Category: Reviews

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Review of “9 to 5” by Playhouse Musings

Playhouse Musings came to see “9 to 5” and posted a review on their website. You can read the full review here http://playhousemusings.co.uk/2017/03/the-cast-review-9-5-what-a-way-to-spend-an-evening/ but here are some of the things they had to say about the show:

 

“Rob Corner did a great job of tackling this fairly unknown musical, as Director, using every part of the stage to bring this show to life… wrestling with what could have been quite a confusing show. “9 to 5” rockets along at a blistering pace, juggling a lot of plot threads, and doesn’t always do so with great effect…With big performances, and the right amount of focus brought to each character (enhanced with costume and lighting), this was a show that we could follow and enjoy.”

“In addition to the superb harmonies displayed throughout the show, and the wide range of music displayed (although mostly with a country twang), Dave [Dallard -MD] had to keep the band and performers in time with a pre-recorded video of Dolly Parton herself. Bookending the show with narration, the back wall was filled with these projections, which had to be lined up with the music perfectly. Dave did an exemplary job of keeping these two running side-by-side… Injecting life into many of the numbers, Siobhan [Parker’s] choreography helped lift this production even higher.”

“Violet Newstead (Carolyn Smith) has wasted years in the office bullpen, always being passed up for promotions, which are subsequently offered to a less qualified man instead. …The contrast of the swagger through the office, and the closed body language when subjects such as love come up, show Carolyn really understood this character well. All of this was backed up by her singing, which carried her through the differing musical numbers with ease.”

“Judy Bernly (Beth Yearsley) is new to the world of work, having previously been a kept woman, and wanting to prove her worth in the face of her cheating husband. Beth showed the transition from wide-eyed innocence to strong independence, perfectly, and did more to showcase why this group is called “The Cast”. As with Carolyn,  she embodied the character, and had every member of the audience rooting for her. Her comedic timing was on point too, with some of the biggest laughs rising from the naivete of her character. This was all, once again, backed up with a beautiful singing voice. Beth let emotion course through her whilst delivering some of the more sombre numbers, and was responsible for some of my favourite songs within the musical.”

“Doralee Rhodes (Rachelle Bragg) … Rachelle played this obvious caricature of Dolly Parton with great energy, and created what became one of my favourite characters. Her delightful Texan accent was consistent throughout, and did much to hide the sorrows beneath. Just imagine Dolly Parton herself, and you’ll get an idea of the character Rachelle brought to the stage.”

“Franklin Hart, Jr. (Chris Collington). Hart is the bigoted, narcissistic, CEO of the company our leading ladies work for, and the bane of everyone’s lives. … In addition to the nasty side of this character, there were an awful lot of laughs elicited from the audience by Chris. His comedic timing is impeccable, and helped make this a thoroughly rounded character.”

Roz Keith (Cheryl Camm) … Her piercing voice and grating personality made for a detestable character, which was the perfect addition to the show. Her sultry number directed towards an absent Hart was hilariously unexpected, and pulled many a chuckle from the audience… Joe (Rob Holsman) was the hopeless romantic chasing after Violet. Rob didn’t have a huge amount to work with here, but didn’t let that pull him back. The timid and unsure Joe was portrayed perfectly, and his duet with Violet was sang beautifully.”

“In addition to these two, there were various other characters that popped their heads in from time-to-time, usually with a quick quip, and all did well to lift the show even further each time. The chorus blended seamlessly into the action, and performed the choral numbers with great gusto and energy.”

Original review here: http://playhousemusings.co.uk/2017/03/the-cast-review-9-5-what-a-way-to-spend-an-evening/

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Review of “9 to 5” by Kev Castle

“9 To 5 The Musical” by The Cast
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Based on the 1980 movie of the same name, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and the book by Patricia Resnick. It’s set in the late 1970’s and is a story of friendship and revenge and even a little romance thrown into the mix.

Three female office co-workers, Violet, Judy and Doralee concoct a plan to get even with their sexist, egotistical, hypocritical, lying bigot of a boss, Franklin Hart. While the boss is “busy”, the trio give their workplace a makeover and take control of the company that had always held them back.

Following on from last year’s show “Acorn Antiques”, which was also written by a phenomenal female writer in the late Victoria Wood, this musical puts women to the fore, showing that they can produce brilliant comedy. You often find that many plays and musicals aren’t all about the female roles being as strong as the male roles. This musical turns that accusation on its head.

Doralee, the sexy Southern belle becomes the subject of many of the office rumours based purely on what Hart has said, is played by Rachelle Bragg. I was well impressed with her Southern accent and is a great fun part. I loved her song “Backwoods Barbie”, showing that the fun, blonde character also has a human side.

