Musical Madness

Pastiche Musical Theatre
Compass Theatre, Ickenham
Thurs 25th - Sat 27th July 2013

Pastiche Musical Theatre presented their annual summer concert, Musical Madness, at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham, this year to raise money for the Renal Unit at Hammersmith Hospital. This choice of recipient was suggested after the recent passing of Joyce Harkness who was sister to Jean Hobson, one of the founders of Pastiche Musical Theatre. Joyce was for many years an active member of Pastiche and in latter years ran the box office. Over the fifteen years since its formation, Pastiche has raised over £51,000 for a range of charities and organisations.

The summer concert is traditionally a collection of music, song and dance from The West End, Broadway and Hollywood with a few novelties, music hall numbers and personal favourites thrown in. After the rousing opening number 'Shine' their youngest member, Eva Rigby made her solo debut with ‘Hi Diddley Dee’ from Pinnochio. On this showing Eva is surely going on to a long and distinguished career as a performer. The girls of the group performed a highly innovative dance routine to the 'Benny Hill' theme, where they were all dressed in a split black and white costumes and all standing in line next to each other gave an unusual visual illusion - I guess you had to be there, but the crowd certainly loved it.

The ladies came up trumps again with a lovely rendition from Miss Saigon, 'Movie in My Mind' with haunting harmonies. Another youngster, Duncan Austin, gave us a spirited 'Any Dream Will Do' from Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat again with a harmonious backing from group members.

After the break, we were all taken down memory lane with a 'Wartime Medley' which included 'Roll Out The Barrel', 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square', 'White Cliffs of Dover' and 'Lambeth Walk'. Later, Eva Rigby was up again this time joined by her mum Jenny and sister Megan in 'Shrek: I know it's today'. Before the finale Ian Collyer got the audience to join him an old music hall number 'Two Lovely Black Eyes'. The final song was a number unfamiliar to many, 'Shine on Down' written by Daniel Boys for a musical called 'Teatro' and had a rousing finale feel.

The whole show was varied, flowed very well and was thoroughly entertaining, there was certainly something for everyone in the programme and included performers from ages 7 to 70. Pastiche will be back at the Compass Theatre next March 2014, when they present their next Musical, 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'. More information about the work of Pastiche and the Charities that they support can be found at www.pastichemusicaltheatre.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastiche-Musical-theatre

Simon Tidball

Little Shop of Horrors

Spotlight Musical Theatre Company
The Compass Theatre
19th - 22nd June 2013
 
Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy horror rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker, Seymour Krelbourn, who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman.

Seymour Krelborn is a poor young man living in an urban skid row. Audrey is a pretty blonde with a fashion sense that leans towards the tacky who works with him at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, a run-down flower shop owned and operated by the cranky Mr. Mushnik. Seymour has recently obtained a mysterious plant that looks like a large Venus flytrap and is secretly in love with Audrey and names the plant Audrey II in her honour.

 
The plant does not thrive in its new environment and appears to be dying. Seymour questions why it should be doing poorly, since he takes such good care of it. He accidentally pricks his finger on a rose thorn, which draws blood, and Audrey II's pod opens thirstily. Seymour realizes that Audrey II requires blood to survive and allows the plant to suckle from his finger. As Audrey II grows, it becomes an attraction and starts generating brisk business for Mushnik. As the caretaker of the plant, Seymour has suddenly gone from loser to hero.

Audrey's boyfriend, a Dentist played brilliantly by Daniel Hollis beats her, and she reveals that she secretly has feelings for the timid Seymour. Her dream is to have the ideal suburban life with Seymour. Orin Scrivello, the sadistic dentist, is Modeled after the "Leader of the pack" characters of the 1950s, Orin drives a motorcycle, wears leather, and enjoys bringing other people pain. Orin encourages Seymour to take the plant and get out of Skid Row.
 
Meanwhile, Seymour is having difficulty providing enough blood to keep Audrey II healthy. When Seymour stops feeding the plant, Audrey II reveals that it can speak and says that, if fed, it will make sure that all of Seymour's dreams come true. Seymour initially refuses, but he then witnesses Orin abusing Audrey. At a late night meeting Orin, gets high on nitrous oxide, the gas device is stuck in the "on" position, and he overdoses while asking Seymour to save him. Seymour, unable to shoot Orin, lets him asphyxiate. Seymour feeds Orin's body to the now huge Audrey II, and the plant consumes it with ravenous glee.

