Broadway Blockbusters

 is always a pleasure to attend a concert by Saddleworth Musical Society as there is always a very warm welcome. We were treated to the very charming Martin Roche as Master of Ceremonies - he threw in some witty quips and also some very knowledgeable musical theatre anecdotes, it is very obvious his respect and genuine affection for the society.

The cast were seated facing the audience at all times, the soloists wore individual formal wear while the chorus wore mainly concert blacks. Dave Dossett was Musical Director and 2nd keyboard for all 46 musical numbers , he was joined by the very talented Louise Brennan on keyboard and Robert Banham on drums - to say it was such a small band they more than held their own. Sound by Aaron Smith was fairly good with a few glitches.

We started with a selection from Guys & Dolls - a brave choice as Guys & Dolls is not usually one of the “ favourites “ but the cast went at all the songs with attack. Carol Hunter wowed with some delightful top notes in her rendition of “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady. Lisa Kay really came into her own in the Sweeney Todd selection, she didn’t just sing she performed with every essence of her being, she gave fabulous diction and incredible face. She looked the audience in the eye and she owned it. It was lovely to see Peter Wakefield this side of the baton to perform “Mr Cellophane” with such emotion and depth. Mirriam Lawton gave a lovely controlled performance of “Children Will Listen” from Into The Woods. We were taken to the interval by a couple from Les Miserables, Martin Bradbury sang “Bring Him Home” beautifully with very nice tone and depth of emotion,there was plenty of light and shade in the vocals.
The second half was as exciting as the first half, we set off with a few from Phantom of The Opera. We moved to London then for a selection from Jekyll & Hyde, a notoriously difficult musical to sing but Saddleworth Musical Society were confident and delivered a very strong vocal. I particularly enjoyed “Murder, Murder” where the timing and attack from the singers  has to be spot on and then “This Is The Moment” performed by Martin Bradbury - it truly was performed right down to the very ends of his finger tips, we had some strong solid notes, light and shade, depth and richness of tone , great big facial expressions and superb diction. The concert finished with “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” from Spamalot which the audience were invited to join in with which they did with gusto.

Thank you for inviting me, myself and my guest enjoyed your performance, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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