Violet, the office manager who, while Hart is in charge will never be CEO. Played by Carolyn Smith, and a really powerful performance Carolyn gives with vocals to match the performance. Classy all the way to the finale.

Judy is the newly divorced lady who is an office worker for the first time is played by Beth Yearsley. I’d almost forgotten just what a wonderful voice she has, and when she sung “Get Out And Stay Out”, she showed off that emotional and power packed set of vocal chords she has. A lovely comedy performance as well which also showed the character getting stronger and more self empowered all the way to the finale.

Cheryl Camm also turns in a brilliant comedy performance as Hart’s love smitten secretary, Roz Keith. And what a transformation in her big song “Heart To Hart”.

Playing the sexist, egotistical, hypocritical, lying bigot of a boss, Hart is a brave man indeed, Christopher Collington. The things those women do to him doesn’t come cheap in specialist magazines (so I’m led to believe). His “Here For You” is delivered with such an overly sexist tone, I’m surprised that he isn’t on some register, Hart not Chris that is. A wonderful performance which I imagine is such a great part for any male actor to get his teeth into, as long as you have a strong pain threshold.

The other main male role is Joe, who has a bit of a crush on the older Violet. Played by Rob Holsman who also gets to show off, not only his fine singing voice in the duet with Carolyn of “Let Love Grow”, but also gets to showcase his tap dancing skills.

Talking of which, that tap dancing scene was one of the highlights and featured the four main male dancers, as well as Carolyn. The male dancers, I must say, really threw themselves into the choreography and looked like they were having the time of their lives. Also a tribute to the wonderful choreography of Siobhan Parker. With so many strong female roles in this play, they held their own.

Directed by Rob Corner, who also designed the set, this is another success under his belt. When you think that the live band, directed by Dave Dallard, which by the way gave their usual top class performance, had to work to the projected back drop with Dolly Parton singing and speaking over the live music, timing is going to be of the essence. The actors and the band had to perform around Dolly’s image, which could have gone wrong, but didn’t, smoothly segueing together.

The stage management and crew worked slickly to get the props and sets on and off the stage. Not easy when you see some of the props.

Some of the sound was a bit awry meaning that some of the dialogue was missed but was soon amended and the rest of the show was clear. Well managed by Ben Tennett.

The dynamic duo of light (Dave Martin) and sound (Ben) made the show an easy watch. A director once told me that you only really notice the lights when something goes wrong. That may be true but when it all goes to plan, it’s also worth recognition. A bit like the sound man, you only notice when the sound isn’t right but when it’s good, it also makes all the difference to a show, especially a musical.

Okay so it’s not the strongest of story lines, but who cares? Sometimes you need a bit of fluff with your cheese and this does the job admirably. It’s great fun and the songs are catchy, especially the title track, “9 To 5”. And when the Cast are having fun on stage, the audience can’t help not to.

“9 To 5 The Musical” performed by The Cast is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 18 March 2017. Oh and make sure that you buy a programme as well!

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Kev Castle review of Acorn Antiques

“Acorn Antiques” by The Cast
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Written by Victoria Wood, this was bound to be funny,and it’s more than that because in the hands of these actors, “Antiques” is one of the funniest plays I’ve seen this year so far. Acorn Antiques is run by Miss Babs and Miss Berta, aided by their friends and cleaner: Mrs Overall and Mr Clifford. Soon, they discover a third sister, Bonnie who is initially scheming and devious,even sacking Mrs Overall. The plot unfolds and the sisters are faced with financial problems and eventually family secrets are revealed. The show ends with the return of Mrs Overall, a windfall, and the marriage of Miss Bertha and Mr Clifford. Well that’s the main story, but there;s so much more to this wonderful comedy musical.

…an amazingly good performance to a professional level, which is what I had expected anyway. I’ve not smiled or laughed so much since “Fawlty Towers” …

