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Cinderella

Author: Peter Oliver

Information

Date
15th January 2015
Society
Spennymoor Stage and Song
Venue
Spennymoor Town Hall
Type of Production
Pantomime
Director
Karen Butler
Musical Director
Martyn Jones

Spennymoor Stage and Song presented their interpretation of the classic and much loved pantomime Cinderella. This traditional pantomime was produced in the best sense having all the ingredients to entertain an audience and stuck to the traditional tale we all know and love, but had its own unique touches.  A very warm welcome, as always, was received from the front of house team, and it was so good to see such a full house.  Directed by Karen Butler, whose eye to detail and sheer commitment certainly shone through each individual cast member, the musical direction was in the capable hands of Martyn Jones, accompanied by Jackie Adamson and David Young.

The talented cast gave their all from the opening number, “Walking on Sunshine”, which set the scene and gave us an insight as to what was to follow.  Faye Rodgerson played the delightful Cinderella with a good stage presence, and delivered her musical numbers well.  I particularly enjoyed “With a Smile and a Song” and “Happy Working Song”. She was well matched with Claire Smith, as Prince Charming, who was confident in her role, had style, good diction, and delivered her musical number “Somewhere Out There” with passion and feeling.  Liam Etherington, as Buttons, certainly knew how to engage with the audience with his natural charm, energy and timing, and delivered his musical numbers well.  I particularly enjoyed his numbers “Busy Doing Nothing” which he performed with the chorus, and his solo number “When She Loved me”.  Well done Liam.  In this production we were privileged to have three dames, Eric Hickson played Aggie the Baron’s wife.  As always, Eric’s larger than life character is always a success.  He is able to extemporise fluently, which is much appreciated by the audience and certainly had me laughing with his one-liners and innuendos.  Cinderella’s ugly step sisters Mimi and Fifi were played by Paul Rogers and Richard Butler, and certainly had the audience in their hands they entered into the spirit of pantomime and had the audience booing and hissing in all the right places.  Both were excellent to watch, and both interacted and bounced off each other.  I particularly enjoyed their musical numbers the “Hunting Song” and “Stepsisters Musical Medley”.  Jayne Etherington, as Dandini, had a good singing voice and gave a confident performance.  Good performance also from Ian Patterson as Baron Hardup  Again I enjoyed his duo with Eric “I Remember It Well” which was very entertaining.  Lyn Haldenby gave a good interpretation of the Fairy Godmother as she worked her magic and kept the story line going to the right conclusion.  George Adams gave a strong performance as the Demon king, as did Christopher Jones, as Lord Chamberlin, and Rebekah Newman and Kate Nelson, as Cinderella’s friends, and a special mention must also go to Clarissa the Cow. 

There cannot be a performance without the chorus, and a special mention must go to the townsfolk who, in my opinion, delivered some good chorus numbers and showed great enthusiasm from start to finish. Special mention must go to the backstage crew creating very slick changes.  The lighting and sound  helped to create a lively rendition of the pantomime in true tradition. Well done Spennymoor Stage and Song.

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