The wonderful vintage Cole Porter score makes this show a popular choice for amateur societies and usually guarantees full houses. It was adapted at a later date into a version that would lend itself more to the amateur stage, and in which the convoluted plot is easier to follow.

It was first staged at the Alvin Theatre, New York where rather surprisingly it had a run of only 420 performances, and then at London’s Palace theatre for a run of just 261 performances.

Your production started with a superbly played overture and the musical accompaniment throughout was extremely good. Rachel Keegan firmly led her small band and they never overpowered the vocals. The company singing was strong with both the chorus and individuals producing a good sound.

The opening scene in a New York bar was simply but effectively staged and the couple at the table added visual interest. The barman deserves a mention as he made the part far more than it often is, and later as a sailor he showed the same commitment to his role.
Aileen gave an accomplished performance as Reno Sweeney and her acting/singing skills made her one of the two stars of the show.
The other was Martin Elliff. He played Moonface Martin, a failed gangster well down the notoriety list, with ease and style and he brought out the humour pointedly. Both of these actors had appropriate American accents.
Danny Yate’s singing was good and he made a likeable and confident Billy Crocker.
Hope and Sir Evelyn, played respectively by Connie Law and Mike Davenport, were rather mature for the roles and would have benefited from more direction on their characterisations. As Hope, Connie was a little strident on occasion, and Mike didn’t quite come over as the upper class figure of fun, which left the audience not quite sure whether or not they were supposed to laugh at him particularly in the ‘Gypsy’ number. A more exaggerated accent would have helped to establish the role. He has a good singing voice but that particular song didn’t allow him to use it.
As Evangeline Harcourt, a pushy society mother delighted at her daughter’s prospects of marriage into the aristocracy, Jenny Poore could have been more dominating. She appeared rather timid and the age difference between she and Hope was not obvious enough.
I thought Roy Selfe did well as Elisha Whitney, and John Connor was suitably cast as the Captain.
Erma (re-named Bonnie in the adaptation) has a limited number of lines and perhaps not the same opportunity to get into the character as her counterpart has in the second version, but Sarah Poore needed to attack the role more enthusiastically and her dialogue was not always clear. She came into her own in ‘Buddy Beware’, which she put over well.
The Angels supported Reno adequately and Amanda Lapping’s experience made her the one that stood out from the others. Ayse Dogan-Winter’s lines, playing Virtue, were difficult to hear.

There was a very late entry on ‘What oh!’ which lost a laugh, and there weren’t all that many in Act One, which was mostly due to the lack of pace.

In contrast Act Two was very good indeed. The pace picked up, the cast was more animated and the laughs came more easily. As I remarked earlier this version is not the best one for amateurs to tackle, and I think the company did as well as they could with it.

‘Public Enemy’ was a delight to listen to, and Moonface’s ‘Bluebird’ was very well presented.

The dog and beard situation was cleverly handled and quite credible as the toy dog looked very similar to Cheeky, who like all well trained dogs behaved impeccably.

Annelly Jones choreography was good and Heather Legat took advantage of the Stage Productions set with many attractive groupings and use of the steps.

The costumes were mixed and some were suitable whilst others were not of the period. This was particularly noticeable in the mixture of trench coats/hats worn by the reporters. The ‘Blow Gabriel’ red frocks were super and the Officers uniforms looked smart. The Angels costumes were a little staid for a bunch of fallen angels.

It’s doubtful there would have been a chaise longue on board ship but it did make a splendid addition to the seduction scene.

Sound and lighting were fine as were the properties and wigs.

Your programme is usually interesting as you manage to come up with original ideas for the cast additions to it, and this one was no exception.

Thank you for inviting me to see the show which provided a good evening’s entertainment for the audience. Thank you also for your kind hospitality on the evening.

Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and New Year to all at Hatton Operatic Society.

E. Gloria Smith
NODA Representative –District 12