Review by Daz Gale
Over the past few years, Dom Hartley-Harris has made a name for himself in the West End with roles in shows including Beautiful, Bat Out Of Hell and Hamilton. It seems crazy to think he has never done a concert of his own, but that all changed this week with his debut at Crazy Coqs.
Over the course of a speedy 75 minutes, Dom greeted an intimate audience to a varied setlist covering Musicals to Motown and everything in-between. Classics such as ‘Ordinary People’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ ensured an unexpected setlist that kept the standard consistently strong and showcased Doms inimitable voice.
His own musical theatre history was covered with a solo rendition of ‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad’ which he was more used to performing with Danielle Steers in Bat Out Of Hell while he unexpectedly chose different songs to represent his time in other musicals. For Beautiful, he talked of playing one of The Drifters before singing one of their numbers that wasn’t in the show, while for Hamilton he may have played George Washington in the show, but he channelled Aaron Burr for his concert with a killer performance of ‘Wait For It’. One musical highlight was a showstopping performance of ‘Stars’ from Les Miserables – perhaps a role that could be the stars future.
As well as having a truly sensational singing voice, Dom is a natural and charismatic performer, effortlessly engaging the audience with stories from his life and career, all with a pinch of humour and a captivating and slightly cheeky demeanour that you couldn’t help but admire. Dom recounted his X Factor audition by revisiting the song he performed ‘Mack The Knife’ while stories about making people turn their back to him while he sung and his family gave the concert an even more intimate feel.
Dom was joined by his former Rent co-star Maiya Quansah-Breed for two numbers – ‘I’ll Cover You’ from the show they both starred in but never got to sing together, and a cover of Gregory Porters ‘Water Under Bridges’. Maiyas own incredible voice paired with Doms seamlessly, creating a truly beautiful sound on the stage with their natural chemistry clear for all to see. Accompanied by musical director Chris Poon at the piano, songs that might usually sound grander didn’t lose anything in this stripped back nature, such is the talent of both Dom and Chris.
I have long been an admirer of Dom, having been blown away by him in various roles over the years. To see him do a full concert on his own felt truly special and really was a long time coming. A beautiful singing voice and a natural storyteller, Dom really is a gifted performer and one who should be showing the world his talents at every opportunity he gets. While this may have been his first concert, it sure won’t be his last. The sky’s the limit for this truly talented performer.
★★★★
Setlist:
Feeling Good (Nina Simone cover)
Ordinary People (John Legend cover)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
Save The Last Dance For Me (The Drifters cover)
Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad (from Bat Out Of Hell)
My Girl (The Temptations cover)
You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You (Dean Martin cover)
L.O.V.E (Nat King Cole cover)
Water Under Bridges (Gregory Porter cover) (Duet with Maiya Quansah-Breed)
I’ll Cover You (from Rent) (Duet with Maiya Quansah-Breed)
Stars (from Les Miserables)
Wait For It (from Hamilton)
Mack The Knife (Bobby Darin cover)
Make Them Hear You (from Ragtime)
That’s Life (Frank Sinatra cover)
Follow Dom Hartley-Harris on Instagram to find out about his forthcoming shows.
Head to https://www.newframeproductions.com/ for their upcoming events.