Leading Voices LDN is a professional musical theatre choir founded by performer and composer Ralph Warman, launched in Jun 2025. Warman has now produced and participated in three concerts with the choir.
Their debut show was last summer, and their Winter show celebrated Christmas songs in the genre, and Fresh Off The Score now turns to summer with 12 performers showcasing the next generation of musical theatre creators.
Taking over the Union Theatre for two concerts on a hot Sunday afternoon, Fresh Off The Score includes songs from a range of repertoire. The most well-known shows due to their London runs last year are Ballad Lines, by Finn Anderson, and Hot Mess, by Jack Godfrey, represented by two songs each.
First, let’s look at the music picked for this summer-themed showcase. 12 songs in Act One; 9 in Act Two. Quite a few are composed by British women, such as Verity Quade and Rachel Walker Mason.
Some musicals are still in development – some, like Raising Gays (by Jordan Paul Clarke, in concert at the Garrick on 5 Jul), are starting to make their way before an audience.
It’s a mix of solos, both lively and poignant, and sparkling choral pieces buzzing with humour and charm. It includes closing numbers (“Dear Rose” from Emma Vieceli’s Unfolding) and opening songs (“Prologue” from Ballad Lines).
Topics range from a lads’ holiday abroad to a genteel “Spring Day in Devon” (Grace O’Keefe and Tom Arnold’s Sense & Sensibility). There are songs celebrating women (“The Time is Now” from Helen Arney and Jenni Pinnock’s The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade) and queerness (Tom James McGrath’s “You Need A Daddybear”).
The 12 singers represent all voice types, with 3 each of soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Charlie-Jade Jones‘s delicacy (“Dear Rose” from Vieceli’s Unfolding) sits against Marnie Yule‘s rich depth in group pieces; Ifan Jones‘s comic boom (“No Interval Show”, by Neil Bastian and Winston Eade) contrasts with Samuel Winner‘s melody (“Tomorrow” from Hot Mess).
These are all accomplished performers: Jessica Duncan – who also acts as movement director – and Sinead Hegarty write and perform solo as well as in big ensembles. Joe Partridge – whose “Daddybear” routine involves a gutsy transformation – is noted for his smooth and expressive vocals.
Eliza Waters of Heathers fame offers a strong take on Hot Mess‘s “Happy”, while the choir’s gender split – including a couple of non-binary performers – offers depth and tone to the group pieces, particularly “Stick To The Plan” from Jordan Li-Smith and Gareth Mattey’s Theo In Between).
The staging is minimalist – the musicians (Felix Elliott, MD and keys, who also contributes their song “Room For Rent” to the line-up; Joe Korner, guitarist) at one side, music stands for iPad/tablets and microphones to be moved when required. It gives a cluttered look to some numbers, but it is the songs that matter.
Dylan Lowe’s sound and lighting are always effective – now and then, a microphone might cause a problem, but nothing major. Fresh Off The Score has clearly been tightly rehearsed, and the choir members are very supportive of each other.
It was a privilege to be in the room with these performers and to hear such exciting British musical extracts in a friendly venue. I hadn’t heard of many of these before, but my curiosity will make me look out for their development.
The other musicals covered were: Rising, by Amy Clare Tasker and Tom James McGrath; Gertrude & Alice & Sammy, by Sam Kenyon; and The Circle, by Rachel Walker Mason. Cast members not already mentioned but just as talented were Amy Kakoura, Will Hopkins and Beau Woodbridge.
If I could change one thing, I would have had “No Interval Show” just before the interval – I couldn’t be the only one expecting it – but that’s a small quibble. Look out for this choir the next time they stage a show.
Four stars.
Leading Voices LDN presented Fresh Off The Score at the Union Theatre on 24 May.
Photo credit: Winston Eade