Centenary Celebration Concert

One hundred years of musical theatre is certainly something to celebrate and SWMTC pulled out all the stops in their centenary concert.  Performing before a very appreciative audience in the wonderful surroundings of the prestigious Saffron Hall, the company was in fine voice as they sang their way through their repertoire of songs from the shows.

Master of Ceremonies Lisa Venning opened the proceedings and took us through the evening with stories and anecdotes from the past, as she introduced each item.  As with so many musical societies, SWMTC started off as an operatic society, performing G&S and other light operas, there being a limited number of actual West End/Broadway shows available in those early days.  Now though the choice is endless and I would imagine it was not an easy task choosing which numbers to perform.

The opener was from the society’s most recent production, Kinky Boots and was followed by three numbers from My Fair Lady, a show whose popularity never seems to wane, borne out by the fact that it’s back in the West End.  Here Alison Hare and Jason Austin-Guest were the soloists, joined by the chorus for Ascot Gavotte.

The society has a strong youth group and it was lovely to see so many of them singing Come Follow the Band from their amazing production of Barnum, as well as Hard Knock Life from Annie, sung by the girls, and songs from Oliver.  It’s often said that if you’re not sure what to do, do Oliver.  It pulls in the crowds and with a cast of adults and children, together with memorable songs like Consider Yourself, sung here by Oscar Riley and the company, and Where is Love sung by Rebecca Hine, you can see why.

Songs from Guys and Dolls featuring soloists Deejay Latchuman, Adam Bonner and Will Taylor were followed by Rachel Glibbery, Charlotte Tarran and Lizzi Rawlinson-Mills singing Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof. Then for one of my favourites, West Side Story.  Hollie Persico and Kerrie Scarff, plus the ladies, sang America   followed by the boys and men with Gee Officer Krupke.

And so it went on.  One fabulous song after another and as we neared the end of Act 1 Bob Rawlinson-Mills nearly made me cry all over again as he reprised his solo, The Letter, from Made in Dagenham before Laura Thomas reminded us of her terrific performance in the same show with Everybody Out.

Opening Act 2 was the upbeat Blow Gabriel Blow from Anything Goes with Gemma Alexander, followed by songs from Sweet Charity and a lovely solo by Adam Bonner of Empty Chairs from Les Miserables. 

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better we were treated to a fantastic finale of You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel and One Day More from Les Miserables.

Every song evoked a memory and for those in the audience who had never seen an SWMTC production, this concert must surely have been a game changer.

Paul Garner and his orchestra provided excellent accompaniment throughout the evening.  My congratulations to all involved in this lovely concert.

 

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