Devil May Care

On entry to Yeadon Town Hall, there was a lovely warm glow of red light. Everybody there had come to see a brand-new musical, “Devil May Care.” There was a feeling of not knowing what to expect mixed with expectation and eager anticipation. The excellent social media promotion had given people a taste, so seeing the fabulous fairy tale castle was no surprise, but there were some strange, quirky things in an office, giving an air of mystery. Having met at the Leeds G and S Society Sarah Case and Matthew Oglesby, both locals joined forces to write a musical. It’s full of humour, wonderful solos, duets, and powerful ensemble pieces. While each song pushes the story forward dramatically, the allure of musicals can lie in their ability to tell stories through multiple mediums spoken word, song, and dance and this musical delivers. The newly formed Hats Off Productions certainly rose to the challenge, delivering a show full of fun, humour which was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.

The show starts with the minions of hell recapping the events of an important project through the medium of shadow puppetry and song. The formidable pairing of Sarah Case and Matthew Oglesby based the musical on some Bavarian Folk tales featuring the Devil, brilliantly played by Jason Weightman, who relished the role, adding both humour and pathos. Jason gave a red-hot performance as a convincing office manager in the waiting room to hell, eventually transforming instantly from a suit to a red Devil complete with horns. His rendition of “You'll Have the Horn,” the “Fiddle Song,” and the “Horn Song” was just incredible. His character gave gifts that led to a character's demise, but the gifts were never really bad; it was the people who misused the gifts and caused their downfall. Jason showed great versatility, giving a very polished performance, switching from Devil to an old lady with amazing ease and conviction. Fen Greatley-Hirsch as Oberflachlich and Marlowe Mitchell as the love interest made a wonderful couple, compellingly portraying the prince and princess who get burnt at the stake by the mad king and end up in Hell's waiting room. Lizzie Nicholson shines as the barmaid with stunning vocals giving vivacity and sheer likability to the role . Anita Adams commanded the stage with the most dramatic of performances, giving a masterclass in the craft of pausing, body language, and use of expression as the Princess who escapes the tower but gets her comeuppance when she steals the horn. James Pegg gave a highly entertaining performance as the shepherd who just wants a better way to look after the land but gets tangled up in a murder and hiding a dead body with disastrous consequences. His was a well-controlled but fully entertaining performance. In the role of the Soldier, Philip Case gave a commanding performance with haunting vocals, especially in “To Die A Thousand Deaths” and the “Soldier’s Lament.” Actors in a whole host of smaller but very interesting character roles were Sam Boobier ( Clown 1), George Harvey ( Clown 2), Rachael Griffiths ( Clown 3), Philip Reuben ( Clown 4), Anne Futers ( Clown 5). The crossbow scene was hilarious, and the sheep were simply stars. The entire show was slick with quirky choreography, including using red clipboards in a Busby Berkeley-style fan routine. Excellent costumes, makeup, and hairstyles were character-driven fitting thanks to the costume team of Sarah Case, Emma Stirk, and Rachael Griffith, and props were perfect for the production thanks to Judith Smith. The show was extremely well put together. It was visually good with a well-made set thanks to clever set design by Phillip and Sarah Case and construction and stage management led by Paul Myers with Simon Futers and Ruby Paechter.

 “Devil May Care” was brilliantly entertaining and captivating right to the end, packed full of laughter, joy and fabulous humour. Congratulations to absolutely everyone at Hats Off Productions for rising to the challenge of staging a brand-new musical and sharing it with the community. I’m sure everyone loved it and thanks to writers Sarah Case and Matthew Oglesby, who also directed and musically directed the show. Congratulations on creating such a funny musical comedy and daring to bring it to life!

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