Sunset Boulevard

It is quite a coup for Little Theatre Company to be granted the licence for the Regional Premiere of this show and they really did it proud.  From the moment the lights went down the audience were attentive.  Using film to give the opening credits was an excellent idea, setting the scene for this movie based show and the switch from colour to black and white film emphasised the background to the story.

Director Tim Cater mixed movie footage (some clearly original) with scenery to create a believable and attractive setting.  I particularly loved the interior to Norma Desmond’s mansion and using the gauze as a film screen, between scenes, to depict the exterior action allowed the complex scene changes to be done effectively and without affecting the pace of the show.

The stars of the show were, undoubtedly Stephanie Wilson as Norma Desmond and Simon Bristoe as Joe Gillis.  Their singing was incomparable and beautifully supported by a top class orchestra.  I did have a little trouble at the beginning following Joe’s dialogue, as Simon was speaking a little fast.  However that is being very picky and he soon settled down.  Steph’s portrayal of the mentally deteriorating Norma was excellent, although I would have liked to see a little more madness at the very end.  However, again, I am being very picky!

All the Principals were top of their game and Paul Allwright, once again, demonstrated his amazing vocal range in the part of Max Von Mayerling.  Victoria Tewes was beautiful as Betty Schaefer and with another amazing singing voice.  Colin Bott (Cecil B DeMille) Darren Harper (Artie Green) Bradley Green (Sheldrake) and John Blatchford (Manfred) completed the Principals line-up and every one demonstrated their abilities as top quality actors.

The show is almost completely sung and what dialogue there is has to be done to music.   Getting the cast to finish the lines on time with the music must have been quite a challenge, so here I must mention the ensemble. Such a talented group of performers and their singing was superb, a credit to MD and Chorus Master Paul Day.  They all had characters and their individual performances came together well, to produce a very strong cast.

I have mentioned the orchestra already and I do want to mention them again.  This was the largest orchestra (20 musicians) I have seen in an amateur production for many years.  It was fully justified and the sound they produced was superb, never once drowning out the performers.

The costumes were terrific and it is such a pleasure to see a company produce their own costumes and not hire them all in from a professional company.  As a costume person myself I always appreciate when a show is well costumed and congratulations to Carla Cater and her team for a well presented and historically accurate set of costumes.

I was looking forward to this production and, once again the Little Theatre Company did not disappoint, they did a superb job, well done.

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