Lucky Stiff

Lucky Stiff was Betchworth’s first theatre in the round, or should I say rectangle. It worked brilliantly, offering a variety of fast entrances & exits that helped maintain the rapid pace of this extraordinary, musical farce. This is a complicated and convoluted tale that required our absolute attention, but it more than repaid any effort of concentration.

The Memorial Hall ceiling sustained a very complex lighting rig that enhanced so many different scenes: boarding-house. Le Train Bleu, bedroom, nightclub, casino, etc. It was all beautifully done.

Sound effects were always good. Musical Director, Paul Thompson, had arranged the music; and he and Ian Stone gave a fine accompaniment to the songs.

Something Funny’s Going On was the opening number that introduced us to the company in a glorious selection of outfits. The costumes throughout were well chosen and attractive. Props & furniture were always appropriate and were wielded with aplomb.

Peter Telford was Harry Witherspoon, the shoe-seller who receives a curious bequest from his American Uncle Anthony. He has a fine singing voice (Mr Witherspoon’s Friday Night) and good comic timing. Joanne Packham was delightfully disdainful as the solicitor who briefed Harry about Uncle Anthony’s will…six million dollars if he took his uncle’s preserved corpse to and around Monte Carlo.

Ellie Hubbard was the consummate ‘Patricia Hayes’ Landlady. She gave a lovely performance, ably aided by her grotesque lodgers in Mr Witherspoon got a Telegram and the nightmare scene Welcome back Mr Witherspoon.

The mysterious Luigi (played with great enthusiasm & comedy by Roger Nelson) attached himself to Harry, aboard the train. But someone else was watching him: Annabel (Jane Khan) was stalking him, hoping to catch him out and take the money for the Universal Dog’s Home. She sang a lovely, wistful Times Like This.

Diane Mayall was hilariously eccentric and put huge energy into her role as Rita. She bullied and blackmailed her optometrist brother, Vinnie (David Longes), into accompanying her to Monaco to retrieve the jewels that her lover, Tony (Anthony ?), had stolen from her husband, Nicky…I said it was complicated.

Gerald Huff was the super-smooth Emcee of the Club Continental. He introduced the deleecious bonbon of the French Riviera, Dominique…played by a stunning Emoke Soproni.  Accompanied by the Ensemble, she gave us the sexy number Speaking French.

The entire Ensemble displayed great talent for swiftly changing clothes and character. Outstanding characters included a Punk, Trucker, Spinster, the cynical French Bellhop and Harry’s bizarre fellow boarders. And well done Madalyn Cross for corpsing so well.

A happy ending was achieved…largely at gunpoint…Harry with Annabel, Vinnie with Dominique and Rita with Tony aka Anthony aka Luigi. Perfect.

BODS have some history of producing offbeat or little-known musicals. Lucky Stiff was a wonderfully rich and strange choice. Thanks to Fi Kuhn-Thompson’s excellent direction and a dedicated cast & crew, it had a terrific pace and precision; and was a hugely entertaining production.

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