Adult Group of SWMTC
Show is streets ahead!
The ultimate musical lovers' musical opened in Saffron Walden on Tuesday night last week - and what a toe-tapping extravaganza it was.
The simple plot is about fresh-faced wannabe Peggy Sawyer, who lands a role as a chorus girl in new Broadway show Pretty Lady, being staged by director Julian Marsh and starring past-her-prime prima donna Dorothy Brock.
When Dorothy breaks her ankle, Peggy is persuaded to take over as leading lady or the show will be cancelled. Needless to say, the musical is an instant hit and Peggy is the new darling of Broadway.
Peggy might be the star of Pretty Lady, but it was Matthew Chancellor, as firm but fair Julian, who was the star of this production. A fine actor with a strong singing voice, he captured Julian's initial weariness before eventually being swept up in Peggy's innocent idealism.
Rosie Ward was all wide-eyed and puppy enthusiast as the likeable Peggy, while in contrast Fiona Wilson Waterworth was brilliantly diva-ish as fading star Dorothy Brock.
Often with amateur productions there is a weakest link, but all the other actors provided solid support.
Tom Pinnock, as leading man Billy Lawlor, Gemma Holman, as chorus girl Annie, and Louise Constable-Maxwell, as the show's writer Maggie, should get a special mention for making it look so easy.
All the cast embodied their characters, making them believable, while credit should be given for mastering their American accents.
Most importantly they looked like they were having fun, which translated well on stage.
However, at times I wondered whether the small stage at Saffron Walden town hall was big enough to contain their energy and enthusiasm. Maybe they should consider a bigger venue for next year's Hello Dolly!
With fantastic costumes, simple yet stylish sets, energetic choreography and songs and a professional polish, 42nd Street made for a highly enjoyable evening out.
Herts & Essex Observer
Review - by Eleanor Scotchbrook
Saffron Walden - Sweet Charity
If there is a way of getting more performing space onto a small stage area the Director and back stage crew of Saffron Walden will fin it! This show, relying heavily on fast moving scene changes to keep the story line moving, had all the necessary ingredients. It was so slick that with the turn of a page of Charity's book the cast and set were ready for action every time! Congratulations to the designer, painter and all concerned as you made the production work - it was a miracle! Good furnishings and a drop down bed also worked well, as did the lift. Good performances from Charity and newcomer Oscar were well supported by a number of smaller roles including a good team of dance hall hostesses, complete with rather way-out wigs!! Charity did wonders with her quick changes and always ready for the hectic crowd scenes or intimate moments. There were lively dance numbers, atmospheric lighting for the "Rhythm of Life" scene including singing of a high standard with good support from the bank. A well-presented production and profmrnace of high standard.
Ann Pickhaver, National Operatic and Dramatic Association, District 7 Representative
Society's Sweet Smell of success
Saffron Walden Amateur Operatic Society has always been successful with large scale traditional operettas such as The Merry Widow and good old Gilbert and Sullivan.
Last week, however the society showed its versatility in presenting the relatively modern, musically challenging Sweet Charity with a tiny cast of just 23. Gemma Holman tackled the difficult role of Charity with energy and enthusiasm. This is not an easy part to play. Not only is the musical score complicated, Charity has to be both tempting and alluring while portraying a starry-eyed innocence that makes her extremely loveable. Gemma succeeded in creating a very believable, vulnerable and funny Charity.
Her singing was absolutely spot on as was her dancing and her scene trapped in a lift with Oscar, played by Matthew Chancellor, was one of the most memorable of the evening.
Matthew demonstrated a high degree of acting ability, a superb sense of timing and managed that difficult balance between farce and overacting.
Mike Sykes was excellent as the Latin heart throb Vittorio and the dance hostesses were all suitably seductive in true Footballers' Wives style.
For me the highlights of the show were the stage set and the costumes. John Wigmore, who designed the set and was stage manager, is to be congratulated on creating an imaginative and versatile set which enabled scene changes - including the lowering of a huge double bed - to be carried out in front of the audience with minimal disruption.
The costumes were as brash and sparkly as they should be and the wigs were truly superb creations.