There’s not a single member of the cast who isn’t essential to the comedy cogs of this well oiled mirth machine, so let’s take a look….
Miss Babs, played by Carrie-Anne Corner is so good you forget Celia Imrie. Babs is the sexually frustrated man-eater with a lovely line of double-entendre. Tie that in with a great singing voice, shown off well in “Have You Met Miss Babs” and you have one third of the sisters.
30Miss Berta is portrayed by Carolyn Smith, another killer of a comedy role, with just a touch of sadness as she recalls about the time that she nearly married Mr Clifford, but due to a freak accident, this didn’t happen. Thanks to another freak accident with a tea tray though, a happy ending ensued.
Miss Bonnie is the baddie of the piece, well one of them, and at times gets a panto baddie reception with “boos” and “hisses” coming from the audience.Alex Tavener revels in this role and I loved the comedy that Miss Bonnie brings to table by way of the very talented Alex T. A wonderful trio of very funny characters and actors.
Mina Machin plays Mrs Overall, and if ever Julie Walters hangs up her overall for this part then Mina can step into this role with the greatest of ease. Not only does Mina look like Julie Walters in the role, but she sounds like her and she has all of the Mrs O’s characteristics down to a tee. the character is comedy royalty and there’s a scene where Mrs O goes up the stairs in a stairlift and waves to the audience who take great pleasure waving back. Oh but i was longing for Mina to do a Royal Wave in the way that the Queen does. Just an observation, mind!
As I said, all of the characters were crucial to the musical so let’s have a look at some of the others….
Mr Clifford, who is the Duncan Preston role, is played by Jason Parker and his whole mannerisms remind me so much of Duncan’s portrayal.
Derek ( Christopher Collington) and Mr Watkins (Martin Holton) play the only two MH5_8427 Resizedmen in the village who iron their cardigans!! Martin stepped into the breach just hours before curtain up after Keith Butcher took ill earlier. I hear that Keith is on the road to recovery which is good news.
There’s a lovely comedy section which involves the two young shop helpers Hugh and Mimi, which shows Victoria’s knowledge of classic comedy sketches as she seems to have been inspired by a sketch from Abbot and Costello with a clever word play scene around the names. Hugh and Mimi are transformed from two chavs to respectable antique lovers. Zach Foster and Emily Corner give brilliant character performances in these roles.
Tony is the other baddie. As the loan shark who tries to con the sisters out of the shop, Adam Richmond brings a slimy, almost devilish feel to the character, who changes from the hard hearted con man, thanks to the actions of Mrs O and her macaroons!!
The rest of the cast play various other roles as shop owners, the lollipop lady, and the postman who was also on the radar for Miss Babs, well he is male! Every one of them giving faultless performances.
As per the TV version of “Antiques” there are shaky walls, missed cues and even the bits which weren’t supposed to happen added to the comedy and got laughs where they weren’t scripted in…cue door handle!
The orchestra, under the musical direction of Dave Dallard was, as usual, crystal clear, and not too loud that you couldn’t hear the actors. A nice mix, thanks to Ben Tennett at the sound controls.
Beautifully and lovingly directed by Rob Corner, who obviously has an eye and ear for getting the pace of the comedy spot on. With this show playing up to the fact that missed cues are part of the comedy, playing it like this is harder than playing it to the cue as you want to and going against the comedy grain isn’t easy. It’s like Les Dawson playing the piano; he was a talented pianist but playing for comedy was harder.. you get what I mean don’t you?
9There are some wonderfully choreographed pieces here, especially the end piece which is straight out of Hollywood, via Manchesterford, and a very clever tap routine, all choreographed by Laurie Trott.
You know, I can’t find anything in this show to constructively criticise because these bunch of amateur actors gave an amazingly good performance to a professional level, which is what I had expected anyway. I’ve not smiled or laughed so much since “Fawlty Towers” on stage a few weeks ago, which shows that local theatre groups are just so talented where comedy is concerned. Don’t always rely on professional shows for the big laughs because the talent is here at a local level. Now!

“Acorn Antiques” is on at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 19 March 2016.

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THEATRE REVIEWS review of Little Shop of Horrors

I’ve seen several “Little Shop Of Horrors” over the years and this version by The Cast is up there with the very best!

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS by The Cast​

The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton​

I’ve seen several “Little Shop Of Horrors” over the years and this version by The Cast is up there with the very best. This is the first production I’ve had the pleasure of seeing by The Cast, having not being free to see “Bad Girls-The Musical” last year, but I know that this will not be the last.

Almost everyone will know the story of the mild mannered, meek shop assistant, Seymour, who buys a strange tropical plant and places it in his boss’s flower shop window to attract custom in order to save the shop from closing down by its’ owner Mr Mushnik. This would put him and his other, more glamorous assistant, Audrey, out of a job. The plant needs a special diet in order for it to flourish, and when it does, it makes Seymour a local and nationwide celebrity. And we all know the cost of that!

First off let me say that this has to be the biggest and most evil looking plant I’ve ever seen. It took three puppeteers to make it look as if it was alive. What a brilliant job Adam Richmond​, Damon Pipes and John Carley did. Possibly the best Audrey 2 I’ve seen on stage.

In fact the whole cast of The Cast were so good. Seymour, who reminded me of Freddie Garrity from 60’s band Freddie and The Dreamers, only younger, was a perfect choice in Craig Arme. Craig looked the complete geek, the zero to hero, but behind those Buddy Holly glasses lay a powerful voice which worked so well in musical theatre production.

