There's No Business Like Show Business

This celebration of sixty years of Banbury Operatic Society rather wonderfully included two founder members in the company for the show, as well as three new members appearing for the first time.   How would the Society mark this very special anniversary?  They wisely eschewed a simple chronological cavalcade of greatest hits – “and then in November 1972 we staged the Black and White Minstrel Show” – in favour of a reflection on how Musical Theatre has developed, and the influence this has had on the shows the Society has performed.  Each Act of the concert was divided into three sections, and these featured classic songs from a particular musical genre.  The whole thing was skilfully linked together by various members of the company providing a few words of background or explanation, interspersed with personal reminiscences.  No-one needed any notes, the delivery was generally pacey and professional, and some of the links were even sung to the melody of “We open in Venice” from “Kiss Me, Kate”.  It all provided a classy framework for the musical numbers; I particularly liked it when the comperes referred to each other by name, as it gave the whole enterprise an appealing family feel.

There was so much to enjoy and admire about this concert.  The asymmetric set was primarily black and white to show off the colourful costumes, but the red tabs on the back wall, the sparkling diamonds on the front legs and in particular the cleverly illuminated, circular “60” logo upstage centre all gave the show a sense of occasion.  The men’s outfit of beige trousers and plain shirts in a wide range of colours could be accessorised in various ways, while the ladies were dressed in mid-length full dresses which were shown off to best advantage by the rotations and twirls in the choreography.  The tap dancers were given opportunities to show off, but the chorus movement was generally kept simple and executed flawlessly.  The whole thing looked a picture, thanks also to effective hair and make up, and the bright lighting plot.

The ensemble numbers were characterised by accurate and well balanced part singing, and if there was some variation amongst the soloists it was because there were a few stand-out performances rather than any weak links.  The band was simply superb; it was scarcely credible that an orchestra of just ten musicians could give such a terrific account of the music from so many genres.  The whole creative team deserves immense credit for the concept of this celebration concert and its realisation – I liked the way that costume rails appeared at the start of each Act, with accessories, properties and details employed to hint at time and place, and characteristic movements, gestures and dances used to suggest production styles.

This was a fitting celebration of sixty years of Banbury Operatic Society, and with “Ghost – The Musical” and “Kinky Boots” amongst future planned productions this is clearly a Society that isn’t resting on its laurels but moving with the times.

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