Nativity The Musical

Christmas came early to Chelmsford Theatre with Springers and Offspringers joining forces in what was a spectacular production of Nativity the musical.

 

On entering the auditorium we knew instantly this was going to be a magical affair. The vibrant projection that filled the entire back wall of the stage was beautifully framed by enormous cut outs of Christmas trees that perfectly created wings and set the Christmas theme from the off. The visuals continued to impress throughout with clever use of projections used to set the scenes which meant lengthy scene changes were avoided. I particularly appreciated how one side of the projection was blurred out at times to create a split to show the Actors in different settings, a simple but very effective idea. I understand every part of the set and projections was designed and made in house and commend everyone involved in this. The hard work and attention to detail was evident throughout.

 

For this show to really work though the casting is vital. As not all of the musical numbers are that well known and in some cases not overly memorable (with the exception of a few) it relies heavily on a cast that need to fully embody the characters they are playing. Without exception Springers cast this to perfection. It is one of those rare shows that doesn’t require precision individual vocals or foot perfect dance numbers, in fact too perfect and it wouldn’t work. The audience need to believe that we are watching real people with real feelings and struggles and Springers delivered with some stand out performances.

 

Ian Pavelin as Mr Poppy was simply superb. With boundless energy, great comic timing and a warmth that filled the auditorium. I can’t actually imagine anyone else in this role and I don’t just mean in community theatre. I could easily see Ian in this role professionally.

 

James Wilkins probably had the trickiest role to pull off as Mr Maddens. Pining for his lost love Jennifer, he was so natural and created just the right amount of sympathy from the audience while also leaving us frustrated at his initial treatment of the children. Very well done.

 

Jennifer was played beautifully by the talented Katie Finch. I will confess I have become a bit of a Katie superfan since she joined Springers. From listening to other members in the audience I know I am not alone here. The ultimate triple threat, Katie gave another wonderful performance.

 

Comedy gold came in the form of Michael James as the simply bonkers Gordon Shakespeare, head teacher of pretentious Oakmoor Prep. He really came into his own during the Herod Rock Opera and had me belly laughing in all his scenes!

 

Supporting them brilliantly Samantha Randall gave us a joyful, and nurturing head teacher Mrs Bevan. She landed her one liners with great timing and was completely believable with great stage awareness.

 

Barry Miles had a gem of a role as the vile reporter Patrick Burns. With just the right level of self importance and disdain for others, another great casting choice.

 

But let’s get on to the real stars of the show. The children! Over forty of them with the youngest being just 7 years old. To watch young people perform with such joy and passion was an absolute treat. The Oakmoor children were suitably arrogant, precise and displayed an air of self importance. While the St Bernadette’s children were able to really show their individual personalities. I wish I could mention you all but collectively you all blew me away. However, I must mention Mark James, Aria Gaskin, George Jarvis and Esme Jackman who all gave confident performances way beyond their years. All had strong voices and looked comfortable as they took their turns in the spotlight.

 

Finally, no nativity is complete without the animals and the arrival of Billy the Donkey drew gasps from the appreciative audience. But it was Parker the dog who very nearly stole the whole show. He behaved perfectly and certainly brought the “aah” factor with his waggy tail and sloppy kisses!

 

While some of the music in this show is a little forgetful there are a few numbers that stand out. “Dear Father Christmas” was beautifully done by the St Bernadette’s children. All the solo lines were clear and in tune and it was a really heart warming moment. I also loved the better known “Nazareth” and of course “Sparkle and Shine”. The small band led by MD Susannah Edom created a lovely sound, levels were spot on with no instrument overpowering another or the singers on stage. My only small observation here was that at times I wanted the band to come in a little sooner on some of the scene changes. But that could be down to waiting on technical cues rather than the band themselves.

 

The choreography was simple and suited the music. It wasn’t executed perfectly but was done well enough and as mentioned before this isn’t a show that is reliant on perfect footwork.

 

Sound itself was mainly good. I thought the balance was spot on. Just a couple of delays with some of the mics coming on. But given the number of mic’s in use that isn’t a surprise. Mr Poppy’s mic did drop out for a couple of minutes at one point but I could still hear his dialogue.

 

Costumes were good and suitably either teacher like or festive as needed. My only niggle here is with the girls’ Hollywood show girls outfits. I loved the feathers but didn’t feel it worked over the black body suits. Coloured leotards to match the feathers and sparkles would have worked better. The school uniforms were good though and in keeping with the two different types of school.

 

Scene changes were mainly managed through the use of projection so there were no big set changes. Just props, desks etc which were moved on and off quickly and quietly. The visuals were at their most impressive during the nativity itself. In fact this is where the show really comes into it’s own where everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at it. As if live animals, beautiful lighting and lots of little Mary and Josephs’ wasn’t enough – Springers went that much further with flying children, pyrotechnics and falling snow. But most magically of all, on arrival at the theatre we had each been given wrist bands that lit up during the final scene, changing colour as we waved our arms along to the music. This must have been an equally special moment for those on stage to see as it was for the audience.

 

Springers and Offspringers, I can’t thank you enough for such a wonderful evening. The thought and love that went into this production was truly heart warming. I would also like to thank Directors Gary and Kevin Jarvis who gave myself and my guest so much of their time to talk about the show and answer my questions, even taking us backstage to meet Billy the Donkey and Parker the dog. As always we were warmly welcomed by the front of house team too.

 

Huge congratulations to every single person involved in creating a show full of “sparkle and shine”. This was a night at the theatre that will stay with me for a very long time.

 

 

 

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