Audrey has always been one of my favourite musical comedy female roles, I think the voice does it and the fashion sense (sorry I am a bloke after all), and Emily Marshall-Sims did not disappoint. Oh no, far from it, she was brilliant and again, what a voice, and amazing legs. When she sung the wistful “Somewhere That’s Green” Emily painted pictures in the mind of that place she was dreaming of settling in to.

Mr Mushnik, again a perfect choice in John Maddison provided several comedy moments, especially when getting Seymour to become the “son” in Mushnik and Son and to stop him from thinking of taking Audrey 2 away from the newly flourishing business.

Orin, the dentist and sadistic boyfriend of Audrey was played wonderfully over the top and evilly by Christopher Collington. A touch of the Meatloaf about his acting, and by that I mean that he took the character and ran with it through every red light going. Great manic laughter and some great props for Orin too.

Kevin Chatten provides the voice of Audrey 2, which at the right time created a very sinister feeling with the evil plant. Great voice though!

This musical is not just about the main characters. There are two sets of backing singers who carry the story through. The six ladies who played Crystal, Ronette, Chiffon, Petula, Dusty and Urma (Emily, Claire, Kathi, Carrie, Mina and Katie) really created just the right atmosphere for the 60’s ambience.

Must also mention Rob Holsman, who has great legs which he shows off as Mrs Luce!

The atmosphere is set even before the musical starts with some of the other actors milling around the theatre in character as down and outs. And it was also good to see other cast members using the seating and audience area to expand the performance area.

The band, under the musical direction of Dave Dallard were, as always exceptional,and what a drummer they have in Jack Helan. There was the occasional time when the singer on stage was a little drowned by the band but hey, it was the first night.

The set was one of the best that I have seen for “Horrors” using a two tier set which freed up a little more of the lower stage and gave Petula, Dusty and Urma a stage of their own so that they could backing sing and dance on. Martin Holtom is the man responsible for this great design.

“Horrors” has always been one of my favourite comedy musicals and The Cast certainly did not disappoint. Memorable songs include “Suddenly Seymour”, “Skid Row”, “The Meek Shall Inherit” and of course Orin’s song, “The Dentist”.

“Little Shop Of Horrors” is on at The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton​ until Saturday 14 March 2015

Many thanks to Kev Castle for the review. You can read the original here: http://kevcastletheatrereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/little-shop-of-horrors-by-cast-duchess.html

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NODA Review of Little Shop Of Horrors

A very talented cast and production team… together with a magnificent Audrey 2 … was certainly the best I have seen to date.

So this NODA rep walks into a Little Shop and says … well, actually very nice things! Especially considering this was our opening night and if anything’s going to go wrong, this is usually when it’ll happen. However, I don’t think we could have asked for a better opening night, with a very nearly full house. Here’s the NODA review of the show:

“This was a great production with plenty of action and lots of fun. Martin (Holtom – Director) made full use of the set and the talented company conveying the atmosphere of the period. Dave (Dallard – Musical Director)  achieved a high musical standard from the pit and stage together with a nice interpretation, particularly in the quieter moments. There were excellent performances from Craig Arme and Emily Marshall-Sims as Seymour and Audrey both vocally and in character portrayal, particularly in “Suddenly Seymour”.

John Maddison provided a very good performance as Mr Mushnik, the character came over just right. Christopher Collington made quite an impact as Orin making the most of this over the top character with plenty of Elvis background. There was great singing from the “Ronnettes” with lovely harmonies. Using two groups of girls was different but it certainly paid off, adding to the quality of the music, well done girls. I liked the choreography and dance, just the right level and amount, linking well with the other stage movement. The set was very good but it was rather overshadowed in the second act by a magnificent Audrey 2, which, together with the (overheated!) operators was certainly the best I have seen to date. Lighting and costumes all added to the occasion and efficient stage management kept the show flowing at all times. This Society does introduce newcomers to the stage and did so in this production and I am sure they will have enjoyed the experience and gained a lot from working with a very talented cast and production team. It was a very enjoyable evening and a very entertained audience.”

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Review of Bad Girls – The Musical

Well, it seems we have a very popular show on our hands! This review just in … Once again thank you to everyone who has bought tickets – for those still to come, we promise you a great show!

“Audiences at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton who saw the show Bad Girls performed by The Cast recently would no doubt agree on what an excellent evening’s entertainment it was.

The show took us into the lives of a dozen or more of the officers and inmates of Larkhall women’s prison Continue reading “Review of Bad Girls – The Musical”