Calendar Girls - The Musical

Calendar Girls -The Musical has been hugely popular since its amateur release which is not surprising given its potential for powerful emotional impact and the great opportunities it presents for its cast.  Based around the true story of the Women’s Institute members who challenged convention and produced a ‘nude’ calendar in an attempt to raise funds to replace the sofa in the visitor’s room at the local hospital when the husband of one of the members died due to cancer.  The initiative took off raising millions of pounds and resulting in a feature film, stage play and ultimately this musical.

 In the case of the production by Dinnington Operatic Society the cast, particularly the female leads, should all be commended for their individual character portrayals especially their incredibly strong vocals.   The ‘Girls’ were supported by a great cast.  The leader of the WI and its Chairperson is Marie and Fiona Saunders was perfect as the bossy and presumptuous organiser.   Saunders managed to pinpoint the failures of others with wonderful acidity whilst never inwardly reflecting on her own shortcomings.  Gary St John, as John Clarke, opened the show with a wonderful rendition of ‘Yorkshire’ which built into an active and interesting opening number involving all the cast and ensemble.  St John has a captivating voice perfect for the role.   Johnny Green found endless humour in the role of Rod, the long-suffering husband of Chris, and we were never in doubt about how much in love with her he was and his desire for her to never change. 

Steve Askew as Lawrence, hospital porter come photographer, had just the right amount of trepidation as he put forward his ideas for the calendar.   Graham Berridge, making his debut with the group, was simply lovely as Colin, husband to retired headmistress Jessie and Mark Shaw playing Dennis injected some confident ‘received pronunciation’ amongst the Yorkshire dialect.

Joanne Thornewell took on two very different cameo roles as Brenda Hulse and Lady Cravenshire – effortlessly shifting between the two.  Gail Cobb and Isabelle Steadman (Miss Wilson - Tea and Miss  Wilson – Coffee) were a lovely double act who totally joined in the fun by moving from shy spinster sisters  to baring all in the calendar scene and clearly enjoying it.

There were incredibly strong performances from the three youngest cast members Bobby Miller as Danny, Luca Dent as Tommo and Emily Askew as Jenny.  All three were confident and articulate with excellent timing and a wonderful understanding of the shows humour.  As members of the DOS Student Academy the investment the Society makes in its children shone through in the performances of these three, very talented, young people who fit perfectly into the production and whom I hope to see on stage many times in the future. 

Liana Underwood as single mum Cora had a fabulous physicality which she used with ease throughout the production.  Her movements during Celia’s solo ‘So I’ve had a Little Work Done’ were hilarious and she clearly enjoyed the role.  Newcomer to the Society, Christine Kenny played former airhostess Celia with great confidence and fabulous vocals, her interchanges with Tommo were particularly entertaining.  Samantha Smedley was the downtrodden Ruth, who discovers her inner self (with the help of some vodka) and game-fully joins in the calendar.  In ‘My Russian Friend and I’ Smedley delivered a very emotional song sharing the tragedy of Ruth’s live with huge authenticity.

Louise Selden as Jessie was wonderful.  She delivered her lines as though she was presiding over a school assembly and effortlessly captured the ‘retired headmistress’ persona.  Her delivery of ‘What Age Expects’ resonated with the audience.  She enjoyed her characters gleeful participation in the calendar and absolutely did not ‘hide behind the knitting’ as is often done. 

As Annie, Amy Elisabeth, managed to skilfully balance moments of grief with a positive message of hope, community, and empowerment.  Her outstanding vocals really got to the heart of the songs and were wonderfully presented.  Her sadness was tangible as was her frustration with the often-random suggestions of her friend Chris.  Kim Stead took the role of Chris with confidence and brought the straight talking, full-of-fun role to the fore with her antics and history, but also ensured that the audience could  see that her character was reflecting on her behaviour as the story progressed and understood that her love for her husband, son and friends was something she was prepared to fight for.  Working together and Chris and the whole cast delivered scenes that evoked both tears and laughter.

The locally designed and made set pieces was well constructed and used a simple interchangeable flat to create different locations effectively, such as a community hall, the hospital and the Yorkshire dales.  Lighting was used to reflect the changing moods.  Pace of the production and sound was excellent throughout.   Set changes were swiftly made by members of the cast and costumes were spot on for the show.

The ensemble moved around the stage with ease and the limited opportunities the show offers for choreography were well used by Choreographer Daisy Mikulik.  The beautiful vocals and captivating renditions of the songs is testament to the work of Musical Director Jonathan Wilby and the very talented musicians in the six-piece band were excellent.  The show is celebrated for its uplifting and inspiring true story about friendship, community, and the strength of women – Director Ashley Booker brought this out in the cast and the result was a production deserving of the standing ovation it received.

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