Susan Boyle - Recognition - Accomplishments - Posters . . .

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REVIEW: Susan Boyle's dream show

Written byMargaret Chrystall

Susan Boyle's new show debuted in Inverness. Picture: Splash

IT took two and a half hours and 26 songs to get to the ultimate dream that beganSUSAN BOYLE’s career.

But at a packed Eden Court on Tuesday, the fabulous first night of a whole show shaped around Susan’s voice, song choices, humour and stage presence, began with a reminder of the famous first Britain’s Got Talent conversation between Susan and Simon Cowell.

We didn’t get the song that started if all off for her that night – at least not then.

I Dreamed A Dream was saved for the ultimate finale.

Instead there was Out There On My Own from FAME which tied up well with third-last number You'll Never Walk Alone, the transformation to a star with millions of global fans the underlying message.

But even Susan's first appearance got a standing ovation - the first in a series from the responsive audience of what seemed largely commited SuBo fans.

It’s a song not half so well-known, but perfect to begin Susan’s story through music.

And the contrast couldn’t have been greater between our memories of BGThopeful Susan in her dowdy dress and the gorgeously-gowned diva (three costume changes!), scripted and choreographed to the max that starred in Tuesday night’s debut.

She even did a couple of impressions of Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden to the crowd’s delight.

And throughout referring to moments from her career she'd made the crowd laugh recalling her peroformance with comedian Peter kay of I Know Him So Well and the huge wig she wore.

"I still use it to torment my cat Pebbles," she told us.

And though there were moments when Susan looked uncertain – walking down the stage set’s shallow steps and sometimes hesitantly crossing the stage for a costume change – it was her apparently relaxed manner, that was almost the most touching thing about the show.

Susan’s voice itself was never in question.

Listen to it live for long and you realise that it’s a voice that is almost flawless and a pleasure to hear soaring clearly up to top notes or swelling resonantly down the bottom end of her register or belting out the volume – as in one of the night’s highspots, Susan’s duet in River Deep Mountain High with guest singer Lance Ellington who guests on Strictly Come Dancing.

Sometimes Susan’s voice has been criticised for lacking emotion, swapping perfection for feeling.

There were odd flaws. Answer Me My Love saw Susan charging ahead of the orchestra from time-to-time and there was the first of only two flat notes inUnchained Melody - though the crowd clapped the high notes! There's no denying her graceful arm movements can look a bit mechanical and sometimes her over-careful enunciation

But her version of Robert Burns Ae Fond Kiss was packed with it as if it had special meaning for her.

There were many songs from the musicals – including I Know Him So Well, As Long As He Needs Me, The Perfect Year, That’s All I Ask Of You.

Susan duetted with Lance Ellington. Picture: Splash

But with a strong early performance of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, the set kept the variety coming. From The Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses to Bob Dylan’s Make Me Feel Your Love, jazzier numbers - with Susan seated swinging gently on a chair - included Old Devil Called Love, Cry Me A River and As Long As He Needs Me. Then there were the out and out pop favourites, including Abba’s Winner Takes It All,Unchained Melody and Answer Me My Love (as mentioned earlier, one of the few moments she seemed out of time with her versatile onstage band).

And the good news for anyone who missed the show was announced by the star after The Perfect Year opened the second half - she's just recorded her fifth album.

A highspot came with the end of the second half and You Raise Me Up with the 21-piece Royal Conservatiore of Scotland choir suddenly also rising up from the back of the stage to jon her!

But Susan stemmed the huge applause at the end to round off the first half with a joke "I'm coming back you know!" she grinned with a final wave.

The most gobsmacking moments came with the big anthems that see Susan unfurl the full power of her voice – You'll Never Walk Alone winding up to the big finish, was one. Another was the duet with Lance Ellington in Phantom’s All I Ask Of You.

But there was a sense of the inevitable about the final number.

Susan – who had changed from sequinned, body-skimming frocks to a floaty burgundy chiffon – appeared for the last songs in a gold sequinned number that reflected the light like the sun. The choir of the Royal Conservatoire Scotland joined her and there it was, the grand finale of I Dreamed A Dream.

"Here’s a song that got me into a lot of trouble ..." she grinned at us, introducing it.

Like that moment when her performance on TV brought a lump to a nation’s throat, it wasn’t just about the song and an unexpectedly perfect voice to sing it with, but Susan’s story.

This show is that audition’s fairytale ending.