Pirates, Pinafore & Popular Musicals

I remember being in awe of the Wellingborough Arts Barn Gilbert & Sullivan society the last concert I attended. This time was just as much of a treat. 

The Castle Studio Theatre was the perfect setting for this intimate medley of popular musicals followed by reduced versions of The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore. 

The concert opened with a medley from Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!", and what a treat it was! Rousing choruses and beautiful harmonies, I was instantly hooked! We continued through the first act with songs all relating to the seasons including "June is A Bustin' Out All Over", "Sunrise, Sunset" and "Singing in the Rain". I particularly enjoyed the a Capella songs; "Evening" and "When the Budding Blooms of May". These two songs really highlighted the vocal and musical talent of the cast. The harmonies really were perfect and gave me goosebumps. I also really enjoyed "Spring is Here" sung by Angela Mayes and Chris Pearce - a humorous tune about poisoning pigeons! I couldn't wait for the interval to be over to hear more.

Act two opened with a reduced rendition of HMS Pinafore, narrated by Susan Drake. I love the humour, harmonies and melodies of Gilbert and Sullivan, and although G&S can be extremely difficult to sing (and play!), Wellingborough Arts Barn proved they were up to the task and treated us to songs such as "I'm Called Little Buttercup", "We Sail the Ocean Blue" and "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore". 

The abridged version of "The Pirates of Penzance" didn't let us down either. With narration by Liz Newell, we were led through the story of Frederick's unfortunate placement with the Pirate King and his band of men. Pirates is the only G&S I have actually been a part of so I was delighted to be able to follow along with the songs in my head. I really enjoyed "When Frederic was a Little Lad" and "Paradox". The company, as always, sang with gusto and emotion throughout and left the audience wanting more.

Adam Hollingshurst, the Musical Director, did a sterling job with music, as always. I love listening to Adam play the piano and will never tire of his talent. Arts Barn G&S are very lucky to have him as their MD - long may he remain! The Choreography by Alice Holmes added movement and delight to the concert and sound and lighting was good. 

The programme was well put together and full of the content you'd expect from a programme. I am, however, unable to enter it into the NODA programme competition as it's missing the NODA wording inside - you can find the rules for the competition here:https://www.noda.org.uk/_assets/ckfinder_library/files/PosterComp/Programme%20and%20Poster%20Criteria%2022-24_30680.pdf

I had a lovely catch up with Susan Drake at the end of the show and we were talking about the dwindling G&S audiences, we both agreed this is a travesty. However, I thought that putting G&S together with popular numbers from musicals is a great and inventive way to try and get the new audiences interested in Gilbert and Sullivan. This genre of theatre needs to live on!

Thank you, Wellingborough Arts Barn Gilbert and Sullivan Society for a wonderfully entertaining evening. 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.