This society always excels in big chorus numbers. There was no much opportunity for that in Sweet Charity but they came into their own with big chorus number The Rhythm of Life with the wonderful Daddy Brubeck - Richard Arnold - proving to be another highlight of the evening.
My only criticisms are that the choreography was a little wooden. I felt the dancers were concentrating so much on making sure they perfected their routines that they lost some of the high energy and characterisation that was necessary.
And the pace at times could have been quicker. The show could have done with a few cuts - not the fault of the society which, because of performance rights rules, was not allows to change a word! It meant however that it was all the more important for cues to be taken up quickly.
Overall, this was an excellent production and proof once again of what a valuable asset the society is to this town.
Reviewed by Pam Jenner for the Saffron Walden Weekly March 2007
Sweet Charity swings high
Set in New York during the swinging 60s, Sweet Charity is the charming tale of one girl's search for love and happiness.
A slick and engaging production, the encouters that Charity has while searching for the right man are humorous and equally endearing; from hiding in the wardrove of a famous movie star whose wife has returned back home after a row, to getting stuck in a lift with the shy and panicky Oscar, played wonderfully by Matthew Chancellor.
Within a few moments of Saffron Walden Amateur Operatic Society's play beginning, the feet are already tapping along to the sound of Big Spender thumping our from the orchestra. If My Friends Could See Me Now is an equally bouncy number, and there is much else to keep the audience entertained.
The performance of Gemma Holman, playing Charity Hope Valentine, is appropriately, sweet. She easily gets the audience on her side and willing her on as we join her in her many adventures. She plays the irony of some of the situations Charity finds herself in to perfection, and equally carries off Charity's angst over whether to tell love Oscar about what she really does for a living - that she is a dance hall hostess at the Fan-Dango Ballroom.
The play, which first opened on Broadway in 1966, has an unexpected ending. Charity, who is earlier described by a girlfriend as having a heart like a hotel, does not walk off into the sunset with oscar, who is troubled by her past. However, the audience is assured that she lives happily ever after.
The supporting cast carried the play very w4ell and there were some very memorable dances throughout, as well as some memorable costumes.
Produced by Martyn Harrison, with Sarah Sykes as musical director and Toni Grantham in charge of choreography, it had a real warm feel to it.
The atmosphere in the town hall where the production was held was special; you really got the sense of local pride and enjoyment in the play. The production was slick and virtually faultless.
Sweet Charity, which completed it one-week run on Saturday, is a funny, endearing and poignant play that has some truly magic moments.
22nd March 2007
Herts and Essex Observer
'Come to the Cabaret'
Reviewed by Julie Petrucci
It must be very disheartening to plan a production of OKLAHOMA! and then find, as SWAOS did in September 2005, that after all the main roles have been cast you only have 2 cowboys so have to call it off. however, undaunted and in order not to disappoint both cast and patrons SWAOS decided to put together a cabaret format evening instead. The effort involved in creating, rehearsing and producing this show must have been equally as challenging and exhausting a putting on Oklahoma! It is notoriously difficult to put together an evening of songs from the shows and keep it slick - well no one seemed to have told SWAOS that. This was one of the slickest versions of this type of show I have seen, and that includes professional productions. Here we had a Company of 28 with a plethora of good singers, albeit some of them not as young as they once were. Not that this showed in their voices as Maureen Gypps and Martin Oinn, amongst others, proved. One piece flowed into another, there were no wasted moments and no waiting for cast, scene or lighting changes. Everything fitted together imaginatively and seamlessly. An aural and ocular feast. With songs from shows varying from Hair to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang meant there was something for everyone. With 28 in the Company who were expertly supported by four first-rate musicians it is unfair to pick out individuals. All the soloists were excellent, the whole company talented and confident. My congratulations to the ladies for the wonderful tap dancing in Anthing Goes and to the gentlemen for their footwork in Roses of Success rarely have I seen such total concentration. There was such wonderful mixture of musical styles and arrangements one was never for one moment bored. An added bonus was the extremely informative programme notes about each show from which songs had been chosen. Like many groups SWAOS suffer from a lack of young men (i.e. under 35) but who cares when they can produce a show like this? Stage Director and Choreographer Theresa Goddard, Musical Director Sarah Sykes and Producer John Wigmore are to be congrulated on a superb evening's entertainment. I have already put next year's show SWEET CHARITY in my forward planner.
