My Top 5 Showtunes: Lucie-Mae Sumner

Lucie-Mae Sumner is currently appearing in Guys and Dolls at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham before heading to the West End next month.

Her previous theatre credits include Sister Act, A Damsel in Distress, Barnum and Avenue Q.

We caught up with Lucie-Mae and asked her: "If you were stranded on a desert island, which five showtunes could you not live without?"

5. "Overture/Prologue" from West Side Story

LMS: It seems apt to start with the first musical I ever saw at my local theatre – West Side Story has taken pride of place as my most beloved musical ever since. I could cite almost any track as divine inspiration from the piece that I sat through completely transfixed at the age of 10, that started a lifelong fascination with both Bernstein and Sondheim and inspired my career. However, Bernstein's ability to create tension within the first five seconds of the show opening is, in my humble opinion, unparalleled. His presentation of those familiar melodic patterns as a disturbing implication as to the ending of the show is a masterclass in use of dynamics and tempo. I often feel like the music of West Side Story is able to describe human emotion in a way many of us would struggle to express with mere words. Perfection.

4. "There's A Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q

LMS: The most interesting thing about Avenue Q is that despite the unusual concept of the leading characters being puppets, there are rarely other scripts and characters in which you will find so much of yourself. Perhaps that's why the show is so well received – nothing is so funny as a shared experience. Kate Monster has the one "non-funny" song in the show, also the closing number of Act 1 and therefore a great responsibility for the actor, but it's a well written, simple pop song with a conversation leading into it which I would guess 75% of the audience will have had. That feeling of having an audience behind you is one I will never forget. And of course I miss Kate Monster too!

3. "A Winter's Ball" from Hamilton

LMS: Being a huge fan of In The Heights, I eagerly anticipated Lin-Manuel Miranda's next project. Admittedly a hip-hop musical about Alexander Hamilton – a Founding Father of the US whose story remains untold onstage since 1917 – sounded mad as a big of cats, but somehow it works. Miranda's hypnotic rhythms, paired with eloquent, witty wordplay and delivered with the urgency and passion of a young Eminem manage to draw the picture of the strong, persuasive men they must have been to achieve so much. The references to classic theatre, from Hammerstein to Shakespeare, are as frequent and amusing as those to modern culture. If I had to pick one song, it would be "A Winter's Ball" which includes a bunch of blokes, dressed in full Renaissance costume, claiming to be "reliable with the LAYDEEZ". I rest my case.

2. "Please Don't Touch Me" from Young Frankenstein

LMS: This song is my most guarded secret, and usually largely unknown. It is also the funniest song I've ever had the joy of performing or listening to, mainly due to its being, in typically Mel Brooks fashion, completely absurd and slightly (OK, very) rude. Originally performed by the amazing Megan Mullally, the feeling I get taking this into an audition is akin to jumping off a cliff. Some people will laugh, in the case of some it might even get me a recall, but on at least one occasion I have loudly belted about parts of my anatomy to a stony-faced panel who were expecting something less preposterous on a Tuesday morning.

1. My Time of Day/I've Never Been In Love Before from Guys and Dolls

LMS: I've been obsessed with this song since I heard it on the first day of rehearsals – until which I was pretty unfamiliar with the show itself. I love the jazzy, indecisive, unpredictable hesitation of "My Time of Day", the way it leads into the more tuneful, more easy melody of "Never Been in Love" when a beautiful understanding is reached between two characters, the way it evokes an era of music and a time and place. "My Time of Day" in particular transports the listener to the smokey alleys of a city at midnight. Its eerie, lonely edge puts me in mind of Marlon Brando's "Stella!!" moment in A Streetcar Named Desire, and then reaches its conclusion in what must be one of the best love songs of all time.