The Witches of Eastwick

The Witches of Eastwick is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Dana Rowe and John Dempsey it is based on the 1984 novel written by John Hoyer and inspired by the Hollywood film starring Jack Nicolson.

Under the direction of Jon Berridge, The Witches of Eastwick is, in my opinion, the best production that C.A.T.S. has ever staged. The casting of the principal roles was perfect, the large ensemble was well rehearsed and the smouldering, sensual undertones, semi nudity and adult language were very tastefully addressed by Jon. Well done!

Barbara Hockey the musical director had a difficult task too with a complicated score, but she managed it beautifully and there were some lovely harmonies particularly in the witches numbers. With a large orchestra of eleven, the production had wonderful backing throughout the show.

Sheena Forster produced some of the best choreography that I have seen in a long time, the routines were imaginative and energetic and the company all gave 100% during the show.

The three witches, Alexandra Spofford played by Caroline Jenkins-Young, Jane Smart played by Becky Grudgings and Sukie Rougemont played by Sophie Tranter were incredible, they each had clearly defined characters and the chemistry between then was exciting to watch. The witches’ musical numbers were amazing, especially “Make him Mine”. The witches flying scene was truly awesome and is something I won’t forget in a long time!

Jay Lucas in the role of Darryl Van Horne was outstanding, from the moment he took to the stage I couldn’t help feeling that this was a part made for him. Jay had the three girls under his devilish charm right from the start and so it was very plausible that they did everything he wanted. I loved the number “I Wish I May” (Darryl and the Witches) there was a magical chemistry between the four performers in this and in all the scenes in which the four were involved. Jay Lucas’s performance has to be one of the best by an amateur actor that I have seen! Well done.

A good strong performance came from Pam Dee as Felicia Gabriel the hapless lady who bore the brunt of the witches’ early attempts at sorcery I will never know how Dee managed to get a tennis ball in her mouth! A credible performance too from Jon Berridge as Clyde Gabriel, the cheating husband of Felicia. Dylan Atkinson was a very endearing Michael Spofford, he had a lovely singing voice and was a perfect match for Erin Anderson who played Jennifer Gabriel, the girl he loved. Erin had good vocals too and played her role well. The Little Girl was played by Katie Proctor, I was never too sure about the characters connection with the story, but Katie played the role well and had some very nice vocals indeed. There were very strong performances from the other actors in the smaller roles, it wouldn’t be fair for me to single them out as each and every one played their part in this production with great enthusiasm. The ensemble deserve mention too for all their hard work in this show. I really enjoyed the “Dirty Laundry” number and they each gave 100% effort throughout the evening.

The set built and designed by Peter and Karen Morgan was exceptional and added greatly to the show. The costumes were very good and in keeping with the period. The lighting, sound and scene changing were very good throughout the performance, but with a few minor first night problems, this is just a small observation that didn’t spoil the show.

This was an excellent opening night that was enjoyed by the entire audience and the tremendous applause received by the company was richly deserved!

Thank you C.A.T.S. for this wonderful evenings’ entertainment and for the warm hospitality and especially Andy for looking after us throughout the evening.

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