A Tale Of Two Cities

Direction and Musical Staging:   Steve Woolley                     

Musical Direction: Paul Woolley

Choreographer and Production Assistant: Jane Priddes

A Tale of Two Cities: The Musical is a stage adaptation of the classic novel by Charles Dickens, with book, music, and lyrics by Jill Santoriello. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the musical intertwines the lives of Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a drunken English lawyer. Their paths cross through their love for Lucie Manette resulting in an ultimate sacrifice, and redemption.

This musical was a complete unknown to both of us, very rarely performed in the UK and there is a reason, it’s a mammoth undertaking, it’s an epic show, a complicated story set in two countries, a huge sing with difficult music. SMP did such a great job. 

The set, open to the audience when entering certainly had the ‘wow’ factor. The raised platform at the rear gave great height and a second staging area, with two steep steps either side. This enabled an additional entry point from under the platform, which was well-used. The only downside was that there was no way to leave the stage from the platform level without being seen coming down the stairs, which distracted the next scene on occasion. The projection was of excellent quality very effective and worked brilliantly, fitting the space given really well on the top of the platform. The guillotine effect was a real staging highlight. 

Lighting was very well-done and added to the dramatic overall effect. The slotted panels on either side enable great side-lighting effects with a well-controlled use of haze. There was some great colouring, particularly the reds and greens for the nightmare scenes, contrasting with the blued for the night-time songs. Overall, through the lighting was a key feature of the production. 

Sound worked well overall. Radio microphones were used for all with lines and on the whole were well-controlled. SMP used backing tracks throughout and were ably led by Musical Director Paul Woolley. This worked better for the soloists than in some of the big ensemble numbers, where I feel some of the timings may have been off occasionally. The balance between the tracks and ensemble vocals largely worked well.

The Choreography was at an appropriate level and suitable for the show, more movement than dance, and all well executed.

The costumes were fabulous, of the right period, the aristocrats brilliantly lavish and the peasants suitably dirty, which is detail that is often missed.

In Reviewing the Principal performances: 

Sydney Carton - your character developed from drunken cynic to selfless and endearing gentleman seamlessly. Some lovely vocals, “I Can’t Recall” and “If Dreams” were so lovely. 

Charles Darnay - A lovely sincerity in this portrayal- well delivered.

Lucie Manette - A graceful performance, some lovely soprano tones.

Dr Manette. Your journey from broken prisoner to loving father was very well demonstrated.

Madame Defarge - A very strong and “Angry “performance, which worked really well for the character, maybe a little more light and shade in the vocals would have enhanced this performance even further.

Defarge. You delivered your role really well and developed a strong relationship with Madame Dafarge.

Miss Pross - you wrung out every last comic moment in this character with some great facial expressions, providing some much3-needed light relief.

Jarvis Lorry - another genuine and sincere performance.

John Barsad - there were some lovely comedy moments well delivered in this performance, which I really enjoyed. 

Jerry Cruncher. A likeable character despite his dubious business, well done.

Marquis St Evremonde. Suitably villainous and very unpleasant, very well portrayed, showing great disdain for the lower classes.

Little Lucie - A delightful performance, beautiful vocals, you had the whole audience in your hands when singing the prayer. Very strong in your dialogue as well capturing the character beautifully.

Little Gaspard - Another lovely performance, it’s not easy to “Play dead” convincingly and be carried about but you did really well. 

Gaspard. I really enjoyed the intensity in your performance from the emotional scene of Little Gaspard’s death to the vengeful murder.

I can’t mention every character, but everyone clearly had put so much work into their individual roles and worked so well together as an ensemble company. The vocals were strong with some lovely harmony lines coming through. 

Overall, this was another strong and impressive performance from St Mary’s Players who never seem to shirk from a really challenging production. A Tale of Two Cities follows very much in this vein, and they are to be congratulated on such a compelling and entertaining telling of a difficult story. We look forward to your future productions!

PLEASE NOTE:

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances, and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.