The Show That Time Wrote

The concert format is a really good way for any operatic or musical society to showcase the breadth and depth of talent in its ranks.  Concerts ought to be efficient to rehearse, cost-effective to stage, and should provide excellent opportunities to widen participation.  Even a random collection of favourite musical numbers can meet this brief, but if you want to elevate your concert into an occasion then you probably need an idea to link the components together.

So how about a concert exploring the arc of history through the medium of musical theatre?  It’s a good idea in that this theme provides a narrative thread which concerts often lack, although one slight problem is that shows set more than about one hundred years ago are quite few and far between.  No matter.  A bigger issue, perhaps, is that historically-based musicals are a relatively modern phenomenon, which means that the musical numbers in your concert programme can be quite similar in style.

Even when you have settled on the shows you want to include to define the chronology – “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Spamalot”, “Six”, “Les Misérables” and so forth – there is still the issue of which song or songs to choose.  Most popular and successful musicals include a few breakout numbers, the songs which everyone knows and loves, but this programme wisely eschewed some obvious choices in favour of selections which are arguably a little bit less well known.  For example, we heard “It’s a Fine Life” from “Oliver!”, rather than “As Long as He Needs Me”.

The director of the concert wanted to get away from the model of individual songs connected by a single narrator, so instead we had a different narrator every time, usually a character or characters from the next musical number.  This worked really well, with the narrator providing some context, often for both the song within the musical, and the musical within the development of the genre.  The concept was holistic and engaging, with lots of thought-provoking ideas in the spoken interludes which joined the various musical extracts into a coherent whole.

The musical director drew accomplished performances out of soloists and ensemble alike, with proper attention paid to technical accuracy, clear diction, dynamic variation and the shaping of phrases.  The six-piece band adapted brilliantly to the wide range of musical styles included in the programme.  The choreography was imaginative, well suited to the musical styles and eras featured, and generally very well drilled.

The set design was flexible enough to accommodate the wide range of styles and genres, with the levels and steps facilitating some interesting staging and striking tableaux.  I was particularly pleased to note that the backcloth drew on the same visual concept as the publicity material, which added a layer of polish to the presentation.

Ultimately, any remaining issues with the production were the sorts of thing which can afflict any original work: until you put your production in front of an audience, it can be difficult to tell whether or not the structure is right, whether or not the piece is the right length, whether or not the variations in mood and pace are aesthetically and emotionally satisfying.  A professional production would have a series of previews to deal with any flat spots, and if this company had had the opportunity to do something similar, I am sure that “The Show That Time Wrote” would have been an even more impressive showcase for Musical Theatre in general and Banbury Operatic Society in particular.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.