Lucky Stiff

I was delighted to be asked by Gordon Smith, the District 10 Regional Rep, to come along and do the report on the society’s production of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Aherns’ musical farce – and it certainly lived up to its billing being both filled with delightful musical numbers and hilarious comedy. The show is based on the novel by Michael Butterworth “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo” and tells the tale of unassuming English shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon and his attempts at fulfilling the conditions laid down by his late uncle to enable him to inherit a huge fortune. The lead protagonist Harry Witherspoon, who was hardly ever off stage, was excellently played by Alan Matheson both vocal and acting wise. He was well matched by Laura Guthrie as his nemesis, and representative of the default legatee the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn, Annabel Glick – their aggressive duet “Dogs Versus You” in Act 1 nicely contrasted with the beautifully delivered “Nice” in Act 2. Gill Smith Matheson gave an outrageously comic performance as the short-sighted, conniving and murderous Rita LaPorta as she attempts to retrieve a cache of diamonds which Harry is unknowingly carrying. In these exploits she was greatly abetted by Graeme Baird as her optometrist brother Vinnie Di Ruzzio – another superb comic performance. The quartet “Him, Them, It, Her” by Harry, Annabel, Rita and Vinnie was a masterclass in comic timing! Strong support was provided by Jim Ramsay, whose character Luigi Gaudi provided the twist at the end of the tale and Ali Niven with a beautifully over-the-top portrayal of nightclub singer Dominque Du Monaco. And special mention must be made of Keith Cuthill who played Tony Hendon (deceased), the Lucky Stiff of the title, he never moved a muscle anytime he was on stage – a difficult thing to do when there is mayhem going on all around you! The ensemble sang and moved well in the limited amount they had to do. The set comprising of a series of colourful truck mounted doors, moved with almost balletic precision by the hard working stage crew to form the various locations – including dreary shoe shop, Le Train Bleu, Monte Carlo Casino – all set against the backdrop of an ever-changing light wall. Colin Grant’s four piece band played the various styles of music with precision and sympathy to the soloists. Well done to all at Brechin AOS for a delightful evening and for bringing a different show to the fore.

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