Broadway and Beyond

It was a pleasure to once again visit EODS at the Henrician, particularly in the wake of their winning the District 5 Best Concert Award, for last years’ A Musical Alphabet, the previous Sunday.  On offer this time was a selection of musical theatre numbers chosen from across the decades, as we ventured to Broadway and Beyond!

First-time director Daniel Callaghan chose a song list that skewed fairly modern, sprinkled with some ‘classic’ highlights such as ‘Put on Your Sunday Clothes’, ‘Me Ol’ Bamboo’ and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’.  These choices made for an evening full of interesting contrasts as, for example, opener ‘Welcome to the Rock’ from Come from Away was followed by Calamity Jane’s ‘Deadwood Stage’.  Personally, I feel that the ‘narrative’ type songs (common in modern musicals) work less successfully in this format than those that stand more alone, but it must be said that the performers extracted good value from every number. 

To pick out just a few highlights – I really enjoyed the emotional performance of ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, in which a trio of singers accompanied a wonderfully acted love story, the dancing almost balletic in execution.  ‘Stick it to the Man’ was lustily delivered; ‘Parting Glass’ provided a thoughtful change of pace; and ‘Hello!’ just made me want to see Book of Mormon again – which I think counts as job done!  ‘Play’ (a new song on me) was charmingly delivered as the cast cavorted about in their pyjamas and, finally, ‘Flash Bang Wallop’ brought the show to a rousing conclusion – well done to everyone for giving it both barrels after nearly two hours of flat out performing!

This was an evening that really showcased the EODS ensemble.  I really liked this idea, it felt like a very inclusive evening.  Almost every song featured almost all of the cast and, whilst this was certainly a challenge to the performer’s stamina, it made sure that everyone had plenty of chances to shine.  And the cast took those chances with both hands, delivering entertaining performances across the board.  Their enjoyment really shone through, and was very infectious.  Well done to all of them! 

Choreography was also a very strong element to this evening, with the cast (led by a core group of dancers) delivering a series of complicated, energetic dances with accuracy and skill.  From the rock and roll stylings of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ to the robotic arm movements of ‘Innuendo/Radio Gaga’, via some impressively synchronised glass clanking in ‘Some Nights’, there was great variety on show.  Congratulations to choreographers Chloe French, Bethaney Rimmer, Hayley Roberts and Claire Watson, whose efforts really enhanced my enjoyment of the performance. 

The show was simply staged in an open space with a platform at the rear, which maximised the space in which the cast could work.  To either side there were a series of light columns, which provided an interesting splash of colour.  I was particularly pleased to see a couple of appearances by the EODS rectangular brown box, which was like seeing a regular performer crop up on stage!  If I may make one small technical comment, I did think that the vocals were sometimes mixed a bit too low.  Maybe it’s my cloth ears!

Lighting was effectively delivered, adding to the atmosphere with judicious use of back lighting and spotlights from time to time.  There was some particularly evocative lighting in ‘Rainbow Connection’, when the cast wore little finger lights that danced around in the darkness like multi-coloured fireflies.  The effect was magical – so much so that it was a bit of a shame when the stage lights were brought up half way through the number, and some of the impact was lost.  But I must applaud the technical and backstage teams for their vital efforts in supporting the performers on stage. 

My thanks to all at EODS for the customary warm welcome and for taking time out to chat during the evening.  I look forward to seeing you later in the year for something a little different in Calendar Girls – The Musical – sticky buns at the ready!

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