VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE a journey through the history of Musical Theatre from 1938 to 2018 presented by Rainhill Musical Theatre Company on Saturday 19th January 2019. 

I really liked the concept of this concert; an ‘Open Stage’ from beginning to end, no stage legs or borders, everything visible!  (I suppose you could say it was like a rehearsal stage before the arrival of the set!)  On view; all the equipment you would expect to find backstage in any theatre, boxes, bits of scenery, unused lights, flats, steps etc.  We were able to view all the ‘action’ back stage; performers arriving in the wings awaiting their entrance and their exits.  Wing singing, performers helping others before their entrance, stage management readying themselves for the next scene change.  
We were guided on ‘our journey’ using ‘narrators’; members of the cast who described theatre during different eras and times; quotations such as ‘Theatre should be for all’ ...’All Things to all people’ were highlighted. The narration was followed by original audio newsreel clips describing ‘social’, ‘political’, ‘economical’ and ‘sporting’ events of that same period.    
Congratulations to the Bryan Dargie who ‘created the concept’ and ‘pieced the pieces’ together to create a first class job... well done Bryan, be proud!  I was sat in a ‘privileged position’ - front and centre, just feet away from the very talented Wayne Oakes (Musical Director) and his musicians, Trevor Bartlett on Drums and Percussion, Kevin Bates on Guitar and Banjo and Ben Knowles on Bass.  Being so close, I was able to view, with interest, the intensity and passion these guys ‘put in’ to produce the accompanying music. No ‘baton waving’ from Wayne, just a ‘nod a wink’ a ‘shrug of a shoulder’ ...  well done guys so very envious of your talents!
The set and staging, under the supervision of Tony Dagnall-Moss, was minimal but worked well.  
Les Dagnall (Lighting) did a good job and although we did have a few ‘quiet moments’ the quality of the sound, managed by Charlie Richardson, was good and didn’t detract from the performance. The costumes (black and white) under the watchful eye of the Costume Co-ordination Team, Ruth Gibb, Claire Jones and Pip Bradhsaw were appropriate and worked well.
Act 1 
Our journey began in OKLAMHOMA’ where it was great to ‘CONSIDER YOURSELF’ ‘BEING ALIVE’ especially when we ‘LET THE SUNSHINE IN’, realising its ‘NEVER TOO LATE TO FALL IN LOVE’ even when ‘THE FLESH FAILURES’ are ‘AT THE BALLET’ .. ’OH WHAT A CIRCUS’ that could be;  but ‘NOT WHILE I’M AROUND’ I here you say!    ‘NOWADAYS’ ‘HONEYBUN’, ‘CLASS’ is measured by your ‘HOME’ and if you’re gonna ‘OOM PAH PAH’ with ‘ANOTHER HUNDRED PEOPLE’ then ‘YOU GOTTA HAVE A GIMMICK’ or you could be arrested!  ‘GEE OFFICER KRULKE’, ‘COULD WE START AGAIN PLEASE’, I know ‘THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS’ but ‘SOMETHING’S COMING’ and we need to know ‘WHO WILL BUY’ all that ‘FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD’ just before the interval?

Act 2
‘TELL ME IT’S NOT TRUE’; we’re not on ‘42nd STREET’ surely!  Listen, ‘I AM WHAT I AM’; ‘THIS IS ME’ and ‘WHEN I GROW UP’ and ‘I WISH I COULD GO BACK TO COLLEGE’ cos I know ‘LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING’ even tho ‘THE HEAT IS ON IN SIAGON’, we’ll ‘COME FOLLOW THE BAND’ even tho  ‘I STILL BELIVE’  ‘THAT SHE USED TO BE MINE’, and in ‘ONE SHORT DAY’, ‘IT WILL BE FOUND’ that ‘YOU GOT A FRIEND’ and she’s paying the ‘ELECITRITY’ bill, even when ‘A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN’ occurs, she’ll make sure this isn’t ‘The LAST NIGHT OF THE WORLD’ and before the ‘EPILOGUE’, she’ll decide on ‘THE MOVIE IN MY MIND’ for after the party!   

I have purposely excluded cast names from this review simply because I honestly believe that this was a superb ‘team effort’ and that everyone gave of their best and that’s all anyone can ever ask!  But having said that, I really do think it would be remiss of me not to highlight my four personal favourite performances. These are purely ‘MY’ favourites  and I’m sure, if you asked any other person watching, they would come up with a completely different list...but here we go...

•    BEING ALIVE (from Company 1970 - Sondheim at his best); sung by Julie Molyneux.... 
love this song and it was performed and sung wonderfully well by Julie.  Highlight of Act 1 for me!
•    WHEN I GROW UP (from Matilda the Musical 2010) a song sung by The Company. The Company sang/performed many songs together, but for me, this was the best, a real ‘showstopper’!  
•    LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING (Aspects of Love 1989) sung by Dru Fitzgerald, Liam Fitzgerald, Alan Harbottle, and Paul Robinson.  This was the ‘fella’s’ at their best...an amazing rendition of a classic song, well done guys!
•    SHE USED TO BE MINE (from Waitress 2015) sung by Sarah Johnson. Not a song that I’m too familiar with, but since hearing it I’ve listened to it again and again.  The lyrics OMG!  I just love it when lyrics/music speaks to your heart! This was more than a ‘Show Stopper’ for me it was a ‘Show Stealer’!   The clarity of the vocal, the emotion, a wonderful performance of a wonderful song, it was a privilege to hear this.. thanks Sarah.

Finally...what makes a concert great?  Without doubt...great songs, great music, great performance, but for me it’s in the detail!  The ‘audio newsreels’, were superb; the narration, detailed and informative.... but what caught my eye was in the ‘finale’.  ‘THIS IS ME’ from the film The Greatest Showman!   The song was sung with clarity, harmony and passion, but the addition of ‘sign language’ at the start added that little bit extra and just emphasised what this song was all about, acceptance and inclusion ....pure genius!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I and a special thanks to Keith Marsh and his team for looking after us and making us feel more than welcome. Look forward to seeing you all again soon.

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.