6th June 2026
We Will Rock You
Kentish Players, Central Theatre, Chatham
Funny Girl
Author: Mark Allen
Information
- Date
- 1st May 2026
- Society
- Milton Musical Society
- Venue
- The Regent Centre, Christchurch
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Charles henry
- Musical Director
- Natalie Dolton
- Choreographer
- Kirsti Warne
- Producer
- Olwen Adams
- Written By
- Book by Isobel Lennart, Lyrics, Bob Merrill, Music Jule Styne
Following the warm welcome from the front of house we took our seats in the auditorium and looked forward to our evening's entertainment.
Funny Girl tells the true story of the funny, ambitious and determined Fanny Brice and her dreams of being a star through personality and talent rather than beauty. The stage was set with a gauze at the front on which performances of Fanny from the 1920s were being screened, a great idea here to set the mood. The staging itself was fairly open with most of the scenery being prop based and their use worked well and was mostly quick and seamless, always a bonus when there are no blackouts or downtime. The nineteen piece orchestra was very well led by Natalie Dolton and made a fantastic sound, and at the right level. They enhanced the principles very well and this accompanied by the work done by the sound engineers, Dave Hart and Seventh Wave Audio meant that the diction, bearing in mind that this was set on the Lower East Side, was heard and understood, it let the story flow well
The costumes, and there were many of them, enhanced the piece and this coupled with the bright backdrop and excellent lighting by Jess Barnes really brought to life the visual elements of the show.
The principal line was led from the front by Emma Hardy in the role of Fanny Brice. Central to the whole, she commanded the stage with real presence and led the line beautifully. Very well backed by Sam Sheppard as Nick Arnstein and John Celea as Eddie Ryan. The three pulled out all the humour and emotion of the rise of Fanny. The choreography was simple and effective and whole cast looked well rehearsed and in time. They appeared to know where they were and why and delivered with real confidence, a testament to the Director, Charles Henry and Choreographer Kristi Warne. Well done.
Given that Funny Girl is very rarely done these days (against the more popular and overdone repetitivness of so many other musicals in a competitive market) this was a bold step. One i am very pleased to say was well worth taking. Well done MIlton, Bravo!
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