The Grunch

The Grunch – A Youth Theatre Production about Rudy Grunch, a boy who wants to wreck a musical that his fellow students want to perform. He enlists the help of Mills and together they hide the props and damage the set. The Grunch’s Aunt is a theatre critic who is in attendance, together with her contemporaries. During the performance, however, The Grunch has a change of heart, confesses and helps in giving an excellent performance.

The programme was well designed with the stage and auditorium dominating the cover. The figure of The Grunch peering from stage left and casting a huge shadow over the front of stage was excellent and gave an indication of what was to follow. The photographs of the cast were good but rather than learning what they enjoyed about being members, a brief description of their character would have been useful, particularly as there was no synopsis.

Staging/props – The team excelled in this. Although relatively simple, particularly effective were the posters at the back of the stage which used the design of originals but were clever parodies, namely ‘West Cowes Story’, ‘Miss Niton’ and ‘Godshill’. The train scene stole the show as it really generated the movement of a train using large cubes for seats and a pole with belts for those strap hanging.  Everyone moved in time, which was impressive. Sadly the singing was not particularly audible but this did not detract from the enjoyment. Congratulations to all involved with set changes as these were very swift throughout the show.

The lighting was effective throughout. In the main the sound was very good, considering there were some young voices. I was also sitting at the back and the auditorium was filled with some very young, fidgety children, this being the matinee.

Costume and make-up – The cast were mainly dressed in school uniform and all looked very neat and tidy. The grey hat worn by The Grunch gave him a mischievous look and was a fun addition. The long macintoshes, worn by the critics, were a good touch. The Junior Stars, dressed in red and grey, with their flowers, looked adorable, particularly the young lady in the large cardigan.

Musical Direction and Choreography – Felicity-Mae Lane should be congratulated for the wonderful choreography. She was a safe pair of hands on stage. Particularly impressive was the ‘Jazz Hands’ section. The singing was exceptionally good with some lovely solos and chorus work. All the cast wore smiles and appeared to be enjoying themselves.  Well done to Harrison Lane (Javier) who impressed with his movement on stage. The Junior Chorus was a delight to watch and listen to and congratulations to the two who did the splits at the end.

This was definitely a polished production and everyone involved should be congratulated. Louis Marshall, in the lead role was excellent. He kept up the energy throughout and had very good facial expressions, diction and a lovely voice. Jacob Thompson (Mills) played his role as The Grunch’s friend with conviction. Hetty Quigley (Harper) was confident and enthusiastic with clear diction. Tristen Rice (Principal Augustus) gave a good welcoming introduction and demonstrated mannerisms and gestures well to portray his character.

The final song ‘All part of the Magic’ was superb and the lyrics go on to say that the magic is to ‘entertain’. This the cast certainly achieved as the well-deserved applause demonstrated. They took their bows with choreographed moves which was an excellent touch. I look forward to the next Trinity Stars Youth Theatre Production as there is definitely some talent and commitment here to showcase again.

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