Saffron Walden Herts & Essex Observer
Cabaret showcase for society talent
LACK of numbers forced Saffron Walden Amateur Operatic Society to cancel its planned 2006 production Oklahoma!, but there was no lack of quality in the hastily arranged replacement show Come to the Cabaret.
Any disappointment the audience might have felt was dispelled from the moment the cast bounced out for a double whammy from hippy classic Hair.
The hugely uplifting performances of Aquarius and Good Morning Starshine set the standard for what proved to be a tremendous compilation show, featuring songs from all manner of musicals. If these opening numbers at Saffron Walden Town Hall on Thursday demonstrated the company's lighter side, there was ample opportunity elsewhere for poignancy and a fair share of raunch, all of which were handled impeccably.
Gemma Holman - All That Jazz - oozed sassy self-confidence. Martin Dinn clearly specialises in moody melancholy with terrific versions of The Lonely Room and Old Man River. Alison Cinque tugged at the heartstrings with Send in the Clowns. David Smithet and Alison Taylor had the crowd smiling broadly with Anything You Can Do. Fiona Wilson-Waterworth sang an unforgettable La Vie En Rose and all the full company numbers really clicked. There was even a taster for next year's proposed production Sweet Charity and if the psychedelic treat Rhythm of Life, which opened act two, is anything to go by, it should not be missed.
With a bare stage, there was nothing to distract attention from the cast who performed splendidly. In difficult circumstances, this was a sparkling production that proved a fine showcase for the company's versatility and talent.
16 March 2006
Life is a cabaret with Walden Operatic Society!THEATRE lovers in Saffron Walden are being asked to come to the cabaret next month at the town hall.
The Saffron Walden Amateur Operatic Society is set to make the old building swing from March 8 to March 11, every night at 7.45pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. There will be performances taking in a compilation of music and dance from shows that, for one reason or another, cannot be performed on the town hall stage in their entirety.
Susan Walker, from the society, said: "It's more than a concert. In fact, you might think it's the cream of the musical genre.
"It has bits from both American and British composers and writers, shows you know and love and some that may be new to you.
"From Gilbert and Sullivan to Sondheim by way of Porter, Kern and Lloyd Webber, there is a feast of song and dance - something for all."
The society's new musical director Sarah Sykes from Bishop's Stortford, will be leading the performers.
Tickets for the shows cost £5 and £10 are available from Saffron Walden Library from February 18, between 10am and 4pm except Wednesdays and Saturdays. They can also be obtained by calling 01799 526623.
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23 February 2006 |
A DEARTH of young men has forced Saffron Walden Amateur Operatic Society to cancel its planned production of Oklahoma!
It is the first year since the society was formed in 1922, barring the Second World War years, it will not have performed a full-scale show.
Susan Walker, business manager at the group, said: "Saffron Walden is short of young men who sing and can move a bit. Even after advertising widely for the proposed production of Oklahoma! the operatic society was still unable to cast the show and so have reluctantly had to cancel it."
Mrs Walker feared that Saffron Walden was suffering part of a national trend and said: "The National Operatic and Dramatic Association, to which around 2,400 groups belong, have noted that many other companies have had to cancel proposed productions for the same reason.
"It is thought that changes in patterns of work, such as the growth of working at home and the excessive hours that many now work, together with the distances travelled, have all had a detrimental effect on the willingness of people to go out in the evening for rehearsals."
Mrs Walker hoped that the shock of the cancellation would unearth the much-needed male talent, but said if that were not the case, the group was looking to stage a production next year which could be adapted for a majority female cast.
For 2006, the group will stage a cabaret evening featuring a compilation of songs from popular shows, including a tantalising selection from the celebration of long-hair, peace-loving, freewheeling hippies that is Hair.
The production will run from March 8-11 at the Town Hall.
If any young male performers would like to get involved with the society, they are asked to call 01799 523548.
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12 January 2006 |