Operatic groups have been falling over themselves to get their hands on Me and My Girl now the musical has been made available for amateur performance and last week the Churchill Theatre played host to its first local production, courtesy of the West Wickham team.
The Noel Gay show proved an international hit when it was dusted off and given a sharp new book by Stephen Fry back in the 1980s, its simple romantic comedy and down-to-earth score making it a refreshing change from the pomp and spectacle of such musical rivals as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.
Recognising and working to these core values helped make the WWOS production such a triumph last week. Director Briar Blake deserves high praise for the way in which she balanced the inherent good-heartedness of the show with an eye for both the big production values and a wealth of comic detail.
If she had the vision, she was also blessed with a cast that responded brilliantly to their roles.
First among them must be Kevin Hayes as Bill Snibson, the cheerful Cockney who finds himself heir to an earldom with all the associated trappings of wealth and social status. His acting performance was confident and comically adept, although like too many others around him he was often inclined to share it more with his fellow players than the audience out there in the stalls. As a singer he was also spot-on with a deceptively relaxed ability to blend the songs into his character’s general progress through the show.
He was perfectly matched with Melody-Jane Faulkner as Sally, the sweetheart he risks losing through his elevation to the landed gentry. They made a convincing couple with a vital spark in their scenes together, without which this flimsy tale would soon founder.
Around them there were many opportunities for some outrageous character work and the principal players contributed with a level of enthusiasm and ability which ensured constant colour and humour. Brenda Jordan’s formidable duchess, Kevin Gauntlett’s game Sir John and Jon Clark’s camp study of the family solicitor, Parchester, were well to the fore with more good work from Jo Begley as the vampish, gold-digging Lady Jacqueline and Robert Heather as a young chinless toff straight out of the pages of P. G. Wodehouse. Chris Arden was an indicator of the attention to detail in this production with his portrayal of a stoic butler, employing timing and the occasional telling flourish to make it a memorable contribution. ‘
The chorus was also in fine fettle, choreographed into sparkling routines by Michaela Norton that exploited the giant stage to the full. Ian Skipper stood prominent in the orchestra pit, giving direct cues to the cast in a conducting performance that maintained a sensitive balance between players and musicians throughout.
Impressive sets and costumes from the West End show helped greatly to give the production extra impact.
Maybe Me and My Girl is a rather thin shadow of My Fair Lady, but WWOS proved last week that in the right hands it can still provide an evening of big-hearted, unpretentious entertainment.
The production of Me and My Girl was dedicated to the memory of Anita Gauntlett, the recently-deceased wife of society chairman Terry Gauntlett and a leading figure in the group’s post-war history. Anita took part in 26 productions between 1950 and 1993.
Daryl McCarthy
Kentish Times
Noel Gay’s musical about the chirpy cockney Bill Snibson who inherits an earldom was a smash hit in 1937, and again in 1985 when it was restaged in London with a ised book by Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent.
With its catchy songs (three of them interpolated numbers by the show’s composer, Noel Gay) and affectionate mockery of aristocratic ways, it provides the perfect setting for a fairy tale which might be styled Kipps Meets My Fair Lady.
Thew West Wickham Operatic Society have used the Churchill’s generous stage facilities to the full to give it the big treatment. Briar Blake’s busy and inventive direction provides many a memorable moment, Ian Skipper conducts the breezy score with style and Michaela Norton’s bright choreography is equal to the occasion.
Yet there are times when one is tempted to cry: “Hold! Enough!” The first night overran its estimated time by a mile, for the second act outstayed the welcome amply earned by the first.
Could it be that some of that exceedingly clever stuff in the Library with the ceremonial ermine is a coronet too far? Or that Bill Snibson’s leaning on a lamp post leans just a wee bit on nur patience? For most of the time though, the show beguiles both eye and ear, with two lovely performances from Kevin Hayes as Earl Bill and Melody-Jane Faulkner as his girl Sally.
To his comic gifts he adds the agility of an acrobat and the appeal of a little boy lost, and she a strong singing voice to a highly individual personality.
Brenda Jordan’s grandly patrician Duchess has a saving charm that partly belies the epithet “interfering old bat” conferred on her by Kevin Gauntlett as her ancient admirer Sir John Tremayne.
Their flirtatious skirmishing is one of the evening’s joys. Robert Heather is a suitably Woosterish suitor to Jo Begley’s larger-than-life, fortunehunting Lady Jaqueline Carstone. And watch out for the lovely little cameo of the educated copper by Howard James.
Donald Madgwick
Croydon Advertiser
|
|||||
|
|||||