Last night, Koala had the privilege of watching Carolyn Maitland in her first solo show, Songs Chosen by You and Panda was extremely disappointed she was unable to make it.
Theatre Bears first saw Maitland in Miss Saigon, understudying the role of Ellen. She blew us away and it was the first time I, personally, really understood the character and felt for her situation.
Maitland’s voice is so clear and pure and everything she sings sounds effortless. She acts every word and you find yourself lost in the story of every song she sings.
I’m not a personal fan of the song Unchained Melody but I found myself enjoying the song for the first time ever during last night’s concert. It had been reworked and new arrangements put in place and it added something different and new to a song that has been sung hundreds of times before.
The last time I saw Maitland on stage was as Molly in Ghost. Her take on With You, a mashup alongside U2’s With or Without You, worked well and it was the first, but not only, time, I found myself with tears in my eyes. This also happened after hearing Maybe (a mashup of the same-titled song from From Here to Eternity and Miss Saigon) and Stars & Moon. The latter was a song I wasn’t already familiar with and it is such a clever, bittersweet song. From Songs of a New World, a woman dreams of having riches and wealth but, when she finally gets them, she realises it’s possibly not what she wanted after all and Maitland sang it beautifully.
Kieran Jae and Marsha Songcome, Maitland’s co-stars in Groundhog Day and Miss Saigon respectively, joined her on stage at intervals throughout. Jae’s voice has an earthy, rocky tone and their voices complimented each other well. I particularly enjoyed their duet of This is Life from Bandstand and I Still Believe, with Songcome, was another highlight.
Maitland is currently in rehearsals for Woman in White at Charing Cross Theatre and I would urge anyone who has never seen her in a show or heard her sing live to go and be blown away by the talent on stage. I will certainly be there and I look forward to, hopefully, hearing news of a second solo concert!
Theatre Bears first saw Maitland in Miss Saigon, understudying the role of Ellen. She blew us away and it was the first time I, personally, really understood the character and felt for her situation.
Maitland’s voice is so clear and pure and everything she sings sounds effortless. She acts every word and you find yourself lost in the story of every song she sings.
I’m not a personal fan of the song Unchained Melody but I found myself enjoying the song for the first time ever during last night’s concert. It had been reworked and new arrangements put in place and it added something different and new to a song that has been sung hundreds of times before.
The last time I saw Maitland on stage was as Molly in Ghost. Her take on With You, a mashup alongside U2’s With or Without You, worked well and it was the first, but not only, time, I found myself with tears in my eyes. This also happened after hearing Maybe (a mashup of the same-titled song from From Here to Eternity and Miss Saigon) and Stars & Moon. The latter was a song I wasn’t already familiar with and it is such a clever, bittersweet song. From Songs of a New World, a woman dreams of having riches and wealth but, when she finally gets them, she realises it’s possibly not what she wanted after all and Maitland sang it beautifully.
Kieran Jae and Marsha Songcome, Maitland’s co-stars in Groundhog Day and Miss Saigon respectively, joined her on stage at intervals throughout. Jae’s voice has an earthy, rocky tone and their voices complimented each other well. I particularly enjoyed their duet of This is Life from Bandstand and I Still Believe, with Songcome, was another highlight.
Maitland is currently in rehearsals for Woman in White at Charing Cross Theatre and I would urge anyone who has never seen her in a show or heard her sing live to go and be blown away by the talent on stage. I will certainly be there and I look forward to, hopefully, hearing news of a second solo concert!