Audrey confides to Seymour that she feels guilty about Orin's disappearance, because she secretly wished it. The two admit their feelings for one another, and Seymour promises that he will protect and care for Audrey from now on "Suddenly, Seymour".
 
Mushnik confronts Seymour to accuse him of causing Orin's death, who has put two and two together: the bloody dentist's uniform, the drops of blood on the floor, and he has seen Seymour and Audrey kissing. Audrey II tells Seymour that he has to be rid of Mushnik or he will lose everything, including Audrey. Seymour tells Mushnik that he put the days' receipts inside Audrey II for safekeeping. Mushnik climbs inside the plant's gaping maw to search for the money, realizing the deception too late, and screams as he is chomped on, slurped and swallowed. Seymour now runs the flower shop and reporters, salesman, lawyers, and agents approach him, promising him fame and fortune. Although tempted by the trappings of his success, Seymour realizes that it is only a matter of time before Audrey II will kill again and that he is morally responsible. He considers destroying the plant but believing that his fame is the only thing that is earning him Audrey's love, he is unable to do so.

As Seymour works on his speech for a lecture tour, Audrey II again squalls for blood. Seymour threatens to kill it just as Audrey walks in asking when Mushnik will return from visiting his "sick sister".. Audrey is confused and frightened by Seymour's ramblings, but she runs home by his order. That night, unable to sleep and distressed by Seymour's strange behavior, Audrey goes to the flower shop to talk with him. He is not there, and Audrey II begs her to water him. Not sensing the mortal danger, she approaches to water it, and a vine wraps around her and pulls her into the plant's gaping jaws. Seymour arrives and attacks the plant in an attempt to save Audrey. He pulls her out, but Audrey is mortally wounded and tells him to feed her to the plant after she dies so that they can always be together. She dies in his arms, and he reluctantly honors her request. Seymour falls asleep as Audrey II grows small red flower buds.

The next day, Patrick Martin from the World Botanical Enterprises tells Seymour that his company wishes to take leaf cuttings of Audrey II and sell them across America.. Seymour, in desperation, runs into its open jaws with a machete planning to kill it from the inside, but he is quickly eaten. Patrick, Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon search for Seymour. Not finding him, Patrick tells the girls to take the cuttings. Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon relate that, following these events, other plants appeared across America, tricking innocent people into feeding them blood in exchange for fame and fortune.  

Spotlight have produced some very good shows in their short nine year existence and this is yet another super production. All the cast performed very well, Mikey Palmer as Seymour came across as suitably nerdy and Rachel Lawrence as a tarty shop girl who loves going out. Both demonstrated very good vocals and maintained characters beautifully. Daniel Hollis played the Dentist in a very ‘over-the-top’ and entertaining way again keeping the character throughout. All the other actors performed well adding to a very polished performance.

This is a technically challenging show with the growing plant appearing at different sizes as it grows, and eventually has to be able to eat the cast one by one and it was achieved with great style. A mention must go to ‘Voice of the plant’, Geoff Bosley who sang and spoke very powerfully. Congratulations to Director, Alan Ward and Musical director, Darrell Butler, it was clear that the whole cast and crew enjoyed the show as it came through the performance. I look forward to their future presentations.
 
Simon Tidball

Romeo and Juliet

Argosy Players
14th - 19th May 2012
Compass Theatre, Ickenham

In my experience it is rare to experience Shakespeare’s work performed at local level and I don’t recall any of the Bard’s work performed at the Compass within the last decade, so this was an experience not to be missed.

Director, Keith French took the bold step of creating a set that leapt out from the stage into the auditorium and using a configuration of the seating that enabled the actors to use the area in front of the main stage as a performance area. Combined with an impressive stairs and balcony the action of the play took place on several levels, which really involved the audience. The set as a whole had the feeling of the famous Globe theatre and the actors also used the auditorium doors as part of the setting.

The cast included actors aged from 17 to 70, some of whom would be performing Shakespeare for the first time. Few will be unfamiliar with the story of the two feuding families, the Capulet's and Montague’s whose young teenagers fall in love. Romeo played by Samir Sheriff stepped into the role with only four weeks to go when the previous actor dropped out and gave a passionate and committed performance. Alicia Balchin as Juliet was assured and confident in her role.

