Review: The Sound of Musicals 2

Wembley Operatic Society

23rd. - 26th. April 2008 at the Compass Theatre

It is much easier to write a review of a show when there is something about it that you have not enjoyed, or when something has gone wrong during the course of the performance. Reviewing a show that has been brilliant from start to finish is a much harder task, and this show was precisely that! Director/Choreographer Trisha Tebbatt must have some kind of magic touch, to instill so much confidence in all her performers that every one of them came out onto the Compass stage and gave it everything they’d got.

Trisha and gold-shoed Musical Director James D. Hale were responsible for selecting the contrasting musical numbers for this show, and they got that just right too. All the songs were excellent choices, were performed superbly, and benefited from being accompanied by three polished musicians. David Rudd must be the first trumpeter I have heard who can get through more than two hours of playing without hitting one false note.

With so much being positive about this show, it would be nice to credit every single performer, because they were all so good. However, space makes that impossible, and I must restrict myself to mentioning the ones that I particularly enjoyed. The high standard of this show was evident from the opening number, “Wilkommen” from Cabaret, sung with multilingual style by Graham Bright, accompanied by five elegant dancers. He later reprised the role in a lively version of “Two Ladies”, accompanied under the sheets by Elaine Gee and Valerie Faiman.

I am not a great fan of The Sound of Music, but the two numbers sung so well by Laura Gilbert with the seven children performers, were a pleasure to watch. The children exuded the same levels of confidence as the adults, and were also a credit to the company. The first half of the show ended with a dynamic rendition of “I Got Rhythm” by the vivacious Amanda Silver, backed by the whole company. More than an hour had passed in what felt like a few minutes. That’s entertainment!

I was entranced by the purity of Susanna Heard’s voice, particularly in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Requiem. In this she was joined by an outstanding young singer, 11-year old Ruaraidh Young, who manifested a confidence beyond his years. I must also single out young Ben Schrodel, whose full-blooded rendition of “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” was a spine-tingling penultimate number. Ben has a fabulous, powerful voice, and I hope I get a chance to hear him again.

I must apologise to the rest of the excellent cast for not being able to name everyone, but would like to use this last paragraph to mention a few of them. For pure, impressive singing I must lavish praise on Sandra Papier, and also on Ray May for performing with such style. I greatly enjoyed Diane Howden’s rendition of “Don’t Tell Mama” and Margaret Morrison’s “Big Spender”. One of the highlights of the second half was “The Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Show, sung so well by Howard Lush. This was another wonderful routine performed by the whole company.

Wembley Operatic Society will be back at the Winston Churchill Theatre, Ruislip, in early November with Scrooge. For more information about the company, visit its website: www.wos-productions.org.uk

Frank Long