The Musical of Life

Thank you for your kind welcome to the Lane Theatre which is a lovely venue for your company to perform in. It was great to see your production so well supported tonight by your audience.

The title of the show tonight ‘The Musical of Life’ was very intriguing and I wondered what the concept of the show was, it was great to read the synopsis in the programme. The notion reminded me of Shmigadoon which is about a couple trapped in a musical theatre setting.

The choice of ‘A Day in the Life’ as the overture was relevant to the story. As the curtain opened, we were greeted with a family scene with kitchen units projected onto the back wall. The Mum, Dad, son and daughters all entered and a normal family breakfast scene began with good interaction between all the family members. Mum and the children loved the tunes played but dad just wanted quiet. Suddenly a brightly attired man with headphones arrived on the stage on a wheeled office chair. He was the DJ on the radio who popped up during the show at set times and announced various pertinent songs. He created an ebullient character with lots of energy and announced ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ as the family are finishing their morning arrangements.

The next stop for the day was the bus stop; this was identified by a projection of bus numbers and destinations on the back wall. Members of the family were joined by others commuters both adults and school children, there was lots of positive interaction between them. The children joined their peers to travel to school.  The arrival and departure of the buses was well depicted by those on stage.

We were then introduced to Patricia and Jeremy a couple who are obviously in a dilemma as to what wine to take with them to a soiree. The words of ‘Fine’ with the altered lyrics to include place names around Newquay were well delivered with feeling. You could feel and see the tension and exasperation rising as they couldn’t agree.

The day moves on, Sam joins a group of ladies in a dance class all preparing for their class, although I was a little surprised, she didn’t join in as I thought she told her family that where she was going. Sam’s friend Julie explained about her relationship issues, how she couldn’t find her ‘one’ and this conversation led into a brilliant interpretation of ‘Forget About the Boy’ with the other dancers adding harmonies.  The dance that accompanied the song was well choreographed with all those included well practiced. Julie swore to not bother with relationships.

The action then moved on to the school classroom where they gave a good rendition of the well-known ‘Naughty ‘from Matilda. All the young people knew the lyrics and their simple routine was accomplished with ease. The class quietened down when their history teacher Miss Maple arrived. Your player created an interesting character who the class appeared to respect. The lesson was set in Tudor times in England during the reign of King Henry VIII and related to his second wife Anne Boleyn. This led to one of the excellent songs from Six. ‘Don’t Lose your Head’ was sung with energy and portrayed with clear movement by the class.

The next scene is in Micheal’s office set with office furniture and a projected window looking out onto a grassed area. The workers are milling around when the women in the group start mentioning 11.30 and they all turn to the window where a worker appeared at the window and ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’ was sung. I realise this was a cameo of the ‘Diet Coke’ television advert from 2008 although the ‘males’ were a little different!  Michael tried to motivate his staff to complete the tasks that they were meant to achieve but some of the members of staff began conversations which led into ‘It Can’t be True’ with altered lyrics related to members of their team. The singers did a good job of delivering the lyrics whilst checking others couldn’t hear.

Whilst the majority of the team went back to work the Accountant and Jackie moved to the front of the stage it was evident there was a connection between them and the lyrics in ‘Bad Idea’ explained why. This was delivered with feeling although it was a little pitchy as times and remember ladies that if you are standing parallel on stage your words can be lost to the audience.

The office scene completed with the reason they were all there to earn ‘Money’. The full company came onto stage to sing this well-known number. The polyphonic phrases were well sung with feeling and the dance routines, which was well taught enhanced the number.

The day moved on to, I presume after school time because Jude was working. The stage was set with a black backcloth and tables and chairs added. A waitress appropriately attired with an apron and t-shirt with the logo ‘Fab Sam’s on was showed her concern while speaking to Jude. Mary created a believable character who delivered her lines with feeling while continuing to dress tables and sang ‘Hey Jude’ confidently. The DJ scooted in and reminded everyone that it was Musical Monday and introduced ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ which coincided with the call bell being rung by Scarlett, Jude’s love interest. He delivered the well-known song with feeling. The café began to fill up, Jude’s Mum and Dad arrived trying not to embarrasses him with his lady present. The Accountant and Jacky took a seat, much to the surprise of Michael and Patricia and Jeremy chose a table. An additional waitress helped with service. Various conversation was taking place and there was reference to the scene in ‘When Harry met Sally’ and the ‘Waitress’ sketch with Julie Walters. This all culminated in an enthusiastic delivery of ‘Fat (Fab) Sam’s Grand Slam’ by the cast members.

Act two opened with a projection of the outside of Fab Sam’s and a great rendition of ‘The Rhythm of Life’ by the complete company. The changed words relating to the local area worked and the harmonies could be clearly heard. The choreographer of the dance added to its impact and it was great to see your group was fully inclusive.

The day moved on and Michael and Sam met up with Edith and Henry her parents. Michael showed his embarrassment with them when they sang. about feelings they had during their marriage ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me’ was excellently played with clear affection demonstrated between them and some great vocals.

Julie arrived back on the scene and had obviously changed her tune as she powerfully sang ‘Somebody to Love’ by Queen. The chorus accompanied her using mobile phones during the dancing sequences swiping left and right when necessary.

The black backdrop returned and Scarlett and Sydney talked about Jude and reprised ‘I Can Hear the Bells’

The next scene opened with a garage door projected on the back of the stage with a line of workers waiting to warm up or collect their crib/snack from a table set stage left. The DJ scurried in and announced ‘Hot Stuff’ which inevitably led to the workers demonstrating their ‘Full Monty’ dance moves. Sam had turned up at the garage to collect her car but the children took over the scene using tyres and a bench complaining about a ‘Hard ‘school’ life’. The changed words to the original worked well and all those taking part knew their moves.

The story moved on to a poignant scene between Sam, Jenny and Jaz. She was contemplating how quickly they were growing away and sung ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ by ABBA. This was one of the highlights of the show, simply set and beautifully sung with so much feeling, well done.

The car was now ready to take mum and the children home.  The DJ announced it was home time and clicked the ‘Driving in my Car’ on. The projected image of a back window of a car and the traveling sequenced worked well although I don’t think the cornering by the family, which was well managed, matched the same movement on the screen.  

Patricia and Jeremy arrived on stage still unsure about which beverage to purchase. They interacted well with each other and sang ‘Let’s Call the Whole thing Off’ with fervour.

The story ended the day as it had begun in the family home. Michael had shown his displeasure of these musical interludes during his day and turned the music off. But the final projection was of the family home with the Freddie Mercury photo in from ‘I Want to Break Free ‘and Sam and the children’s reaction to seeing Michael dressed as Freddie. He had now changed his attitude to all these musical numbers in his life.

The finale was a lovely culmination for all the cast. It was great to see them all in black with sequinned jackets taking their own bows whilst singing and moving to ‘A Musical’.  

The stage sets were minimal and well managed by the cast and stage crew. The props when appropriate and well used. The lighting added detail to the scenes and the sound tracks were set at a reasonable level. The costumes were carefully sourced and chosen to enhance the chosen settings.

This performance was an interesting concept using different musical and skits from TV and film. Congratulation to your Production team and all those members performing on stage.

Disclaimer 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be affected by that knowledge. 

The NODA Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular, the performance.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

 It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

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