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
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