West End Proms Concert Review

Bedford Marianettes are now the only musical theatre society left in Bedford and like the rest of wider population are struggling with rising costs. So, MD Leigh Smith, Choreographer Flo Rowntree and Charlotte Pearson came up with the concept and content of ‘The West End Proms’ as a fund raiser to top up depleting funds. And what a fantastic piece of theatre it turned out to be!

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Unfortunately, the round table seating arrangement used for this show wasn’t great and we ended up with a restricted view of the stage, which meant seeing the footwork involved in the choreography was not possible. So, this review is given on that basis.

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The stage was simply the flat floor of this studio theatre with the orchestra positioned in a tiered arrangement upstage rear, with Musical Director Leigh Smith conducting centre stage in front of them. This left a large flat floor dance floor area for the performers. No scenery or props were used leaving Stage manager Steve Ward with a relaxing night off.   

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The orchestra, who all agreed to do the show to help with the fund raising was absolutely top notch and Bedford’s finest:  Violins: John Shayler and Dorothy Williams, Wind section: Annabel Robinson, Chris Pettitt, Sue Pettitt and Andy Stewart. Brass section: Chas Hutchings, Matt Gill, Pam Ronayne, John Lavelle, Liz Scofield and Clive Reeves. Keys: Ed Jones, Ben Wiles and Thomas Rowe. Guitarist Danny Barton, Bass Guitar Colin Woolmer and Les Arnold on Drums. It would have graced any theatre orchestra pit in the land! A special mention of Chris Pettitt, who performed a solo tenor sax version of Beauty & The Beast.

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Sound technician Gregory White certainly knew his stuff, with every member of the cast face miked at some point or another and his cueing of them was absolutely spot on. At one point the mics appear to have been deliberately switched off on the chorus, which lowered the volume to accentuate the main singer and produce exactly the right balance. Very neat trick indeed! The balance between singers and musicians was remarkably crystal even when the cast were singing from the wings. I take my hat off to him for a first-class job in logistics alone. Marianettes really have mastered the acoustics at Trinity Arts.

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Lighting designed by Leigh Smith and operated by Simon Barker and George College complemented the sound and completed the atmosphere. Particularly like the way he lit up the wall behind the compere, and back wall with changing twinkling lights - very effective.

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This show was choreographed to within an inch of its life, which raised it to another level completely. First of all, every participant’s entrance was timed to the split second and every position worked out to the square inch, which made the show flow incredibly well from one song to another. Noting the participants entrances and how they set up for each song was a worthwhile watch in its own right.

 

As for the dance choreography itself, I have to say Flo Rowntree is in a class of her own. The complexity of moves, the coordination and synchronisation by the cast was quite simply West End quality. The hand and upper body movements or ‘armography,’ to steal a phrase from Strictly Come Dancing was timed to perfection. Particularly clever use of waist high, synchronised, twisting hand movements was something I’d not seen before.  Goodness only knows how much rehearsal time it took to get to that standard. I can only guess!  But what made this so professional were the facial expressions. Watch any professional show and you will see all the dancers puff their chests out and have a permanent smile on their faces, showing lots of teeth. It hides any mistakes and looks totally professional and entertaining. Sadly, something most amateur societies fail to do well. Concentration and a happy face are not natural bedfellows.  But, what I saw with Marianettes was a master class by an amateur group punching way above it weight and showing exactly how to be professional standard dancers. Whoever instilled that into the whole cast, take a bow.

Our Compare for the evening was Barry Thompson who introduced each section of musicals as we went along giving us a wide array of familiar numbers from a lot of old favourites, some modern shows, undoubtably destined to become classics of the future and one or two I’d either forgotten or had not heard before. We had sixteen in the first half including numbers from: Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Calamity Jane, 42nd Street, Guys & Dolls, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, All Shook Up, A Chorus Line and Jesus Christ Superstar. In the second half we had fifteen more, from Chicago, Phantom of The Opera, The Webber Love Trio, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors, We Will Rock You, Beauty & The Beast, Wicked, Hairspray and Bonnie and Clyde., A pretty eclectic tour of the West End show over the last century and more. All sung by an amazing array of powerfully voices, a delight to listen to.

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So well done to a cast which exhibited confidence, energy and professionalism from moment one: Natalie Goldsworthy, Josh Hughes, Emily Jackson, Ben Robinson, Flo Rowntree, Tim Dawes, Amy Mansell, Sarah Godfrey, Abbie Ingold, Harriet Holden, Rachel Spavins, Mark Burnapp, Utsharja Bhandari, Eleanor Leonard-Smith, Mea Goodwin, Hayley Farrelly, Victoria Heath, Michael Cunliffe, Phillip Smith, Becca Pountney, Richard Woolmer, Megan Prosser, Shannon Wilmot, Esther Walking-Lea, Rachel Clifford and Heather Cunliffe.

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Bedford Marianettes may be the last of the Musical Societies left in the town, but this quality and quantity of personnel, singers, dancers and musicians is an asset that, together with the money raised from sublime fundraisers like this one, should see them survive for many years to come. Most societies would give their eye’s teeth to have that depth of talent and resources. This wasn’t the West End Proms, this was The West End comes to Trinity Arts!! Or as my other half likes to say, ‘The West End may be 50+ miles away, the quality however is nearer than you think!’  Spectacular!!