Calendar Girls The Musical

It was a very sombre and reflective mood as we all stood for the national anthem and then watched v.t. Clips of cast members personal experiences with battling cancer - some wins, some losses, lots of tears and raw emotion before Drama Dept unleashed their performance of Calendar Girls The Musical. We've all either seen the film or the play or heard the general gist of the true story of a group of middle-aged W.I. Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research.

Drama Dept delivered perfect homage to those incredible ladies with their very own phenomenal cast. Not one weak link in the whole production. I witnessed a professional performance well worthy of a West End stage. TheCompany opened the show with "Yorkshire" and they set the bar high, high energy, great volume , each character established themselves perfectly , from the very first notes by Stuart Hall (John) we, the audience were invested. His rich deliverance had us swept along with him and his story. His accent and diction throughout both dialogue and vocals was superb. The chemistry between him and Dawn-Leigh (Annie) was apparent, very realistic and not just acted. Dawn-Leigh opened her soul to us warts and all, she gave us a solid, real, raw, beautiful performance filled with genuine tears and laughter, this combined with incredible vocal breathing, tone and deliverance- that note in "Kilimanjaro" is not to be attempted by the faint hearted, it goes on forever and she never faltered or cracked once. 
There was genuine friendship, mutual respect and admiration apparent onstage between Dawn-Leigh and Sarah Thewlis (Chris), again a very strong, completely rounded performance with very strong vocals. One of my favourite numbers was "Dare" performed by all The Girls. They weren't just acting on the stage, they became their characters completely. I believed every word, they made me (and other members of the audience) cry, laugh and cry again. They whole cast should all be highly commended for staying within their strong accents throughout, it's not easy especially when singing but they did it.

One of the most difficult things to do onstage is to act drunk convincingly and still deliver audible dialogue, this task was given to Julie Proffit (Ruth), she pulled it off with seemingly effortless ease, once again a fully rounded, solid performance with excellent diction, comedy timing, facial expressions and use of stage space. Shirley Harrison (Jessie) was every inch the retired Head Teacher with a twinkle in her eye, her deliverance of "What Age Expects Of You" was perfectly timed and believable. Vikki Bullar (Marie) and Jessica Jayne Jordan (Celia) were perfect counter balances and yet again gave us very solid, well rounded performances with strong vocals, strong accents, great diction, projection and interaction with the audience. Denise Carter (Miss Wilson, Tea) and Eleanor Wales (Miss Wilson, Coffee) made their parts completely their own, their comedy timing was incredible, we fully expected them to appear topless for the calendar shoot but we didn't expect them completely naked except for an apron! Well Done ladies.  I haven't mentioned Ali Foy (Cora), Katie Perkins (Jenny) or Tracy Harper (Brenda Hulse/Lady Cravenshire) yet but you will not be surprised to again read that they had great stage presence, great diction, strong vocals and equally strong characterisations. 
I mustn't forget the equally hard working male members of this phenomenal cast Mike Sammon (Dennis), Paul Allison (Rod), Stephen Mallison (Colin), Daniel Eccles (Tommo), Mat Hepplestone (Lawrence) and Deni Griffiths (Danny). They all gave us strong characterisations, strong  clear accents, great stage presence and respect, super vocals, brilliant facial expressions particularly Deni telling us he's a virgin and Daniel telling us he's being groomed by Celia.  Joanie Wood, Lyndsey Brindley and Keeley Hopkins made up the ensemble and were fundamental in this special piece of musical theatre. 

Paul Lawton ( Musical Director) kept great pace and did a super job of keeping all the vocal royalty onstage exactly where they needed to be, he showed us the light and shade in the music and allowed it to be sung and heard exactly as it should be. There were no missed notes, no slides, no key falls, no late entries and no frantic eye signals from the cast to him, he anticipated when emotion was going to take over in vocals and the cast were safe and comfortable in his and his bands very capable hands.

The set was very simple, a two level performance space, two trucks were utilised for the piano and the flower shop, a sofa was used, a few chairs , a wheelbarrow and a rostron. These were moved either by stage crew or the actors themselves. Props were relevant to the action and were handled competently. It was amusing and touching to see the Noda winners trophy making its stage debut. Costumes , hair and make up were modern day and all very fitting to the piece. 
Quite simple lighting was used to very good effect allowing the musical to stand on its own merit without too many extra bangs and whistles.

Michael McCaw (Director) should feel very, very proud. He chose an amazing, talented cast and crew but no matter how good a cast is you need someone with the end vision. You could argue that the subject matter is so emotional that you are guaranteed a "good" show, that is simply not true. To create a show of this calibre you have to feel it and be prepared to spill your guts and lay yourself and your own personal emotions bare, Michael and his cast did exactly that and the standing ovations were very,very much deserved. Bravo Guys, job superbly done! 

Myself and my guest thank you for your hospitality and look forward to seeing you all again very soon. 

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