There were stand out performances from Sally Munday as Nurse who gave great light and shade to her role, Stephen Walsh as Mercrutio, Curtis Ashley as Tybalt and Tom Mackriel as Benvolio.

A special mention must go to David Young who played Lord Capulet with gravitas and a clear understanding of the text, delivered with impeccable diction, something that the younger members of the cast would do well to heed. Finally, Craig Cameron-Fisher gave an acting masterclass as Friar Lawrence. His delivery, diction and intonation was superb, every word as clear as a bell and he looked as if he both meant and understood the words he delivered. It’s no surprise that he is moving in more illustrious acting circles working for Ralph Fiennes in the film ‘The Invisible Woman’.

With Shakespeare, good diction and enunciation is vital and at times the younger members of the cast were inaudible, gabbling and throwing lines away. This will come with experience and time should they dare take on further works by the Bard.

Congratulations go to Keith French for a stunning set ably assisted by another fine set builder Alan Bailey, but also for having the courage and skill to mount such a challenging, bold and impressive production.

The Argosy Players are not just about performing, but have an extensive social programme as well, and are always looking for new recruits. Find out more online at www.argosyplayers.org.uk. They will be back with “RIOT” at the Winston Churchill Hall on Saturday 2^nd June 2012.

Simon Tidball

Musical Mischief

A New Page for Pastiche
 
The page turned for the Pastiche Musical Theatre Company at the end of July, with Roma Ridley taking over the reins from her Mother, Jean Hobson, who had overseen productions for 20 years.
 
Roma, working with Musical Director Jean George proved that they could maintain those high standards with an excellent, light-hearted Musical Mischief show featuring some superb performances from the Company. Considering this is an amateur Company who only rehearse a very limited number of hours per week the quality of the overall performance was outstanding with an energetic cast who were thoroughly enjoying themselves, evident by the smiling, enthusiastic faces on stage throughout.
 
The two, hour-long Acts contained a varied mix performances from dancers, singers and musical instruments to the varied tastes of the young and old.
The evening started strongly with an entertaining opening ‘Broadway Medley’, which gave all the singers a chance to warm up their vocal chords and show off some well timed choreography (which proved to be of a high quality and varied throughout the show- including novelty acts such as a glow in the dark hand jive)!
 

The costumes have always been an impressive ingredient of Pastiche’s shows and the opening chorus was followed by a number which gave us our first taste of what was to come - a Lion King inspired lion’s outfit worn by the lead Duncan. He, Megan and Molly showed a glimpse of the future - next stop the X Factor perhaps?!
 
The Company were soon back on stage with Ben leading a confident rendition of ‘The Candy Man’. This young man is a valuable new addition to The Company, looking clearly comfortable on stage and delivering a high quality first performance.
 
Several entertaining numbers followed, including a funny rendition of ‘Plant A Radish’ led by Maxwell and Brian, a humorous and assured Mrs Worthington from Bryan, a passionate performance of ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ by Shivashtie, Debbie and Stephanie (who goes from strength to strength in every Pastiche show), a faultless Trumpet piece from Max that brought even further variation to the show, followed by a moment of pure class with Naomi playing a beautiful piece on her violin. Entitled ‘Meditation’, the soaring music was perfectly complemented by Megan’s confident ballet steps in the background.
Male attention in the audience was then peaked with a saucy ‘Lady Marmalade’, performed by Claire, Jenny and Gilly, who also choreographed the raucous routine.

The first half concluded with the Company performing the 60’s rock number ‘Proud Mary’ before everyone took a well-earned 15 minute breather.
Act Two kicked off with another ‘Broadway Medley’, before Richard Connolly continued the American theme with a fantastic rendition of ‘Mr Bojangles’. Richard was clearly very comfortable on stage and had a number of ladies in the audience swooning with his swagger and cheeky smile. The performance was also visually entertaining as Richard was accompanied on stage by an ever bright and talented Melanie James who showed through her tap routine that she is an accomplished dancer as well as singer.

One of the high points of the evening was yet to come however, as Naomi performed a show-stopping rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’, delivering the tricky piece note-perfect and leaving the audience in awe! Other stand out vocals came from two Company members who never fail to deliver professional standard performances- Claire singing The Wizard and I from Wicked and Olivia who silenced the audience with I Don’t Know How To Love Him.

