Calendar Girls - The Musical

 

The plot of this musical is, of course, well known, especially here in Yorkshire where it is set, based as it is on a film, a play and, before that, real life. 

At the heart of it are the relationships between Annie, firstly with her husband John, as he unsuccessfully fights cancer and then, after his death, with her best friend, Chris, the instigator of the calendar idea, prompted by a similar item which had arrived at her husband’s flower shop alongside tulips from Amsterdam. Alexa Chaplin has taken on many roles in York productions but few can have required her to express so much emotion. Her song “Very slightly, almost”, delivered from the settee in the relatives’ room at the hospital, which is said to be rather uncomfortable, is a good example of this and there’s another in the song “Kilimanjaro” in the second act.  Chris is a much more up-beat character (there again, she hasn’t lost her husband) and Katie Melia gave a very confident performance with excellent comedy timing.  Her real-life husband, Peter Melia gave a cheerful performance as the unfortunate John, looking on the bright side despite his diagnosis.

Members of the W.I, each had their own stories to tell. Amy Greene as Cora is a single mother and a vicar’s daughter and gave an amusing performance of her song “Who wants a silent night” for Christmas festivities at the ladies’ meeting.  Sarah Brown as Celia is the source of much fun, a former air hostess who, having “Had a little work done” feels able to cover not one month but two.  Ruth is a somewhat nervous character who has cold feet about her appearance in the calendar but, fortified by her “little Russian friend” (think Smirnoff not Putin), finally plucks up the necessary courage.  Alison Taylor had apparently played the part in a previous production of the play and as a result her performance was a confident one.  Sandy Nicholson is the senior member of the group, Jessie, a former schoolteacher. This was another fine performance as she described becoming “an expert at being old”.  The unfortunate chair of the branch is Marie       (Andrea Copeland).  There are two Miss Wilsons whose duties seem to be restricted to the provision of tea (Sam Holmes) and coffee (Paula Stainton) but they also entered into the spirit of things when only their aprons protected their modesty at one point.   

As for the remainder of the cast, Joe Marucci appeared as Lawrence, initially the hospital porter but, having won prizes for his photography, is given the task of creating the calendar, only to learn that a former schoolteacher is one of the subjects. He gave an entirely credible performance as one faced with the prospect of facing so many naked ladies (“you wait for a life model all your life and then six come along at once”).  Jack Hooper gave an amusing performance as Rod, Chris’s husband and flower shop owner. His teenage son, Danny, is just exploring a relationship with a girl, Jenny, who, although being Marie’s daughter, has a much more modern outlook on life.  Tommo, son of single mum, Cora, is a friend of Danny and boasts that Celia has a thing about him.  These three teenage characters, expertly played by James Hepworth, Eve Clark and Frankie Jackson, worked very well together, the friendship between the two boys and the blossoming relationship between Jenny and Danny seeming entirely natural.  Smaller parts were played by Janie Woolgar as the visiting speaker who never had the opportunity to tell us about broccoli and Nicola Dawson as Lady Cravenshire, who awarded a prize to an M & S Victoria sponge. Malcolm Poole and Ben Caswell played Colin and Denis, husbands of Jessie and Celia, occasionally a little bemused by their wives’ efforts but otherwise giving moral support. 

The production took place on an attractive set with a dry stone wall in front of a lovely view of the Dales but a nice touch was to see the actual calendar photographs projected on a screen. An abundance of sunflowers decorated the final scene. A six-piece band provided good support.

The girls who were brave enough to reveal almost all deserve special praise but, just as one page of a calendar is of only partial use on its own, it takes a team effort to produce the finished article.  This was certainly evident here.                        

     

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