REVIEWS
“The intricacy of the breathtaking, magnificent score, married so perfectly with exquisite lyrics and a glorious witty book, has such maturity and assuredness about it.”
- Musical Theatre Review, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, Trinity Laban
“Special credit is due to musical director Michael Webborn, whose solo piano is able to provide the verve and power to songs that more traditionally require a big band sound. In the opening numbers of Act II, he also demonstrates an impressive vocal quality that deserves to be heard more often. He also lends his voice to a series of pre-recorded narrations that, while initially feeling a little odd compared to the alternative of having an onstage narrator, help keep the show running at a cracking pace”
- Musical Theatre Review, Rhythm of Life, St. James Theatre
“From swooningly romantic ballads to rousing choral numbers, the writing here is wonderfully self-assured, full of bold tunes that worm their way into the ear and a lyrical elegance that traces the tragic beauty of the story arc”
- There Ought To Be Clowns, The Clockmaker’s Daughter Album
“Webborn’s musical direction from the keys fills the room beautifully and the cumulative effect of the whole production is just something wonderful – you reach the end feeling like you’ve seen a classic tale as old as time but also something fresh and new and exciting.”
- There Ought To Be Clowns, The Clockmaker’s Daughter
“The biggest accolade of the night has to go to Webborn. From the outset he allows himself to be the object of ridicule, with personality, looks and even his beloved (and, to be fair, acclaimed) new musical The Clockmaker’s Daughter being mocked, almost bringing him to breaking point. However when he launches himself into I’d Rather Be Sailing from William Finn’s A New Brain, Webborn surprises and impresses with a vocal performance full of strong high notes and a beautiful falsetto, bringing the entire St James’ audience to an acute silence”
- Jonathan Baz Reviews, The Way to Get a Girl, St. James Theatre
“Suitably on a grand piano Musical Director Michael Webborn accompanies with great sensitivity and his contribution is as much to be applauded as those of the gifted performers that he shares centre stage with”
- The Reviews Hub, Putting it Together, Hope Mill Theatre
“The recorded version of The Clockmaker’s Daughter is fantastic. The actors’ voices have been mixed well with the band, so that the sound levels are perfectly clear, avoiding the problem of live performance where it can be a struggle to distinguish vocals above the percussion, depending upon where you sit. The show reveals new depths once experienced in a purely auditory way. Whether you like your musicals traditional or original, this studio cast recording ticks both boxes and gives you plenty of great songs to enjoy”
- Entertainment Focus, The Clockmaker’s Daughter Album
“Webborn and Finn have established themselves as a powerful writing partnership, following up their delicious ‘The Clockmaker's Daughter' with this melodramatic family yarn of adventures and scrapes amongst the merchant classes”
- BritishTheatre.com, Animus, Trinity Laban
“Under Webborn's musical direction, the small band and the cast of twenty combine to give a real sense of the inherent power and attraction of the score.”
- BritishTheatre.com, The Clockmaker’s Daughterl