70 Girls, 70

It is always a treat to be invited to see a show that I haven’t seen before and this musical based on the 1958 play written by Peter Coke and entitled ‘Breath of Spring’ was one of them.

Perhaps the subject matter didn’t have enough appeal to draw large audiences which is a pity as, although the music is unfamiliar and the storyline a touch far-fetched, it has a great deal going for it. It had very short runs; only 35 in New York and just three months in London.  With music and lyrics by Kander and Ebb some of the songs are excellent, particularly in the second act, and the comedic content is strong.
The ambience of a run-down hotel for the elderly was simply achieved with sofas covered in miss matching throws, the old T.V. and the few props. Although at first the backcloth appeared rather grand the changes of colour in the lighting depicted the different venues convincingly and Ida’s cloud in the sky was splendid! The addition of bright cushions to the uncovered sofas and a thriving plant was all that was needed to transform the seedy hotel into a rather smart one, plus of course the fact that the residents’ appearance was also transformed with smarter costumes and attractive make up.
The Arctic Cold Storage Vault was effectively created and the sound and lighting effects were very good in that scene. Kevin Hanlon acted the role of a rather suave retired safe breaker convincingly and the audience were caught in the moment of tension as he tried to recall his expertise.
The opening scene was great and the individual cast members maintained their character throughout; from the wheelchair bound woman right through the varying levels of physical ability. It was not easy to hear the individual lines at the opening but apart from then, and odd moments later, the band was sympathetic to the performers.
‘Home’ was simply choreographed, nicely varied and well-rehearsed, with each cast member moving as their character demanded.
What a long list of characters! I will not be able to comment on them all but those who are not mentioned by name each added to the production.
With the aid of costumes, make-up and demeanour most of cast managed to look old enough to be in a retirement hotel. Just two of the characters did not. As Walter (a mistake in the biography section in the programme named him ‘Harry’) Kevin Hanlon appeared considerably younger than Sarah Wenban who played Eunice. She had been made up and wigged to look much older but Kevin had not. Grey hair would have helped and is easily achieved. The other obviously younger man was Chris Hall who sported white hair and a beard but still looked young!
Rachael Jones was very good indeed as Ida and both her acting and singing were polished.
As Harry, Brian Connelly was excellent. His accent was first rate too.
Another impressive accent was from Dawn Steel who gave a strong performance as Gert and her ‘See the Light’ with the men was super.
Sarah Wenben made a wonderfully dizzy Eunice who was fussy and anxious about everything and the duet with Kevin Hanlon playing Walter came across saucily.
I liked the band being included in the action and James Casselton stepped into the spotlight as a stage performer too in the role of Eddie. His number was a poignant one and he sang it well and the tap dancing Grandmother was charming.
Jo Langdon looked every inch the owner of a smart furriers and her accent was good.
In the roles of Fritzi and Melba, Barbara McGuiness and Samantha Johnson made a good pairing. They had fun with the characters and had plenty of business going on during scenes when the focus was not on them. They also led the company strongly in ‘Broadway My Street’ and ‘Coffee’ both having praiseworthy vocal talents.
In the company number ’70, Girls, 70’ it was very difficult to hear individual lines. This is usually a problem when people who only have a few lines to sing or speak are not miked and cannot project sufficiently to overcome the musicians.
There were some issues with sound throughout the evening such as mikes not being turned up right at the beginning of a song. The most noticeable occasion was unfortunately during the wonderful ‘Elephant Song’ when Ida’s mike was not working properly and some of the song just couldn’t be heard. Never-the-less I loved it as the three ladies performed it brilliantly!
Sarah-Jane Hall and Chris Hall were good together as the McIllehennys. She has a good singing voice but it Chris’s words tended to be rather indistinct. Diction needs to be especially good for anyone wearing a beard as the beard masks the lips and muffles the sound.
As Callahan, Duncan Hamilton was confident and has a good stage presence.
There were numerous smaller roles, all of which supported the musical extremely well and added to the entertainment.
It was good to see two younger members had parts as carers.
‘Boom Ditty Boom’ was a super opening to act two with the residents smartened up and tap dancing, and in general I felt that act two was more enjoyable than act one.
Ida looking down from her cloud was both touching and funny.
Another comment I would make is that there were many references, some of them humorous that would mean absolutely nothing to the audience. The musical is particularly suited to a New York audience and doesn’t ‘travel’ as well as the other American musicals. There’s no answer to the problem because of copyright but perhaps a glossary in the programme would have been helpful.
Costumes were appropriate for the story but the one ill-fitting one I noted was James Casselton’s. Perhaps that was intentional as he was on the staff of a hotel that obviously had seen better days?
The production team of Sally Wooding and Julie Dance did a first-class job on ’70, Girls, 70’, and thanks to the large cast they were able to create a wonderfully varied cross section of elderly people who haven’t given up on life and can still have fun.
Your programme is well presented for ease of reading and the front cover is attractive.

Thank you for inviting me to see the production and for the hospitality shown to my guest and me on the evening.

