Musical Memories

The very high standard of entertainment served up by BLOS on a regular basis makes any production from them at the Mechanics something of an event. This very special concert was dedicated to the late Colin Sanderson, BLOS chairman for many many years and who is much missed. This cavalcade of musical memories was drawn from a selection of Colin's favourite shows and as always from BLOS, there was much to admire: both the intelligent choice from a wide range of musicals new and old and the way they were delivered were happily up to the usual high standard Burnley audiences have come to expect from this multi award-winning society. Colin really would have been proud of his talented gang.

A finely judged opening tugged at the heart strings without being mawkish, as a slideshow of Colin Sanderson's finest theatrical moments was relayed behind Vicki Clarkson's moving rendition of 'Tomorrow' from 'Annie'; a clever move was to have this followed in quick succession with an amusing all-male 'It's a Hard Knock Life'. Our unlikely 'schoolboys' raised a smile and established the happy tone of the rest of the evening straight away. Jenny Gill gave an outstanding rendition of 'Once You Lose Your Heart' from 'Me and My Girl', followed by mum Joanne and Matt Norris with their version of 'Nothing's Gonna Harm You' from 'Sweeney Todd'; I wasn't altogether convinced of just how successful a choice this was when removed from the context of the show itself but before confusion set in on my part, Leanne Tempest stormed on stage to give a rousing version of 'Wherever He Ain't' from 'Mack and Mabel' and dispelled any niggling doubts! 

'Godspell' was next, with the chorus giving us an excellent 'Day by Day' followed by father and son team David and Matt Norris gliding through the very tricky 'All for the Best' with ease. The high point - for me anyway! - of the first Act came with Judy Riley's sumptuous 'This is My Beloved' from 'Kismet': a beautiful song given a majestic outing in Judy's hands, this really was something very special indeed and Jonathan Chalker's arrangement was something wonderful. Coincidentally, another favourite of mine - 'Something Wonderful' from 'The King and I' - followed hot on its heels, again peerlessly presented by Vicki Clarkson with great depth of feeling, leading us to the final flourish from our trio of femmes fatale as Megan Ingham set the stage alight with 'The Laughing Song' from 'Die Fledermaus', these days a somewhat criminally neglected show. Joanne Gill was next with just about the finest performance of 'Ladies Who Lunch' I've ever been lucky enough to hear: a great song which was delivered with a pin-sharp understanding of both the lyric and the deeper thematic thrust of the material, this was a fantastic performance. Just as good was the humour of 'You Can Drive a Person Crazy', also from 'Company', as the girls really bounced their way through another great song. An increasingly rare pleasure came next, as Simon Westwell - we really do need to see more of you on stage Simon! - ventriloquised his way through 'Both Reached for the Gun' from 'Chicago' with Laura Chadwick as his suitably floppy mouthpiece, backed up by a great routine from the company which looked and sounded slick and professional.

Bringing the final section of the first half to a close, we were treated to a trio of classic, 'anthemic' songs from across the ages. 'The Merry Widow Waltz' saw Judy Riley and David Gill in fine voice, reminding us of another unfortunately neglected show which bafflingly, only seems to be tackled by the more Operatic of operatic societies these days. Davids Norris and Gill then joined Simon Westwell in 'Anthem' from 'Chess': this three part rendition really added a touch of class to a powerful song. Following on, Tori Green did the impossible: yes dear reader, Tori weaved her particular brand of musical magic and managed to prevent the customary spasms of fear and loathing which always attend those dreaded words - perhaps the most chilling in the English language - ''The Hot Mikado'. Tori very nearly brought the house down with her heartfelt passion in singing 'Alone and Yet Alive', leaving her mark on a song which she made very much her own. To round off a great Act One, the company returned to thrill us once more with everyone's favourite showstopper, 'Oklahoma!'.

Act Two burst into life with a couple of songs from 'Barnum' with the company bringing a colourful circus atmosphere to the stage, followed by Ann Mason's peerless rendition of 'Adelaide's Lament'; crystal clear diction, a total embrace of the character and much humour packed into one superb little musical section here: staggeringly good. Megan returned to let off another vocal firework with 'Glitter and be Gay' from 'Candide' and the full showbiz razzmatazz display exploded shortly afterwards with 'Sweet Heaven' from 'Copacabana'. Two songs from 'The Rink' came next, a largely forgotten little show but which had at least one gem in 'The Apple Doesn't Fall', which mother/daughter team Joanne and Jenny performed very skilfully indeed and to the audience's delight: less impressive was 'Chief Cook and Bottle Washer' which even Leanne's talents couldn't make into anything than an average number. Fortunately, hot on its heels came Simon with 'If I Were a Rich Man'; a rendition of such force, talent and power as to be unbeatable. I was less sure about the 'Ascot Gavotte' being shoehorned in afterwards though: to my mind it felt a bit lost and out of place - like the 'Sweeney Todd' number earlier - divorced of the surroundings of its 'My Fair Lady' show context. That said, it made for a humorous enough diversion! A trio of 'South Pacific' songs came next; David Gill thrilled the audience with everyone's favourite, 'Some Enchanted Evening' before a quartet of some magnificence turned Bali Hai into a very memorable event. It's hard to imagine a more impressive line-up than Tori Green, Jenny Gill, Leanne Tempest and Vicki Clarkson and it was a real privilege to hear them turn 'Bali Hai' into musical magic. I could have done without the rather bathetic conclusion of 'Hunny Bun' though, despite the rather nifty routine and the sight of David Norris (almost) wearing a fetching brassiere...! Rather took the edge off the earlier selections from the show for me - but personal taste is of course a very individual thing.

More Rodgers and Hammerstein with 'Climb Every Mountain' was nicely done by the ladies and a very affecting version of 'Song of the Sand' from 'La Cage aux Folles' followed - sterling work from David Norris and Simon here - with Jenny, Vicki and Leanne doing rather more than justice to 'Look at Me' from 'The Witches of Eastwick'. The concert just wouldn't have been complete without fitting reminder of the last BLOS success, 'Sister Act', as Tori wowed us once again with the title song, followed by a grand finale as David Gill led the entire company in a suitably rousing version of 'Lullaby of Broadway'.

With a rather winsome narration provided by the always reliably twinkly Anne and Geoff Baron, this was a concert which flowed marvellously all evening. An often overlooked skill when putting together an enjoyable concert is the need to ensure an effective mix and make the programme really flow: this is something which is second nature to Anthony Williams and once again, BLOS came up trumps with a concert programme which was, very nearly, second to none. Jonathan Chalker's band were as finely honed as ever and everything on stage looked and sounded first class. This was a truly fitting celebration - just what Colin would have wanted. 

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