Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Book: Dennis Hackin
Music & Lyrics: Chip Rosenbloom & John Torres
Director: Hunter Bird
“Fun, Wild Ride-Along”
4.5 / 5
Bronco Billy and his travelling circus have landed in Kansas – ready to wow the audience of 4 punters with their exciting Wild West show. They’ve run out of plates to smash, one of their stunt machines has broken and the ticket sales are so bad that they’re living off soup and beans – but one thing they still have in abundance, is spirit.
They refuse to let their circumstances get them down and are certain that all they need is one big break for them to finally bring their show to the masses and spread their message of love and reinventing yourself to anyone that will listen. So, when they hear an advert on the radio for a big talent competition on Hollywood – it’s a no brainer, they’ll saddle up and head West. On the way, they pick up hitchhiker Lily Rose, who quickly becomes part of the family and helps to bring in a wider audience for their show. What they don’t know – is that Lily Rose is actually Antoinette Lily (Emily Benjamin) – a candy bar heiress who is on the run to escape her evil money-grabbing relatives to avoid them voiding her father’s will and selling the company he built from scratch. The show follows the heartwarming band of friends on their adventure to make something of themselves, with occasional cut scenes to the Lily family and their hired assassin on the hunt to bring Antoinette down.
Amy Jane Cook’s set design captures the audience from the moment they enter the space. Brightly coloured fairylights and hearts are strewn across the ceiling – framing a giant disco ball. The festival-esque thrown together styling works perfectly in transporting you into the Bronco Billy circus tent. Based on an 80s movie starring Clint Eastwood – this musical jazzes up the original story and ramps up the campness. The heartwarming message of unity and acceptance shines through but is filtered down slightly to stop it being sickly sweet with the slapstick and farcical comedy that is threaded into various other scenes. Step-mother Constance Lily (Victoria Hamilton-Barritt) is a perfect example of this – almost pantomime villain like in execution, she commandeers the stage, channeling a Dallas soap opera character with her exaggerated gestures and humorous remarks. Her ‘Mama’s done with Sweets’ song is hilariously performed and is one of the comedic highlights of the show.
Bronco Billy (Tarinn Callender) is a fantastic lead – with wonderfully melodic vocals, seamlessly transitioning his singing style from musical pop numbers, disco, country and soulful ballads with ease. His on-stage chemistry with the fabulous Emily Benjamin works well, and both of them do a great job of portraying both their camaraderie and their blossoming romance together.
‘Ride With Us’ is an excellent showcase song, really championing the morals within the narrative, but all John Torres & Chip Rosenbloom’s numbers are well performed and it’s great to have a show with so much variety within the soundscape. Karen Mavundukure (Doc Blue) and Henry Maynard (Lefty Lebow) also stand out with their solos beautifully performed.
Bronco Billy doesn’t need a lasso to rope the audience into loving this heartwarming, fun, feel-good musical. There’s clearly been a lot of work put into it, from the songs to the set – this obviously ain’t their first rodeo! So, take a shot on this fantastic musical that’ll have you yee-haw’ing all the way home.
Runs Until 7 April 2024
RatedReviewed 