The Sound of Musicals

It is good to see a show at Hexham again, after almost 3 years. My Reports on the Society’s shows invariably end with a sentence saying how much I enjoy hearing the Chorus sing together in the finale. This evening the Chorus featured throughout and I always appreciate a good concert, two hours or more filled with the choicest selections from 19 shows performed by the Society over the past 90 years.

I hesitate to confess, once again, that Gilbert & Sullivan operettas remain something of a mystery to this child of rock n roll!  However, a hisory of 90 years of musical theatre would hardly be complete without a nod to the forefathers of British musical comedy.  The selection of a medley from The Pirates of Penzance was entertainingly and well performed.

It is difficult to refer to each show featured by name and the names of the performers featured, without turning this Report into a list.  So, I will take an overall view, mentioning a few shows and names in passing.  I do think, as ever, that all involved on stage contributed exactly what was expected of them.  The early days were, of course, represented by G & S, which was folded neatly into the first half.  Before that we started with a festival of 3 Rodgers & Hammerstein classics, followed by the magic of Lerner & Lowe and Jerry Herman.  Unusually, the second half was rather longer, featuring music by, amongst others, Cole Porter, Frank Loesser, Lionel Bart, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice and Stephen Sondheim, with and without Leonard Bernstein.

I was particularly impressed by the 10 young people referred to in the programme as "The Children".  It is always good to see young people who want to "strut their stuff" in front of a paying audience.  They had the opportunity to shine in various numbers from Oliver, The Music Man, Annie and The Sound of Music.  Most impressive and entertaining.

I enjoyed Sandy Ross' version of Secret Love from Calamity Jane.  She managed to put her own spin on a familiar song and delivered a very nice performance.  It was good to see some familiar faces from before the pandemic including Mari Watson, Clair Applegarth, Mike Routledge, Gill Hall and Albert Simpson together with some newer faces (I think!) like James Bell and Ray Taylor plus many more.  The company consisted of 38 performers who, I imagine, were all on stage this evening.  This was a very enjoyable concert, a night of memories.  The company and all involved in the production, especially directors Jude Long and Mari Watson and musical director Robert Laws and his orchestra, fully deserved the appreciative applause they received throughout and, particularly, following the finale.

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