BWW Reviews: THE WEST END MEN, Vaudeville Theatre, June 4 2013

The West End Men is billed as an homage to the theatre, with established actors from London's west end paying tribute to roles they have played themselves along with other well known songs. Featuring Lee Mead, Matt Willis, David Thaxton and Glenn Carter it certainly boasts an impressive lineup of male talent.

At beginning of the show there was an announcement that Lee Mead has laryngitis but would still perform. As a result, several of the songs billed were not performed as he only took part in group numbers. It was commendable that he still took part and he gave an excellent performance but it was surprising that nobody else covered his songs. Due to sing Wicked's As Long As You're Mine as a duet with their special guest Kerry Ellis, the song was cut which seemed strange as although Lee Mead had played that role in the West End, so had Matt Willis.

There is no denying that this show is pure cheese from start to finish, but they manage to own it: the finest example of this being Willis performing his band Busted's hit Year 3000 - in fact, while all the boys gave an enthusiastic performance, it was Willis who appeared to be having the most fun on stage.

There is little introduction for the majority of songs and they would maybe benefit from stronger links between songs. The opening medley included Pure Imagination, Being Alive, Love Changes Everything and Music of the Night which was a bit too mismatched to work. The on-stage banter was clearly scripted and was slightly forced at a few points.

Kerry Ellis, appearing as their special guest until June 15th, honoured her recent stint in the Rent in Concert tour by singing Out Tonight followed by At Last and rounded off her solo section with a spine tingling Defying Gravity.

She appeared onstage for the finale as well: One Day More with additional vocals from the West End Men choir and Bohemian Rhapsody. These group numbers were excellent and one of the strongest moments of the evening and Ellis more than held her own against four strong male vocals.

With no set or storyline this is not your typical West End show and if you're looking for highbrow theatre then perhaps this is not the show for you. However, if you are looking for a good, fun night out, then the West End Men provides just that and from the standing ovation at the end, the rest of the audience seemed to agree.

The West End Men runs at the Vaudeville Theatre until 22nd June 2013. Tickets are available here.

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