Tonight, Milton Musical Society entertained a full house with a mixture of popular songs picked from shows they have performed in the preceding 10 years. As outlined by Milton themselves, they pride themselves on bringing lesser known shows to the stage, which made for a very interesting evening.
Through a mix of narration and projection, the audience were transported through the years with some witty anecdotes and pictures from previous shows.
I was delighted to see that there was a live band who were accompanying the cast, led by Alastair Hume. For many reasons, but mostly for authenticity and a more professional feel, it is always preferable when a society is accompanied by a band as opposed to pre-recorded music.
Furthermore, the quality of the harmonies in the ensemble songs was good, especially in ‘Ragtime’. There were a number of great ensemble songs, one of these being the Titanic section. It opened perfectly with ‘In Every Age/God Speed’, which was sung beautifully by the cast, and had the added effect of great costumes which separated the very rich from the very poor.
Opening the Scarlett Pimpernel section, Charlotte Squibb sang an excellent version of ‘Storybook’ which was backed up by some lovely dancing and fabulous dresses. Adam Davis delivered a stand out performance in the rather macabre song, ‘Madame Guillotine’.
Emma Hardy was fabulous in ‘Oom Pah Pah’ from the very well-known Oliver! and was supported by a very enthusiastic chorus. Catherine Smith gave the audience a luverly glimpse of Eliza Doolittle from the classic show My Fair Lady. In addition, Peter Hall roused the audience with a rendition of ‘Get Me To The Church’. Mark Ward was great in ‘If I Were A Rich Man’ from Fiddler On The Roof.
My absolute favorite performance of the night was from Cayton Rhys Francis in ‘Duty Calls’; he had all eyes on him the entire time and was very humorous throughout the song.
During the show, on occasion, there did appear to be a drop in energy at certain points. This stood out more when other songs were brimming with enthusiasm. My feedback would be to push for the same level the whole way through the show, and it’ll be knock out!
Best of luck to all of you for the rest of your run.
