Bring It On The Musical

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https://bringitonthemusical.com.au/

Date Reviewed: 28/08/2019

Review written by Cassie Cheeseman

Sydney has come alive with cheer spirit as Bring it On the Musical sets up a limited run at State Theatre. With songs, dancing, and of course cheerleading, this is a fantastic family-fun filled performance.

The well-loved Bring it On franchise has inspired this production, but make no mistakes, it’s a story you haven’t heard before. Act 1 sets the scene with the Upper-Middle Class Campbell taken away from her life as Cheer Captain of Truman High School and sent to Jacksonville High where Campbell aims to fit in to her new surroundings by joining the dance crew. But when she catches hint that her new circumstances were more intentional than coincidental, she does whatever she can to push her new schoolmates into the Cheerleading world. Act 2 then sees the results of this push as Campbell discovers the meaning of friendship and that there’s more to life than winning. Along the way there is killer one liner’s that make perfect teachable moments, like ‘if you do what you love with your time then you win’. But that’s not to say the production is void of humour, with the audience laughing out of their seats throughout the performance with comedic relief coming in all forms, including a leprechaun dance!

Kirby Burgess stars as Campbell alongside Jasmine Smith as her on again-off again best friend Danielle with both giving stellar performances. And the entire supporting cast is fantastic, filling each scene with a passion and conviction that brings the performances to life and fills the theatre with joy. The choice to bring in four trained cheerleaders (Kat Abela, Ossie McLean, Caitlyn Hammond and Daniel Buyeske) means the cheer scenes are especially breathtaking. 

The set design is basic, a completely understandable decision given the show is touring Australia with limited time in each state. However with a large number of scene locations throughout the performance this minimalist approach comes to the detriment of plot at some points and reduces authenticity, in particular through the overuse of four red lockers for countless different scenes. Lighting has been put together phenomenally by Declan O’Neill and is well adapted to the sizing of the State Theatre and likewise for the sound design by Greg Ginger. 

Producer David Venn and Director Alistair Smith have put together a brilliant production filled with laughter and joy without compromising on the heart and soul of the production. Bring it On the Musical is sure to thrill and delight everyone from families to those young at heart.