This Is Our Show

I could sum up the report of “This Is Our Show” with just three words and three keys on the keypad. Wow! Wow! Wow! I always know that that I can be assured of a couple of hours of sheer enjoyment and entertainment at a WMCS production and this particular venture was all that and more.

If this were a show with a story, I would usually start with a very brief resumé of the basic story and comment on the main characters involved in the plot. However, your production had an wonderfully eclectic mix of musical numbers spanning approximately eighty years. Many solo voices on stage throughout the evening took on varied character parts from twenty-one different musicals ranging from the earliest, “Carousel”, to the latest, “Six”.  In fact, I was not aware of the existence of six of the chosen shows, although I knew some of the songs included.  There were approximately twenty different singers performing solos, duets, trios and also taking part in small and larger ensembles. To name any one of them would be unfair as every single one had been well cast for the particular song being performed. The rest of the cast taking part in the opening and closing of the two acts and and concerted numbers made a glorious sound.

The accompaniment was provided by musical director Nigel Newman and three other musicians. The different sounds required for the various genres of music was excellently interpreted by this group. What was a delight to hear were the well defined dynamics in the ensemble numbers, particularly in the well known “You’ll never walk alone” and also the “We will rock you” sequence. A special acknowledgement must go to guitarist, Tom Brennan, for his superb playing in this section.       

The opening of the performance was “It’s a musical” from “Something Rotten”.  This was one of the shows of which I have not heard nor known the song selected. I thought this was an absolutely brilliant way to commence the proceedings. The selection from “Miss Saigon” was also a very apt and wonderful way to close the curtains. I was also delighted to hear the choice of songs from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for which of course I awarded you the N.O.D.A. Accolade of Excellence for 2023.

To cover a span of eighty years of varied shows needs a dedicated and busy team of costume persons. From jeans and tee shirts to white shirt and black trousers and ties, green costumes for witches, elegant outfits for formal gatherings and other individual attire, the costume department must be congratulated for their dedicated hard work.

The choreography for the large number of people on stage was superbly planned and executed to great and enjoyable effect.  The technical side went without a hitch and the scene changing, including the setting and removal of props, was slick and efficient.

To devise a compilation show can be quite a task on its own as there needs to be a good mix of nostalgia, romance, comedy and imagination. So as I close with my congratulations to the whole team for this production - I include the devisers, the hands-on production team, the back stage personnel, the musicians, singers and actors in my thanks and expressions of happiness for a brilliant evening of entertainment.

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