The Witches of Eastwick

From the opening chorus ‘Eastwick Knows’, I knew I was going to be entertained and I was not disappointed.  Set in the fictional conservative town of Eastwick, the story centres around three female protagonists, the Witches, frustrated and fed up with their ordinary lives in the town.  However, with the arrival of the devilish Darryl Van Horn to the neighbourhood he soon changes things by charming all the residents and in particular, the three witches resulting in local scandal.  Making his musical theatre debut as the devilishly menacing and cunning Darryl Van Horn, Cristiano Mariotti rose to the challenge and provided a superb performance in this highly demanding role.  The three witches, Lee Macarthur (Alexandra Spoffard), Monica Jamieson (Sukie Rougemount) and Claire McVicar (Jane Smart) all complemented each other and delivered outstanding performances. Their voices blended beautifully in singing about their childhood insecurities “I Wish I May”.  The self appointed first lady (busy body) of Eastwick (Felicia Gabriel) was well characterised Elle Stevely and was ably joined by Hugh Preston as her unfaithful husband Clyde.  Claire Friary (Jennifer Gabriel) and Stewart Sinnamon (Michael Spoffard) were also well cast and paired as a young boy and girlfriend. The staging of shows at this venue presents some real major challenges with many restrictions but with a minimalistic set and the use of excellent contrasting and creative lighting, this show was brought to life.  I would also add that the creative lighting and the use of ingenious simple equipment enabled the witches to ‘fly’ very gracefully.  This was a well directed and produced show which the society and production team must all be pleased with.

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