BOOM

Many societies have found it useful to intersperse their main shows with a compilation show and this is what we saw on the evening we visited.

There is no doubt that this type of show is, generally, an audience pleaser; giving the company an opportunity to sing much loved songs and the audience the opportunity to just sit back and enjoy the music. As there is, usually, a minimal cost to producing such shows they are becoming an integral part of a society’s production schedule.

The performances were excellent and Brentwood Operatic has a good selection of strong singers to carry off this type of show. However I did find the choice of songs rather predictable, I could probably have compiled the list myself if I had sat down beforehand to think about it. This is such a shame as there really is a plethora of good songs from the shows that many audiences are not aware of. I could have put a bet on the show having America (West Side Story) Wouldn’t It Be Loverly (My Fair Lady) and All I Ask Of You (Phantom) finishing with a medley from Les Miserables! I did like the opening (Carmina Burana) and, when I heard that I, mistakenly, thought we might be in for some interesting alternative songs from the shows.

I know these shows cannot imitate the original Musical for copyright reasons but I do think it might have been nice to have had some dance elements to some of the songs as the production did become rather static. I also felt that it could have contained a bit more comedy. Apart from the Sweeney Todd number the show was fairly straight.

I liked the costuming effect of everyone in black with red accents, it might have been a nice idea to have had a different accent colour for the second half but that is really a matter of personal opinion.

Having said all that the cast gave excellent performances and the evening was very well received by the audience. I hope it generated a good income for the society which will enable them to continue producing musicals. If Brentwood Operatic decides to do this again I would recommend that they research to find some lesser well known but interesting songs.

It was a very enjoyable evening, thank you Brentwood Operatic.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.