Box Office Romance

Since 1963, in 50 years of unbroken productions, this society has, in addition to the main production in November, performed a Spring show.  This has usually taken the form of a concert, with the audience seated at tables.  For this 50th Anniversary, the society's committee felt that something a little different was required, with a more technically challenging auditorium production.  As a result, the cast were invited to suggest one or more favourite songs they had performed from previous productions and one of the society's members, James Humphreys, took up the challenge of both writing a dialogue linking the songs together and directing the piece.  So, "Box Office Romance" was created - centred around the gossip and comings and goings of the management and staff of a packaging factory - the Hot-Box Boxing Company - during a typical working week, with the various sub-plots and affairs of the heart between the various characters brought to life.

James had also imaginatively created a set using large packing cases, with a different component part of a scene painted on each side.  This could have potentially been disastrous, but the backstage crew, under the management of Mick Rowe, together with members of the cast, ensured smooth and accurate placement of the various boxes to create the backdrop and props for each scene.  I particularly enjoyed the transformation of one of the factory's packing benches into the motor coach taking the staff on their Sunday outing to the seaside.  In contrast, I felt that an earlier scene in the men's locker room, depicting urinals, had not been so attractive or appealing!

With no Musical Director or orchestra, the cast had to rely on backing tracks, which, in the majority of cases, worked well and did not pose any problems for the performers, though occasionally the volume was a little too loud.  This was evident in the lovely soulful solo from HMS Pinafore "Sorry Her Lot Who Loves Too Well" and the Sigmund Romberg classic "One Alone".

By the very nature of a 50th Anniversary celebration, this was an all-inclusive production, giving the opportunity for every performing member to take part, which for some proved just a little too demanding, perhaps.  But it was evident that the cast were having an enjoyable time and coping well with the previously unknown script, although my thoughts were that some of the dialogue was unnecessary to the plot.  This meant that the length of the performance was over long and the audience's attention was waning by the end of the evening.  Having said that, it is difficult to decide which musical numbers to include, or exclude, in a production such as this and the audience, I'm sure, enjoyed listening to some of their favourite show songs from the the past 50 years in this entirely new concept.

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