Diamonds and Pearls

To celebrate 30 years of live entertainment at the lovely Pendle Hippodrome Theatre in Colne, the happy band of players from PHTC presented a concert which revelled in musical favourites both old and new; appropriate enough for this pearl anniversary. The theatre (not to mention the raft of volunteers who keep it going) is a much valued part of the local cultural community and it was heartening to see this landmark celebration being recognised with a theatrical revue which took the audience on a musical journey through the ages. What was particularly heartening was the fact that in the spirit of 'always leave them wanting more', it was a concert which didn't outstay its welcome and was of a very agreeable length!

Opening with 'Hello' from 'The Book of Mormon', the company got things off to a stirring start, using the whole auditorium to start the show in fine style with an appropriate and amusing opening number. The Hippodrome's youthful members then bounced onto the stage to give a very lively - and colourfully costumed - rendition of 'It's a Hard Knock Life', replete with some energetic choreography. 'Easy Street' from 'Annie' was next and Mark Brady, Jackie Catlow and Catherine Lister made a good team with this entertaining number. I'm rather fond of 'Annie' (I always think of it as a free market/Reaganite take on 'Oliver! but then that's probably just me) and so it was nice to have two songs from the show in quick succession.

The next two musical selections turned out to be my favourite of the evening; a wonderful medley of 'You Were Meant for Me' and 'You are My Lucky Star' by Josh Hindle and Cathryn Osborne. Well performed, beautifully orchestrated and with a pleasingly fleet footed tempo, this was the highlight of the revue for me: good songs well performed should be the cornerstone of every musical and when done as well as here, make for a marvellous musical moment. 'Busy Woman' from the new musical 'Made in Dagenham' came next with a host of Hippodrome regulars fairly throwing themselves into the routine. I wasn't sure that this was a song which worked in the revue when taken out of the context of the show it came from however, despite the thread of 'girl power' detected in the programme of pieces chosen to make up the evening's entertainment.

'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' led by Mark Brady was, on the whole, a fairly successful routine, despite there being a couple of times when singers and orchestra seemed slightly out of synch and then we dashed swiftly on to '9 to 5', another new musical. The girls did a sterling job of adding lustre to this old Dolly Parton favourite and the stage fairly burst with life and exuberance.

Alas, next up, someone thought fit to inflict 'Flash Bang Wallop' from 'Half a Sixpence' upon the poor unsuspecting audience. Nobody's favourite never-ending juggernaut of a tune was at least given a slightly novel treatment in an attempt to sugar-coat the bitter pill: the always reliably twinkly Angela Schofield was given the lead vocal. I'm not sure the song suited her voice (or whether her voice was right for the song?) but something didn't quite mesh: I'm a huge fan of Angela's voice but for me, it didn't suit the knock-about nature of the song. Fortunately, to take us up to the interval, the company us another colourful routine set to the music of 'Avenue Q' which at least had the audience going to the interval on a positive note.

To take us into the second half, the overture from 'The Producers' proved to be a most welcome introduction - to be charitable, the odd wonky note here and there could be described as in keeping with the spirit of the show itself - before the company gave a rousing rendition of 'Good Morning Baltimore' from 'Hairspray'. My favourite section of the second half followed next as the company gave a very spirited rendition of 'Underneath the Arches'. David Smith and Josh Hindle were our Flanagan and Allen for the evening and were joined by the company in a very zippy version of the tune. I enjoyed the way the company made the song very much their own rather than trudge through the doleful ditty as is so often done. A very exotic Bamboleo from 'Zorro' brought a touch of Mexican heat to the stage before Josh Hindle, David Smith and Mark Brady gave us a very finger snapping version of 'Luck be a Lady' which again, tempo-wise, didn't hang about. 'One' from 'A Chorus Line' proved to be a very theatrical event as befits this iconic number and then, continuing the vague female theme, Jade Brett and Cathryn Osborne gave us a very good rendition of 'A Woman's Touch' from 'Calamity Jane'. As a grand finale, the entire company ended the evening on a high note with 'This is the Moment' from 'Jekyll and Hyde', closing the concert on a suitably emotional note.

This was very much a curate's egg of a revue; when it was good it was very good indeed but there were a few hitches which prevented the whole show from really reaching the heights that I know PHTC are capable of. I would have liked a little more in the way of linking narration, and perhaps a more structured approach around a particular theme to tie the evening together; too often, the concert programme did feel a little 'thrown together' rather than carefully planned (the last minute addition of a fairly weak song such as 'Shout!' didn't help to further the impression that there was a considered approach to a broader linking theme) and I certainly don't think that the point of the evening - to celebrate 30 years of theatrical brilliance at the Hippodrome - came across very strongly at all. That said, it can't be denied that there were some great moments throughout the concert and the cast and production team had clearly worked hard to put their hearts and souls into the evening's entertainment. My thanks go to them and all at the Hippodrome for a very warm welcome and for keeping the theatrical flame burning in District 3: hopefully for another 30 years, at least!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.