As movies go BUGSY MALONE has to be one of the most loved and watched of its time. In fact, it was on TV only the other day and memories came flooding back for me. Not only is it crammed with great songs and a fantastic story, but also features young actors who went on to achieve worldwide fame.

Bugsy also holds a special place for me as I did a lot of work around the movie release, particularly with the dance troupe who featured heavily in the film. You probably didn’t know this, but those girls actually hail from Sunderland in the North East of England.

So when they announced that BUGSY MALONE is taking to the stage once again and heading out on a national tour, which brings them to the Wales Millennium Centre this month, you can imagine my delight. In fact the capital is the first stop on the tour out of London this year.

I say once again, as the show was out in 2015 and was an absolute winner, picking up multiple awards along the way.

So what is the Bugsy all about?

Prohibition era, New York. A city full of mobsters, showgirls and dreamers. Rival gangster bosses Fat Sam and Dandy Dan are at loggerheads. The custard pies are flying and Dandy Dan’s gang has gotten the upper hand since obtaining the new-fangled “splurge” gun. Now, Fat Sam and his bumbling buffoons are in real trouble!

Enter Bugsy Malone, a penniless one-time boxer and all-round nice guy. All he wants is to spend time with his new love, Blousey, but can he resist seductive songstress Tallulah and stay out of trouble long enough to help Fat Sam defend his business…?

Bugsy Malone UK Tour (Photo: Johan Persson)

As I mentioned, the musical is based on the hit 1976 movie by Alan Parker, who is also from the North East (Islington to be precise) and launched the careers of Jodie Foster and Scott Baio and received eight BAFTA® nominations and three Golden Globe® nominations including Best Motion Picture for a Musical.

The music is fantastic and every song a winner. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be singing along to them all and that’s down to the writing genius Oscar®-winner Paul Williams. There’s; ‘So You Want To Be a Boxer including ‘My Name is Tallulah’, ‘You Give A Little Love’ and ‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’, BUGSY MALONE is a masterclass of musical comedy with one of the most joyously uplifting finales in musical theatre. 

BUGSY MALONE TOUR TRAILER

As you can imagine it’s a large cast for this tour. Not only are there a lot of people in the show but with age restrictions and the like, there are multiple players for the main roles. So bear in mind that who you see on stage could vary with each performance.

  • Bugsy Malone – Shaun Sharma / Gabriel Payne / Amar Blackman
  • Blousey Brown – Mia Lakha / Delilah Bennett-Cardy / Avive Williams
  • Fat Sam – Albie Snelson / Isham Sankoh / Charlie Burns
  • Tallulah – Taziva-Faye Katsande / Jasmine Sakyiama / Fayth Ifil
  • Fizzy – Aidan Oti / Jamie Northey-Dennis
  • Lena/Babyface – Cherry Mitra / Kayla-Mai Alvares / Ava Hope Smith
  • Dandy Dan – Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray / Kit Cranston / Desmond Cole.

They are joined by adult ensemble members: Georgia Pemberton, Alisha Capon, Lucy Young, D’Mia Lindsay Walker, Jessica Daugrida, Alicia Ally, Alicia Belgarde, Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Luchia Moss, Kalifa Burton, Rory Fraser, Andile Mabhena, Thomas Walton, Ru Fisher, Mohamed Bangura, Marcus Billany, Luke Mills and Will Lucas.

This production was produced by the Theatre Royal in Bath, Birmingham, Rep and Kenny Wax.

BUGSY MALONE gets to the Wales Millennium Centre from Tuesday, 17th January, through to Saturday 21st. Performances start at 7pm each evening with a 2pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets start at £17.50 with the show running around two hours 15 minutes. For more details, and tickets, go HERE.

We’ll be there on opening night to bring you our review and audience reaction, but from what we’ve seen and heard so far, this is a show not to be missed.