Popstars! The 90s Musical

It's boy band vs girl band in this hilarious musical from the writing team that brought you the previous Xavier production, Back to the ‘80s.

Popstars is packed with smash hits from the hyper-coloured 1990s by artists such as The Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, MC Hammer and many more.

It's set in a school in the 1990s where Mark (Lennox Broadley) is head over heels in love with his girlfriend, Queen Bee, Shannon Van de Witt (Evie Sargent).

When Shannon learns that pop band impresario Simon Austin (Jake Sayer) is the surprise judge at the State Talent Show she dumps Mark for her chance at showbiz stardom.

Mark rapidly goes from High School hero to High School zero. His garage band buddies rally around him and soon a plan for revenge is hatched to change their grunge band to a boy band and snatch the Talent Show title from Shannon’s Candy Girls.

There’s just one small problem ... the boys can’t dance. Mark enlists the help of the ultra- talented new girl, Ella (Miah Bradley), to help with their boy band makeover and sparks soon fly.

Can Mark get the girl, get the Grand Prize and get even with the scheming Shannon closing in? It’s anyone’s guess as the countdown to the Grand Finale begins.

Popstars was a hit, with audience members enthralled by the narrative, genuinely connected to each character and singing along with the great ‘90s soundtrack.

A 73 strong team of cast, band and production crew brought great creativity, energy and teamwork to this production.

Every aspect was exemplary.

I was thoroughly impressed with the high production values brought to this musical.

From the warm welcome from front-of-house personnel to the lavish paperless programme.

An uncomplicated yet highly functional modular set that afforded crisp scene changes.

A band that displayed competence, versatility and a great feel for the music that belied their tender ages.

Choreography that engaged with, and enhanced both the music and the narrative.

A clever and effective lighting plot that never left anyone in the shadows.

A sound plot that allowed every nuance of the music, lyrics and dialogue to be distinctly heard.

And some breathtaking performances and characterisations.

All 14 leads were outstanding and there were some standouts in the ensemble too.

Some of the vocals were astonishingly good (take a bow Georgia Rose and Miah Bradley) and some characters were so well formed (Miah Bradley, Evie Sargent, Dominic Gilhooley, Bryce Rando and Jack Alexander).

I’m not a fan of jukebox musicals, but this was something special. Great music and an engaging narrative.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the creative minds behind ‘Popstars’.

Allysha Hodges (Drama Teacher and Entertainment Teacher) - Director and Production.
Leanne Broadley (Music Teacher) Vocal Director.
Georgia Quinn (Music Teacher) Band Director.
Sarah Ward (Dance Teacher) Choreographer.
Jasmin Rogers (Art Teacher) - Sets and Design.

Popstars was an immensely uplifting and enjoyable experience.

Easily one of the best musicals I have seen in years.

To everyone who participated. Well done!

Graham Whittington