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White Christmas

Author: Peter Oliver

Information

Date
30th November 2018
Society
Ferryhill Stage Society
Venue
Mainsforth Community Centre
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Enid Gale
Musical Director
Dave Jasper
Choreographer
Enid Gale

There’s no better way to celebrate your eightieth year of entertaining people then to choose a good feel show to brighten up the dark dreary nights of November and that’s exactly  what Ferryhill Stage Society chose for their Christmas showcase. Under the creative direction of Enid Gale she brought the festive cheer of this 1954 film “White Christmas” to the stage and what a great achievement was produced especially with the choreography I was very impressed not only was there some lovely chorus work and dance routines but I loved the fact that the whole cast learnt how to tap for the big musical numbers, this certainly made a massive difference and looked and sounded great. Irving Berlin’s music and lyrics set the scene thanks to one of the most energetic musical directors Dave Jasper and his fantastic orchestra and what a beautiful score they had to play with. Congratulations also to the production team with John Milner as stage manager, sound and lighting was provided by T. C. Event Technology which enhanced the whole production it’s not often that this area of a production works well but in this case the was no nasty feedback from the sound and the lighting plot was well executed and added to the overall atmosphere of the individual scenes “well done” for you outstanding attention to detail. Congratulations to the production team the set looked very authentic as did the costumes which were in keeping with the period and looked fantastic very festive and colourful thanks to the wardrobe mistress, Dawn Miller and Jean Weeks and finally a big thank you to the kind hearted and welcoming front of house team especially David Morley and the ladies selling the raffle tickets they certainly know how to make people feel very welcomed.

The four main leads in this production certainly did justice to their characters and clearly made them their own, Steven Berry gave a confident performance as Bob Wallace, great stage presence and a voice to match, a very demanding role he delivered this character with ease and I particularly loved his musical numbers “Happy Holiday” with Guy and the ensemble, “Blue Skies” and “Count Your Blessings” with Betty. Guy Lawes gave a splendid performance as Phil Davis the more happy go lucky part of the duo he performed his character admirably and the pairing between these two actors provided a terrific double act, they complimented each other very well. Guy delivered some great vocals especially his number with Judy “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing”. The sisters were aptly played by Elsie McGowan as Betty Haynes who beautifully captured the reserved and thoughtful nature of Betty some great scenes between the sisters and I loved the musical number “How Deep Is The Ocean” with Bob. Playing her sister Judy was wonderfully played by Rosemary Jones she captured the bright and bubbly character, great stage presence and quite an accomplished dancer again some lovely musical numbers especially “I Love A Piano” with Guy and the sister rendition of the music number “Sister” great performance as was that executed in the reprise by Steven and Guy.

Playing General Waverly was Joe Makepeace, whatever role this accomplished actor plays he always leaves an impression great performance and well performed some lovely interaction with his stage granddaughter Susan played by Kelsey White who delivered a confident performance, good stage presence and acting ability and a lovely singing voice for such a young lady, I particularly enjoyed her rendition of “Let Me Sing And I’m Happy” great talent and someone to watch out for in the future. Playing the busybody receptionist / housekeeper Martha Watson was the formidable Isobel Wheatley this accomplished actress is no stranger to the stage she ensured that she made the most of the comedic aspects of the role and sang her numbers with great gusto, confident  stage presence and as always a pleasure to watch I loved her musical number “”Let Me Sing And I’m Happy” and her number with Bob and Phil “What Can You Do With A General” and the number “Falling Out Of Love Can Be Fun” with Betty and Judy. Great support came from Ryan Evans as Ralph Sheldrake who delivered a good confident performance as was the characters Rita and Rhoda played by Victoria Baines and Robyn McGough both of these young women made their presence known as the sassy chorus girls brilliantly portrayed. Playing the parts of both the train driver and Ezekiel Foster was Robert Leigh, well done to Ryan Evans as the producer Ralph Sheldrake, Steve Hill as Mike and the announcer and last but not least in named parts was Leanne Evans as Tessie, the seamstress and Sheldrake’s secretary good character performance by you all in these performers.

Nothing can be taken away from the chorus who gave 100% to this production they oozed charm and professionalism from the opening number “Happy Holiday” to the bows and the iconic musical numbers “White Christmas” and “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” beautifully performed and visually pleasing. Well done to Pat Atkinson, Dawn Milner, Margaret Gargett, Dennis Gale, Jean Weeks, David Stothard, Sheila Spooner, Maureen Golightly and Joan Harker, special mention must go to the male chorus for your musical number “ The Old Man” I thought this was well delivered and performed with lots of sentiment

Finally congratulations to everyone involved from Ferryhill Stage Society for making this an enjoyable production, with Christmas just weeks away you certainly left the audience feeling in a festive mood Congratulation on another Christmas cracker.

 

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