Release the Beat

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Release The Beat is a British stage musical with music and lyrics by K.S. Lewkowicz and a book by Judith Johnson. The musical is a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, transposed to London’s house and hip hop club scene in the 1990s. It had its world premiere at the Arcola Theatre in July 2004.

Plot

The story centres on Simone and her coming of age. Lady Luck is the narrator and introduces the characters as they appear in the show. The plot revolves around Simone and her best friend Dionne, Winston, a hip hop DJ on pirate radio station 'Heat FM' and Tom, a house DJ on rival station Tang FM. Dionne has had a one night stand with Tom, but complains that he is smitten with Simone. Simone’s father Jay also prefers Tom. Jay owns the record shop where the DJs shop for the latest vinyl releases as well as the nightclub where they play at night. Winston and Tom compete for the girls’ affections throughout, trying to outdo and undermine each other while battling for the same frequency for their own radio station. The second half continues in Ibiza, where Jay’s girlfriend Nina is promoting a sound clash between Tom and Winston. Complications arise as the two young couples try to navigate the complex dynamics between them, with Jay and Nina working through their turbulent relationship while Lady Luck sows confusion and causes mischief and mayhem.

Musical Numbers

Act 1

• “Big Up” – Company
• “Consequences” – Simone and Dionne
• “Never Have Kids” – Jay and Tom
• “Song Of The Pirates” – Winston, Markey, Mikey, Tom, Tang Posse
• “Altercation #1” – Simone and Jay
• “Release The Beat” – Lady Luck and Tom, Company
• “The Ruby & The Photo” – Simone
• “I Am The Beat” – Simone and Dionne, Company
• “Missing Person” – Simone, Company

Act 2

• “Ibeza” – Company
• “Be Yourself” – Dionne Tom
• “I Don't Need Her” – Winston
• “Perfect Relationship” – Nina
• “Facing Up” – Queen B, Simone, Jay, Winston
• “No Excuses” – Queen B
• “Release The Beat” – (reprise) - Company

Productions

The musical premiered at the Arcola Theatre in London's Off West End in August 2004 for an initial 5 week run. It was directed by Mehmet Ergen, choreographed by Mykal Rand, designed by Anthony Lamble, with lighting by Giuseppe Di Lorio and musical direction by Stuart Morley.

Cast and characters

Simone	Rosalind James
Winston	Aml Ameen
Jay	Peter Gallagher
Dionne	Zabrina Norry
Tom	Pieter Lawman
Queen B	Nina Kristopherson
Marky	Tosien Olomowewe
Mikey	Dean Elliot / Waleed El-Gardi
Ensemble	Davinder Heyre, Ece Dizdar, Elif Can Pirhasan, Gus Stenberg, Jacqui Lee Pryce, Kali Nicholson, Monica McShane, Stacie Laine

References

This article "Release the Beat" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Release the Beat. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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