Iberostar's Musical Review With Neon Lights Just as Bright as Broadway

You wouldn't think of hearing your favorite Broadway tunes live on the island of Jasmacia but that's exactly what guests were treated to last night Iberostar's Grand Rose Hall Hotel, a five star beach resort in beautiful Montego Bay, where a talented and fearless group of local singers and dancers (some with Broadway level skills) put on a spectacular show that caught the Whisperer's attention.

Tackling Broadway is risky business for anyone since there is afterall something a standard to be compared to. Why then would a small island cast with such a small stage take on big bad Broadway. Question no more--these undaunted performers took command and transformed the dimly lit lounge to the 42nt street theatre district. And soon we were all tapping our feet and singing along with them as they eased on down memory lane.

The show was not problem free, of course. The band actually stood in front of the stage and partailly obstructed the view of the performance. And at times, the sound was blaring and unbalanced. Nonetheless, the show was smarlty conceived and visually exciting. For straters, it was intriguing to see a neraly all black, primarily West Indian cast perform Broadway showtunes. As they began to beautifully re-interpret familar tunes and dance numbers, it became clear that these were well trained, high caliber professional performers capable of impressing even the most cynical of critics. The large and actively changing greenscreen in back of the stage, daringly colorful costumes, spirited choreography and professional sound and lighting more than compenasted for the limitations of working within a small stage at the Grand's Exodus theatre.

From Beauty and the Beast to Lion King to Hair to Cats,to Phantom of the Opera, the Iberostar performers were sucsessfully able to put a refreshing Jamacian spin on these classics. Two singers who did a showstopping rendition of Beauty and the Beast (Craig & ???) were particularly impressive as were two dancers, Kemar Forrest and Ricardo Burgess (who did an amazing interpretive dance of the Lion King) who stood out as potential Broadway level performers.

Enjoyable from start to finish, the Iberostar's Broadway Tunes Show was well worth the 10pm start. Catching this gem of a show entails flying into Montego Bay and checking into the beach resort and probably spending a few days to see the cast perform other shows. (Tough work but someone's gotta do it).

BAW

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