: MARISHA WALLACE, Royal Albert Home

The Royal Albert Hall continue their online programming in spite of closing their doors, bringing to our screens a ray of sunshine in the shape of Marisha Wallace to ease the lockdown blues. The West End and Broadway favourite shone with positivity, bringing the party from her living room straight to ours with a soulful mix and her joyous disposition.

With a set-list that spanned all her influences like Glorya Gaynor, Prince, Chaka Kahn, a great de rigueur dose of musical theatre, and a big Whitney Huston medley, the powerhouse prompted her virtual audience to join in and belt those notes along with her.

"We're in quarantine, but we're going to have a good time!" she promised early on during the stream. And a good time was indeed had as her stunning renditions of beloved songs interwove messages of hope and healing.

She stressed how one's mental attitude is crucial in times of distress, opening up and sharing a personal experience early on in her singing career as an example. The 45 minutes of positively overwhelming talent and joy even saw a costume change to support the mood, tying up a tremendous gig.

She concluded the set with one of the songs that have defined her path to musical theatre stardom, delivering an astonishing interpretation of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", an unmissable number in her repertoire.

While it feels slightly odd to relegate such a colossal performance to a screen instead of letting it loose on a stage in an exchange of energy and emotion with the crowd, the Royal Albert Home series is genuine proof of the untameable power of music and the undebatable prowess of their line-up.

You can re-watch Marisha Wallace's set here, or you can check out the upcoming events in the Royal Albert Home series here. You can also support the Royal Albert Hall by donating to them directly here.

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