Barrowman brings touch of glamour (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Singing TV star's guest is BBC show winner Jodie
11:30am Saturday 9th October 2010 in News By Emma Dunn
ALL the jazz and glitz of the West End was brought to the town last night as John Barrowman took to the stage.
Hundreds of fans crammed into the Oasis Leisure Centre to hear the star of screen and stage perform a medley of hits.
He covered a diverse range of music, from Shania Twain’s Man I Feel Like a Woman to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Memories.
Despite the certain age of his audience, women were dancing in the aisles and chanting for their musical hero.
He selected one lucky fan from the audience and gave her the hug of her life after she leapt on the stage.
The show itself was played out like Barrowman’s autobiography come to life, charting his move from Broadway to the BBC.
A band and four dancers adorned the stage with Barrowman always being in the spotlight.
Jodie Prenger, winner of the BBC show I’d Do Anything, was the surprise guest alongside Barrowman’s parents, who made a cameo appearance during the show. Prenger belted out a collection of stage songs as well as a few from her forthcoming album while Barrowman’s parents had the audience in stitches after they pretended to be James Bond and Pussy Galore.
Despite some empty seats, the auditorium was buzzing with the sound of music and everyone was singing along.
The audience was treated to a display of Barrowman’s personal photos, mapping his holidays, family moments and childhood.
Between the songs, Barrowman told the audience about his life on and off stage and let them into embarrassing anecdotes about himself.
The show’s finale saw the star duet with Prenger in spectacular style, with the audience left hanging onto the last note.
During the interval, and as the crowds left the Oasis, they were all beaming from ear to ear after getting their dose of Barrowman.
Comments(3)
MickieNewton
says...
5:18pm Sun 10 Oct 10
I run as fan group and some of our members are as young as 15! So we fans are not all of, as you so kindly put it, of a certain age!
The Real Librarian
says...
7:41pm Sun 10 Oct 10
MickieNewton wrote:I have to agree. I was there (the wife is a fan - birthday treat, nuff said.) We average being in our 30's.
"Despite the certain age of his audience"...You obviously haven't a clue of the fan base of John Barrowman...They range from 10 up!! My niece is a fan and she's only 11 plus the young fans who know his a Captain Jack in Doctor Who who will go to see him. I run as fan group and some of our members are as young as 15! So we fans are not all of, as you so kindly put it, of a certain age!
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On my left was a girl who could have been no more than 12 - on my right were a couple in their thirties and their son who must have been six - in the rows in front were a couple of fifty somethings, on the end of the row were some old folks in mobility scooters.
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As John Barrowman himself pointed out, every agegroup were in the audience, and everyone enjoyed it. He's not my first choice for a night out, but he put on a heck of a show, worked hard and cared whether people were enjoying it or not.
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rio2 says...
12:33pm Sat 9 Oct 10