Lets hear it for the Reality Stars!

Within the theatre industry we could all name at least five major shows who have stunt casting in them; wether thats an Ex-Girls aloud member or a TOWIE star trying to make a name for themselves.  Reality TV stars have a bad reputation for coming into musical and 'stealing' other peoples jobs, so we decided to take a look at the reality TV stars who are NAILING it in the world of Theatre.  Take a look and let us know what you think... Tweet us your thoughts! @PocketSizeBlog 

Alexandra Burke 

Alexandra won the 2008 series of The X Factor, she later appeared in the West End and international touring productions of The Bodyguard. She is currently playing Deloris Van Cartier in the UK tour of Sister Act. 

Darius Campbell 

Darius appeared on Pop Idol in 2002, since then he has gone on to appear in many West End musicals including Chicago, Guys and Dolls, From Here to Eternity and most recently Funny Girl alongside Sheridan Smith. 

From Here To Eternity: Theatre Review

Based on the 1951 novel and 1953 film of the same name, From Here To Eternity is the new musical from Tim Rice and it makes its world premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End. The original film won 8 Academy Awards and starred Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Montgomery Cliff and Deborah Kerr. The story is really beautiful, emotional and powerful. 

However simple Tamara Harvey’s direction of the show is she has presented a very clear and precise version of the story. Many themes lie within the story, one of them being Homosexuality. This is quite a large part of the story and the theme is very interesting (especially when involving the army in 1941) but I didn’t feel like it was used enough. It was almost skimmed over very quickly and felt a little random when in fact it actually has a very large impact in the show. I would have liked for them to have taken this theme further and go deeper with it because it definitely had the potential to be a really interesting part of the production. 

Chicago the Musical: Theatre Review

The original production of Chicago first played on Broadway in 1975 with Chorography by Bob Fosse; it then opened at the Cambridge theatre in London in 1979. The show was revived on Broadway in 1996 with the production opening at the Adelphi Theatre in 1997; it then transferred to its original home (The Cambridge Theatre) in 2006 with it recently transferring again to the Garrick Theatre.The musical still has the original essence that Bob Fosse wanted, thanks to Ann Reinking's choreography. The show is timeless, the mix between the modern aspects of the show and the classic 1920s elements are wonderful.

The orchestra were absolutely fantastic, perfectly placed in the middle of John Lee Beatty's simple but beautiful and fitting set. But the thing that impressed me the most about this production was the brilliant lighting design by Ken Billington, absolutely incredible. I don't take notice of things like lighting design usually but in this production it was stunning. The production which re-opened on November 7^that the Garrick Theatre is staring Ugly Betty star, America Ferrera. America brought a new flavour to Roxie Hart, the role has been played by so many people that it could be hard to find new life in her but she done this fantastically. She played the role with sweetness and a beauty that made you love her; I do wish she could have played the role with a little more sass though. America has a good voice (however may need to work on her movement) and although she did have a strong cold, still sounded good.