Review: Fame the Musical 30th Anniversary Tour at Bournemouth Pavilion
I was brought up in the 1980’s and my TV programmes of choice were always Knight Rider, The A-Team, Dukes of Hazard and Fame.
In fact, I have clear memories of making up dance routines in my lounge, to the soundtrack of Fame – probably very badly!!
Last night, we were invited to relive our youth and see the 30th anniversary tour of Fame at Bournemouth Pavilion.
Set in 1984, the musical follows the lives of students at New York’s High School For The Performing Arts as they navigate their way through the highs and lows, the romances and the heartbreaks and the ultimate elation of life. This bittersweet but uplifting triumph of a show explores the issues that confront many young people today: prejudice, identity, pride, literacy, sexuality, substance abuse and perseverance.
The musical bursts open with the kids all auditioning for their places at the coveted New York High School For The Performing Arts. The successful candidates then meet their head of year, Miss Sherman, played by Mica Paris, before launching into the song “Hard Work”.
If you are thinking of taking the kids to see it, I would advise not to as Fame laced with less-than-subtle innuendos and the occasional swear word.
That said, it is packed full of spectacular dance routines, toe-tapping songs and raw emotion. Mica Paris steals the show the song, “These are my children”, closely followed by Stephanie Rojas as the feisty Carmen, but the whole cast are amazing with beautiful voices and live instrument playing.
The show ends on a high note and the finale gets the whole theatre on its feet with the whole audience dancing and singing along to Irene Cara’s theme tune – Fame! (I’m going to live forever)………
Fame the Musical is at Bournemouth Pavilion until 31st August, before it continues its tour around the country. Find more dates and locations at fameuktour.co.uk/
Disclaimer: We were guests of Bournemouth Pavilion for the purpose of a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
Katie
Wow! This sounds like such a fun event. I would love to go!
Cindy Batchelor
This looks so much fun! I haven’t heard of this one before!
jon
Oh my word my Sister would have LOVED to have seen this! She’s been such a huge Fame Fan since the original film!
Stacie
Ahhh! That looks so amazing! I love a good musical, and nothing could make a better musical than Fame.
eli
Ahh I remember watching a production of this show as a kid. This sounds like it would have been a great performance!
Tara Thorsen
This looks amazing! What a fun event to watch!
Myrah Duque
That looks so awesome! Fame is such a great musical. My daughter would love to see it.
kumamonjeng
Looks like a great show and I can see the dancers are all top grade. You can see it from their splits.
Kita Roberts
Wow! based on your photos..they all did awesome! They are so talented and I wish I had the chance to witness this in my own eyes!
Sam
Musicals have never been my thing, but I know that “Fame” has always been popular. It sounds like this was a great production.
Chad
This seems like a must see show!!! I love musicals and would see them all if i can.
Arya
I love music and musicals! Have you seen Hair? I saw them in Barcelona and it was exhilarating.
Catherine
I’ve always loved Fame and the score to it! Live shows are always so much fun it’s been ages…this looks like a good one!
Anosa
Oh wow, this looks like a lot of fun, what a way to celebrate the 30th anniversary.
Jasmine Hewitt
wow, this looks so fun! it looks like a great show! perfect for the musical lover
Rosey
I do love to see different forms of dance. What a great musical to see!
Alexandra Cook
This looks so much fun. Its been a long time since I have watched a musical show and this makes me feel to give myself me time and watch musicals.
Yeah Lifestyle
OMG! So glad you got to watch this at Bournemouth as we watched them when they were touring in Stoke and we had such a blast, the cast were so talented and the singing and dancing was ace too!!
Laura - Dear Bear and Beany
I love Fame! I would love to go and see this, I will see if its touring near me.
michelle twin mum
I loved Fame too and woudl really like to see this stage show. I think my girls are probably old enough to be Ok with the more adult content too. Mich x
Natural Beauty And Makeup
This looks like an amazing musical show! I am sure you had a great time there. Beautiful photos!
fashionandstylepolice
What a fab show! It looks like a fun show I would love to watch.
Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too
I’m an 80s child and can remember dancing around to FAME, sounds like a fantastic tribute to the film