A Night of Musical Comedy...the funny bits!

On a dark winter’s evening the promise of a night of musical comedy was the perfect invitation.  There was a lovely mixture of numbers, both well-known and more unusual. However, given the title of the show, there were a few numbers that didn’t seem to quite fit, such as ‘One Night in Bankok’ and ‘This is me’.   Whilst great stand-alone numbers, there were many other more appropriate songs that could have been chosen, so it was a shame that they didn’t always stay true to the concept of the show.

There was a strong start with a pre-show number, ‘Big Ass Rock’, which was very entertaining and set a good tone for the show. There were a couple of performers and singers that I would have liked to have seen a little more of, but on the whole there was a good balance. 

There were a few highlights during the evening, all of which were provided by the soloists.  Two of my favourite numbers were ‘The Boy from’ and ‘Whatever happened to my part?’  and I also very much enjoyed ‘Popular’ and ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’.

The chorus numbers were rather a mixed bag.  ‘Edgar Allan Poe’ was terrific and the ‘Time Warp’ at the end worked well.  However the opening number needed a lot more energy and conviction to draw the audience in. There were many in the chorus who did not feel the need to smile nor, indeed, to put much effort in, which was a shame.  A night of Musical Comedy should be bubbling over with energy and enthusiasm and, whilst some performers did just that, others rather let the side down.

The lighting was really excellent, with lots of variation in colour and mood throughout.  The projections onto a gauze during ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ worked really well.

The band did a good job playing the various styles of music and kept proceedings going at a good pace.

There was also some nice choreography in what I think must have been fairly challenging circumstances.  It is not easy to choreograph a show with so many different styles and a very mixed ability group, so the choreographer should be congratulated for her achievements.

Costumes were excellent; they had obviously worked very hard to pull together so many great looks.  Likewise the stage crew made the show look very slick with some limited but very effective scenery and props.

There were some clever links between the numbers to bring the whole show together and, on the whole, this was a very enjoyable evening of entertainment. 

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