The third in Thespie.com’s series of concerts (after Unlimited: The Songs of Stephen Schwartz and Oops…I Streamed It Again) sees the original cast of Six come together to sing songs from girl bands from the 1940s to the present day. The seven women’s enthusiasm is infectious and will have you sofa bopping for sure.
Girl Power begins in black and white as the women, all in sparkly costumes, perform The Andrews Sisters’ Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and immediately you know you are in good hands for this 40-minute concert. Ignoring the 50s (and disappointingly the 80s) the next song is The Shirelles Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? While all the women are equally as talented as each other, Jarnéia ( Jaye J) Richard-Noel, with her soulful tone, often seems to be the primary singer in this ensemble effort.
Not all the songs selected are obvious ones with Motown being represented by The Supremes’ late hit Up The Ladder To The Roof, which the girls belt out with such glee and gusto that they want to perform it again immediately. Another less obvious choice is Too Much by The Spice Girls and which sounds surprisingly jazzy in this version.
Other songs are more familiar. Of course, there is Lady Marmalade and the girls put on some basques to complement their sexy choreography, and although the track is well known, the girls manage to make it sound new again. Likewise their mellow version of En Vogue’s Don’t Let Go (Love) is a wonderful reminder of the 1990s.
Indeed, all the songs are well chosen and energetically performed, and the only downside in this short concert is the chat where the women discuss who has inspired them, and a rather long section when they have to describe each other in three words. While they all come across as very nice, their personalities are best displayed on stage when they are singing. We could have another two tracks if it wasn’t for these lightweight interviews. The songs fly by too quickly, as it is.
They finish with two more recent tracks: Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, and then finally another banger, Power, by Little Mix, the biggest girl-group in the last decade. With Jesy Nelson leaving the band in the last week, Little Mix could easily recruit one of the women from Girl Power to make up numbers. But Little Mix’s gain would the West End’s loss.
Runs here
The Reviews Hub Score
Short but sweet.
