Some Enchanted Evening

At one point during the evening, someone representing the venue (Marton & Gate Burton Village Hall) thanked people for venturing out in the atrocious weather to attend this concert , and I have to say the journey there through torrential rain and flooded roads was a bit hairy. But the concert laid on by Gainsborough Musical Theatre Society made the effort worthwhile.

The pieces presented were a mixture of old favorites, and some surprising new additions such as Billy Joel songs from the musical Movin’ Out, 500 miles from Sunshine on Leith, and the hymn Jerusalem. I for one heard some good songs from musicals that I was not aware of, and which has encouraged me to explore them.

This society has a lot of young members, which is very encouraging. There are some great voices, too, and I was particularly impressed by the singing in parts in the ensemble pieces. Musical Directors Chris Smithson and Chloe Andrews are obviously very enthusiastic, and Chloe even put her baton down to give us a beautiful rendition of Out of my Dreams. Accompaniment was provided by Chris Smithson on piano and guitar, and Anna Hrycak on piano.

It is a great shame that the society are not able to perform at the theatre they helped to found, the Trinity Arts Centre, having been priced out of it. My opinion is that local authorities and businesses ought to step in to subsidise their local talent to perform on their home patch- but maybe I’m a bit old fashioned.

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