With the final ensemble number ‘Never Forget’ raising the roof, the crowd clapped their way off into the night, discussing highlights and favourite numbers from the varied programme.

As ever, the performances helped raise funds for a good cause, with The Dyspraxia Foundation being the worthy beneficiary on this occasion. After the success of the show, there will not be much rest for Roma, Jean and the Company, as they start to rehearse soon for their eagerly awaited next show - Carousel - which will premiere in March 2012. On this evidence, it cannot come around quick enough!

Tessa Wright

Musical Masquerade

Pastiche Musical Theatre
22nd - 24th July 2010
at The Compass Theatre, Ickenham

Another Op’nin’ Another Show: the first notes strike up, the lights dim and we know we are in for some good old-fashioned entertainment from Pastiche.

By that I don’t mean fuddy duddy as there are plenty of youngsters in the company and enough modern songs, pop, rap and street dance to bring it right up to date and appeal to all ages.

Set this in the broad spectrum of variety from end-of-the pier to American musical comedy and you see Pastiche’s recipe for success: good, fun, family entertainment.

The pace is fast, act follows act in the blink of an eye, and though some soloists might not pass a Britain’s Got Talent audition, there are others who are so good they could win it. On Thursday, the audience knew this and warmed to a company which gives such a great community feel to their productions. They give the proceeds to charity too – this year Oasis benefits.

The costumes are always an important feature of Pastiche performances and we were once again treated to a feast of sparkle, masks, velvet cloaks and gangster suits.

There was of course plenty of angst –lost love, unrequited love, and mother love – and I was particularly moved by some of the youngsters’ poignant renderings. Favourites were I Still Believe by Olivia and Victoria; I’m Not that Girl by Emily, Megan and Molly; and I Wish I May by Jenny, Louise and Mel; the latter a particularly beautiful blending of voices.

Debbie’s version of On Easy Terms, taken from the musical Blood Brothers, was heart-rending and suited her voice perfectly; Stephanie’s My Heart Will Go On was sweeter than Celine Dion’s shouty version, and Jenny and Simon proved a good musical comedy pairing with their number Sue Me.

There were some excellent voices but I must single out Louise, particularly singing Woman, and Victoria’s How Did We Come to This? Also worthy of mention are talented pair Matt and Naomi’s Hey There Delilah – they used voice, keyboard and violin to great effect.

Stop the Beat brought the show to its conclusion. A great ending, but please don’t stop the shows.

Barbara Fisher

The Boy Friend

Spotlight Musical Theatre Company
23 - 26 June 2010
The Compass Theatre

The Boy Friend (sometimes mis-spelled The Boyfriend) is set in the carefree world of the French Riviera in the Roaring 1920s and is a comic pastiche of 1920's shows (in particular early Rodgers and Hart).

In the Villa Caprice, or Madame Dubonnet's School for Young Ladies, Maisie, played by a very talented Rachel Lawrence and the girls live with the maid, Hortense, (Katie Oliver) and Mme. Dubonnet. Hortense orders a costume for "a Miss Polly Browne" and Maisie and the other girls (Dulcie, Nancy, and Fay) sing the ironic "Perfect Young Ladies" with Hortense. Shy and reserved Polly arrives and tells everyone about her made-up boy friend who is "motoring down from Paris" to meet her for the upcoming carnival ball, and sings about "The Boy Friend". Later, Bobby surprises Maisie and they dance to "Won't You Charleston With Me?"

Polly's widowed father, Percy, then arrives at the school to discover that the headmistress is an old flame of his. They sing "Fancy Forgetting" to rekindle the spark. Polly, though a millionaire's daughter, feels left out because she is the only one of her set who does not have a boyfriend, and she needs a partner for the fancy dress ball. However, when the errand boy, Tony, arrives to deliver her Pierrette costume, they are immediately attracted to each other, and sing "I Could Be Happy With You." Later, they meet at the beach (after the chorus number "Sur La Plage") and sing about "A Room in Bloomsbury." They then kiss and decide to meet at the ball. The comically flirtatious Lord Brockhurst portrayed superbly by Mike Le Grange arrives on the scene, leading to a comical meeting with the rigidly mannered Percival Browne. Lord Brockhurst's domineering wife Lady Brockhurst is also introduced. Percival Browne and Dubonnet then sing "The 'You-Don't-Want-To-Play-With-Me' Blues".