E. Gloria Smith
NODA South East Regional Representative – District 12

THE SAVOY SINGERS

‘70, GIRLS, 70’ – OCTOBER 2013

It is always a treat to be invited to see a show that I haven’t seen before and this musical based on the 1958 play written by Peter Coke and entitled ‘Breath of Spring’ was one of them.
Perhaps the subject matter didn’t have enough appeal to draw large audiences which is a pity as, although the music is unfamiliar and the storyline a touch far-fetched, it has a great deal going for it. It had very short runs; only 35 in New York and just three months in London.  With music and lyrics by Kander and Ebb some of the songs are excellent, particularly in the second act, and the comedic content is strong.
The ambience of a run down hotel for the elderly was simply achieved with sofas covered in miss matching throws, the old T.V. and the few props. Although at first the backcloth appeared rather grand the changes of colour in the lighting depicted the different venues convincingly and Ida’s cloud in the sky was splendid! The addition of bright cushions to the uncovered sofas and a thriving plant was all that was needed to transform the seedy hotel into a rather smart one, plus of course the fact that the residents’ appearance was also transformed with smarter costumes and attractive make up.
The Arctic Cold Storage Vault was effectively created and the sound and lighting effects were very good in that scene. Kevin Hanlon acted the role of a rather suave retired safe breaker convincingly and the audience were caught in the moment of tension as he tried to recall his expertise.
The opening scene was great and the individual cast members maintained their character throughout; from the wheelchair bound woman right through the varying levels of physical ability. It was not easy to hear the individual lines at the opening but apart from then, and odd moments later, the band was sympathetic to the performers.
‘Home’ was simply choreographed, nicely varied and well-rehearsed, with each cast member moving as their character demanded.
What a long list of characters! I will not be able to comment on them all but those who are not mentioned by name each added to the production.
With the aid of costumes, make-up and demeanour most of cast managed to look old enough to be in a retirement hotel. Just two of the characters did not. As Walter (a mistake in the biography section in the programme named him ‘Harry’) Kevin Hanlon appeared considerably younger than Sarah Wenban who played Eunice. She had been made up and wigged to look much older but Kevin had not. Grey hair would have helped and is easily achieved. The other obviously younger man was Chris Hall who sported white hair and a beard but still looked young!
Rachael Jones was very good indeed as Ida and both her acting and singing were polished.
As Harry, Brian Connelly was excellent. His accent was first rate too.
Another impressive accent was from Dawn Steel who gave a strong performance as Gert and her ‘See the Light’ with the men was super.
Sarah Wenben made a wonderfully dizzy Eunice who was fussy and anxious about everything and the duet with Kevin Hanlon playing Walter came across saucily.
I liked the band being included in the action and James Casselton stepped into the spotlight as a stage performer too in the role of Eddie. His number was a poignant one and he sang it well and the tap dancing Grandmother was charming.
Jo Langdon looked every inch the owner of a smart furriers and her accent was good.
In the roles of Fritzi and Melba, Barbara McGuiness and Samantha Johnson made a good pairing. They had fun with the characters and had plenty of business going on during scenes when the focus was not on them. They also led the company strongly in ‘Broadway My Street’ and ‘Coffee’ both having praiseworthy vocal talents.
In the company number ’70, Girls, 70’ it was very difficult to hear individual lines. This is usually a problem when people who only have a few lines to sing or speak are not miked and cannot project sufficiently to overcome the musicians.
There were some issues with sound throughout the evening such as mikes not being turned up right at the beginning of a song. The most noticeable occasion was unfortunately during the wonderful ‘Elephant Song’ when Ida’s mike was not working properly and some of the song just couldn’t be heard. Never-the-less I loved it as the three ladies performed it brilliantly!
Sarah-Jane Hall and Chris Hall were good together as the McIllehennys. She has a good singing voice but it Chris’s words tended to be rather indistinct. Diction needs to be especially good for anyone wearing a beard as the beard masks the lips and muffles the sound.
As Callahan, Duncan Hamilton was confident and has a good stage presence.
There were numerous smaller roles, all of which supported the musical extremely well and added to the entertainment.
It was good to see two younger members had parts as carers.
‘Boom Ditty Boom’ was a super opening to act two with the residents smartened up and tap dancing, and in general I felt that act two was more enjoyable than act one.
Ida looking down from her cloud was both touching and funny.
Another comment I would make is that there were many references, some of them humorous that would mean absolutely nothing to the audience. The musical is particularly suited to a New York audience and doesn’t ‘travel’ as well as the other American musicals. There’s no answer to the problem because of copyright but perhaps a glossary in the programme would have been helpful.
Costumes were appropriate for the story but the one ill-fitting one I noted was James Casselton’s. Perhaps that was intentional as he was on the staff of a hotel that obviously had seen better days?
The production team of Sally Wooding and Julie Dance did a first-class job on ’70, Girls, 70’, and thanks to the large cast they were able to create a wonderfully varied cross section of elderly people who haven’t given up on life and can still have fun.
Your programme is well presented for ease of reading and the front cover is attractive.

Thank you for inviting me to see the production and for the hospitality shown to my guest and me on the evening.

E. Gloria Smith
NODA South East Regional Representative – District 12

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