Happy Days
Information
- Date
- 23rd May 2015
- Society
- Brightlingsea Musical Theatre Group
- Venue
- Brightlingsea Community Centre
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Danny Wallis
- Musical Director
- Hector Moyes
- Choreographer
- Kate Hynd & Beck Stevens
It's fair to assume that the vast majority of the audience watching BMTS's production of Happy Days would have been familiar with the hit TV show and adapting such a classic hit will always present various challenges for any group performing such a show. However, I'm very pleased to report that BMTS did not disappoint! From the first note to the last I was thoroughly entertained by the high-energy production that I was fortunate to watch. It was a performance that had the audience laughing and singing along.
Hector Moyes and the band did a great job and pitched the volume just right, never an easy job in the Community Centre hall. I was, yet again, very impressed with Kate Hynd's and Beck Steven's choreography, the dances were simple but effective and really added to each musical number.
All principal parts did a fantastic job. Lines and accents were secure throughout the performance and dialogue was clear and accurate. All performances need convincing leads and in Lucy Weaver and Aaron Reilly we had two actors who looked and sounded the part and who gave convincing performances.
They were backed up admirably by the supporting cast. Tony Lopez and Catherine Diver were well cast and did a great job with their roles. Gregg Weaver and Kieran Foreman managed a number of roles each and had the audience laughing along with their bad guy roles, The Malachi's. Ray Sharp was a commanding presence in his role of Arnold.
Having grown-up in Brightlingsea and with my current role with NODA I have a particular interest in young performers in the town and I was blown away by the young talent on stage. Dominic Simpson, Scott Cavill, Ben Holeyman, Lee Birnie, Saskia Elvin and Beck Stevens all gave entertaining all-round performances. They sang, acted and danced their hearts out.
Particular credit must go to the crew working behind the scenes. I thought the scenery was very well done with the moving flats and the crew managed scene changes quickly and with ease and I liked the clever use of a real motorbike. The lighting and sound added to the production and I particularly liked the use of the moving heads.
Also, well done to actors in the chorus roles, they all maintained their roles and supported the show excellently. There was not a single weak link in the cast or crew and everyone should be very proud of the excellent job they did of carrying out their role/duty.
However, final credit must go to Danny Wallis. From watching the show you wouldn't have known this was his first directing production. Happy Days needs pace and energy and Danny did a great job of ensuring it did.
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