Musicals That Rock

This was a very brave attempt to push members out of their comfort zones and, mostly, it worked very well. The staging of it was excellent and I particularly liked the use of ‘amp’ cases as seats. The whole set, although simple, was very effective as was the lighting. There was a good mix of well-known numbers together with others not regularly found in concert programmes.

The opening number set the scene for the evening and Ashley Brown and Emma Wallage led the company in the powerful ‘Bat Out of Hell’ from the show of the same name. It is impossible to mention every member who performed a solo or who fronted the chorus in a number but well done for your contributions to the evening. Richard Beckett seemed comfortable in all his numbers and he demonstrated what an amazing voice he has. Occasionally we had a welcome break from the hard-hitting big rock numbers. I thought that Claire and Rebecca Oatley blended perfectly in ‘21 Guns’ from American Idiot and the tenderness of ‘Where Did the Rock Go’ from School of Rock was well performed by Sarah Hinkley. Ashley Brown combined with Gaynor White to provide a rousing start to the Finale of the programme. The items in the programme showed what musicality there is in the ‘Queen’ numbers compared with some newer rock musicals. It was good to see the younger members of the society on stage and obviously enjoying themselves.

The choreography and general movement were very good and well performed both in solos and full chorus. Well done for that.

The only downside for me was the balance between the very talented musicians in the pit and the singers on stage. This imbalance in some numbers did one of two things. It covered up, what I feel was, some good harmony singing from ensembles and chorus. It also forced some soloists to ‘shout’ and this created intonation issues.

In spite of this I enjoyed the evening and everyone on stage and the production team should be proud of the outcome!

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