Simply Cinderella Reviews.
"jaunty numbers include 'Mother's Pride', 'A Brand New Beat' and the delightful 'Snip, Snip, Snip' during which Cinders' fame-hungry stepsisters are mutilated by their mother to a witty ditty that goes: "Celebrity comes at a price as everyone knows/ But I didn't expect it would cost you a couple of toes." - The Guardian
"Olding can do the slushy stuff too. No wonder he's touted as the up-and-coming music man." - The Guardian
"Savannah Stevenson makes a beguiling Cinderella, her crystalline voice especially appealing in her signature number, 'Simply Cinderella' - The Independent
"Grant Olding's music is notably spry -- his dance-band pastiche 'The Champagne Slip' is an infectious winner -- and it's a pleasure to hear such felicitous lyrics." - Variety
"such a winning and original story that the musical takes off and dances away on its own momentum to settle and delight its audience." - The Stage
"an ingenious and highly dramatic time travelling plot" - The Stage
"the big tap number that ushers in the happiest of endings is a fable for our recessionary times" - The Stage
"remarkable characters and a song-book that is in need of a cast recording" - Reviews Gate
"Always delivering perfection vocally, Savannah Stevenson also brings her natural charm to the tale of a charmingly ordinary girl who discovers a little magic, a little love and a new career." - Reviews Gate
"wonderful songs" - Reviews Gate
Three Sides. CurtainUp.com review by Julia Furay
"...warm, funny new musical in the style of Tick, Tick, Boom or The Last Five Years"
"What's most impressive about Three Sides is the bright, pop-infused score by young composer Grant Olding. Lots of harmonies and humor enliven and energize this love triangle between a spunky young Londoner Carrie (Caroline Sheen) and her two boyfriends (Jon-Paul Hevey and Mark McGee)."
"As the title and concept make clear, this is very much a love triangle, but not a conventional one. It isn't really about whether or not Carrie's deceit will be exposed or which guy she will eventually pick. Instead, the book co-authors focus on examining three people coping with relationships and commitment."
"All three actors seem to have a great deal of fun wrapping their voices around the music and interacting with each other between songs."
"The actors, music and Clive Paget's smooth staging combine to make a remarkably successful production."
"a thoughtful, touching musical, one that stays with you."
Three Sides. Backstage review by Ron Cohen
"A beguiling musical import from Britain about a romantic triangle among quotidian Londoners, Three Sides tells its small story with maximum charm and feeling."
"The music and lyrics, both by Grant Olding, seamlessly mix a contemporary pop sound with theatrical savvy. Olding's character-driven songs are compelling set pieces delving into the singers' psyches and moods of the moment."
"The script -- written by Olding and Toby Davies -- has a few sequences of dialogue further exploring the dimensions of this three-sided relationship, but in an intriguingly oblique manner. In one scene, both men attempt to sketch a portrait of Carrie; hostility begins when they ask to her assume different poses."
"Under Clive Paget's skillful direction, the three actors, all powerful singers, bring depth and charm to their roles, creating characters you really begin to care about."
"Further reflecting the title, the musical arrangements for three pieces -- keyboard, cello and drums -- provide full-sounding accompaniment."
Three Sides. Broadway.com review by Kathy Henderson
"It's apparently such a challenge to write a musical about the ordinary lives of regular people that most composers these days don't even seem willing to try. Amid crushing pressure to find a saleable "hook," stage adaptations of movies and compilations of recognizable songs now carry the day. Too bad, I say! Bring on Three Sides , a modest, enjoyable British import about a love triangle among three attractive Londoners in their early 20s."
"Olding cleverly invites the audience to pick a guy to root for (I quickly chose Brian) and sets the characters' emotions to music in intricate, three-part harmonies."
" Three Sides is strongest when its trio of actors stands together yet apart, singing different versions of the same idea. Although his lyrics are more straightforward, Olding's songs reminded me of the Falsettos -era work of William Finn, and the three talented British actors deliver the score with appealing simplicity."
"...he ends the musical with a pair of strong songs that let all three sides have their say."
Three Sides
There are a few things one always hopes for in Musical Theatre. That characters should do things people might conceivably do, and that they should express themselves in a way that that is (even slightly) recognisable. Not much to ask, you'd think. You'd be wrong. Real thoughts, real feelings, real people may exist - but you rarely meet them in musicals. That's why I whooped, possibly even out loud, when I first came across Grant Olding's Three Sides. At last a piece where characters are as weird and wilful and perverse and pained, as lost and a lusting as sad and as silly as practically everyone I know. And where the music comes from them rather than being grafted on to them. And where modern thoughts go hand in hand with old forms. Grant is mysteriously young and old, experimental, yet grounded in the history of the form. I have the greatest faith in his future.
Jeremy Sams (director/writer/composer)
Over the last 35 years I have constantly been monitoring the emergence and progress of young British writers. In the last couple of years the work of Grant Olding has come to my attention, first at the Bridewell Theatre in London where I saw a workshop performance of "Three Sides" and last year at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, "Spittin Distance". I believe Grant to be an exceptional talent with enormous potential which must be nurtured and encouraged.
John Schofield (director of Josef Weinberger Ltd)
Last night I saw a glimmer of hope in the midst of the apparent hopelessness of a situation that, outside Lloyd Webber, and latterly Stiles & Drewe and Richard Thomas, barely gives any opportunities to British writers. Notes from New York , an inspiring season of Sunday showcases that ran in 2004 of the work of the rich seam of writers from there that we know little of over here, returned and was re-branded, for one night only as Not(es) from New York, to celebrate the work of two local composers instead.
And to hear a series of haunting, funny, captivating new songs by Charles Miller and Grant Olding was to realise that here are two of our own who can give Jason Robert Brown a run for his money. Jason has acquired something of a cult following amongst aficionados over here, and rightly so, though his work is yet to penetrate to a larger audience; but Miller and Olding don't even have that specialist niche in their sights yet. But someone should look them both up urgently; and get them working on a real musical rather than a showcase of work they've already written immediately. On the evidence of the work heard here, West End producers are missing out on a potential goldmine of hit musicals. Indeed, I would even go so far as to suggest that Radio 2 or 4 are also missing out on an investment in such fine talent by not offering to record this concert immediately, so that it reaches the much wider audience that it deserves.
As it is, those lucky enough to be at the Duchess theatre were amongst the privileged few who in future years may be able to say they were there when these major talents were first brought to fuller attention.
Mark Shenton (the Stage)
...a really interesting and unconventional piece with fantastically approachable songs and an original storyline. Quite a few numbers have been presented out of context and are already becoming popular with professional performers. Grant is one of the most exciting composers emerging in the UK at the moment and has recently been commissioned by the National Theatre Studio to develop his full length new musical Spittin' Distance.'
Clive Paget (Music Theatre Consultant, National Theatre)
...hugely impressed with his talent as both a composer and lyricist and also his dedication and determination. His work has wit, sophistication and originality coupled with the essential theatrical and dramatic flare and awareness that is required for musical theatre writing to succeed.
Mark W Dorrell (musical supervisor/MD)