When Polly goes to meet Tony on the promenade, Lord and Lady Brockhurst, who are passing by, recognize him. When he runs off, everyone else assumes that he is a thief. The act ends on a sad note.

At the ball, Bobby and the three boys propose to Maisie and the three girls, but the girls reply in unison that "we'll let you know at midnight" and everyone dances to "The Riviera". Lord Brockhurst sings "It's Never Too Late To Fall In Love" with the flirty Dulcie, and is caught out by Lady Brockhurst. Polly confides in Mme. Dubonnet, and they sing "Poor Little Pierrette". Tony later arrives at the ball and takes Polly by surprise. He asks, "May I have this dance, Pierrette?" to which Polly replies, "I'm afraid I can't dance with a stranger". He then kisses her to remind her. Polly discovers that Tony is really the son of Lord and Lady Brockhurst, who had left home to try to make his own way in the world. Percy and Mme. Dubonnet announce that they are getting married. The clock strikes midnight, and the girls unanimously say yes to the boys' proposals. The last scene has everyone dancing as soon as Bobby, with the last spoken line in the play, asks "So how about that Charleston?" The show ends with a reprise of "The Boy Friend" and "I Could Be Happy With You."

This was a very enjoyable performance with excellent dancing despite learning that the boys were not really dancers – they did very well. The singing too, was of a very high standard from everybody in the cast especially the girls, Rachel Lawrence, Sarah Lawrence, Kerry Geaney Anna Cole and Joanne Cook as Polly Browne.

If there was a weakness in the show I would say it was in some of the acting and characterisation and the fact that the show is supposed to be very funny. There were some amusing moments but the Director, Alan Ward, really failed to bring out the comedy in the piece. Madame Dubonnet and Percy Browne had an opportunity to have an absolute ball on stage but their performances were lame and lifeless. Daniel Hollis as Tony (The Boy Friend) had a very good singing voice and cut a striking presence on stage but his acting was very stiff and wooden. Congratulations to Musical director Darrell Butler, the excellent Ken Williams and Dan Grigg on Drums. All in all an enjoyable evening - well done to all concerned.

Simon Tidball

SHOWTUNE - Celebrating the Words & Music of Jerry Herman

Showtune
Uxbridge Musical Theatre
The Compass Theatre
Wed 25th – 28th November 2009

It is said that there is never an evening when, somewhere in the world, the music and lyrics of Jerry Herman are not being sung by a lady in a red headdress, or a lady with a bugle, or a middle-aged man in a wig and a feather boa.

Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage are home to some of the most popular, most-often performed and most successful musical heroines of all time, and have given Jerry Herman the distinction of being the only composer-lyricist in history to have had three musicals that ran more than 1,500 consecutive performances on Broadway.

Showtune premiered as the cabaret revue ‘Tune the Grand Up’ in 1985 in San Francisco. Subsequently, the revue was produced in London in 1998 with a new title 'The Best of Times', first at the Bridewell Theatre and then at the Vaudeville Theatre on the West End. In 2003, the revue, now titled 'Showtune', opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at St. Peter’s Church, at the Citicorp Center.

The show starts by taking us through the seasons of love, and then returns with optimism to close the first half. We then moved into the movie world of Mack and Mabel with the emotional roller coaster continuing to include all of Jerry Herman’s shows.

The company, with only ten performers negotiated over forty musical numbers, an impressive achievement by any standards. The shows director, Carol Williams, also performed many of the numbers displaying her superb soprano voice; Carol certainly knows how to deliver a song. These numbers from Mame, Hello Dolly and La Cage aux Folles were written for a performer of Carol's quality. There were good vocals also from Rick Williams and Phil Harrison and a lovely touch of comedy from Phil again with Alan Anders in ‘A Little more Mascara’ from La Cage.

For a show with so many songs I would have liked to see more variety in the presentation, a little more movement, dynamism and excitement. Some of the numbers were delivered with deadpan expressions and very little animation. I would also liked to have seen more from the youngest member of the company, Juliet Hickman who when given a rare solo number really shone.

Congratulations to all concerned, to Derek Holland for musical direction and leading the band throughout the evening and the many people who work un-sung behind the scenes. Uxbridge Musical Theatre will be at Iver Village Hall on 22nd May 2010 for their next evening of music and back at the Compass next November. More information can be found at their website www.umtheatre.co.uk

Simon Tidball