Whistle Down the Wind
Leigh Operatic & Dramatic Society
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
18th - 21st October 2017
Leigh Operatic & Dramatic Society
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
18th - 21st October 2017
Unfortunately, I never saw the West End production of Whistle Down the Wind despite being a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals and also of Jim Steinman's work - I recently saw the Bat Out of Hell musical at the London Coliseum which was pretty spectacular; and so it was with great anticipation in which I took my seat before Thursday evening's performance at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff.
Those of you familiar with the Richard Attenborough produced film of the same name, will recall the story of the fugitive who has escaped from prison after killing two guards and is hiding out in a barn. In this musical version the barn is set in 1959 in America's deep South where 15 year old Swallow and her two siblings, Brat and Poor Baby discover the unconscious man. They believe him to be Jesus, as when they ask who he is when he gains consciousness he exclaims, "Jesus Christ". The children, who have recently lost their mother then believe that all their prayers have been answered and if they nurse him back to health he will be able to bring their beloved mother back from the dead.
This show has some engaging characters and a lot of sentiment is portrayed through the bereft family left to deal with the death of a dear wife and mother. Gareth Barton as their dad, Boone, does a convincing job conveying how tough it is for him to understand his children's needs when he is struggling with his own and Ethan Saggers as Poor Baby and in particular, the delightful Louisa Gallucci as Brat do wonderfully well in their roles as Swallow's younger siblings showing off some lovely naturalistic performances as well as proving they can sing beautifully too.
Rebecca Wallace as Swallow is also a delight to watch and has the most gorgeous voice. Her vocals in If Only gave me goosebumps and she truly captures the emotions of a young girl who is becoming a woman.
Playing the role of The Man is certainly a challenge for any singer but Anthony Bristoe has clearly seized the opportunity to give this role his all and belts out the Soliloquy number like a real pro. His scenes with Swallow are sensitively played and the number at the end of Act 1 with all the children, No Matter What brought a big old lump to my throat. The children in this particular performance (there are two sets of children throughout the week) Lucy Acton, Elizabeth Ambrose, Millie Assiter, Mia Cater, Samuel Fraser, Evie Hendon-Radley, Ruby Lewis, Mattia Mollica, Sophie Moore, Jared Moyse, Sadie Moyse, Amelie O'Connell and Madison Olatunji were, without doubt, utterly adorable and they all get a chance to show off their wonderful singing in this heartwarming number.
With Jim Steinman you are always going to have that undercurrent of Bat Out of Hell type tunes; in fact, I fully expected a leather-clad Meatloaf to pop up on a motorbike up in A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste at any given moment. In this show, the motorbike belongs to bad boy, Amos, played nicely by Matt Wallace, and his on/off girlfriend Candy (Natalie McMillan) who do a good job with the difficult Tire Tracks number and in particular, Natalie with Off Ramp Exit.
Some of the best sounding musical moments in the show, I found, were with the full ensemble in particular, the opening number Keys to the Vaults of Heaven with a nice cameo from Jason Weir and Wrestle with the Devil with some imaginative choreography given by Laura Hurrell.
The show has a fabulous set with some impressive staging which has to become a town, a bar and the barn which was never going to be easy for scene changes, however, huge credit must go to everyone working backstage on this show as there was obviously a massive amount of effort going in to getting these changes done as smoothly and quickly as possible.
The problem with this show for me is that it never really knows which direction it wants to go in musically and emotionally; for want of a better expression, it's a little bit 'all over the place' - a kind of Jesus Christ Superstar meets Bat Out of Hell meets Matilda (When Children Rule the World). Storywise, there seems to be an awful lot going on but lacks a really satisfactory conclusion. That said, Helen Sharpe has done a marvellous job in directing her leading actors and has put in a nice touch, which I loved, in giving her cast the opportunity to develop their own family units as the townspeople which was lovely to see, particularly at the end of the show.
Stuart Woolner, MD and Rachael Plunkett have once again proved a perfect team musically, especially with their work with the children.
Whistle Down the Wind is playing until 21st October and tickets are available at the box office or by calling 01702 351135
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
Those of you familiar with the Richard Attenborough produced film of the same name, will recall the story of the fugitive who has escaped from prison after killing two guards and is hiding out in a barn. In this musical version the barn is set in 1959 in America's deep South where 15 year old Swallow and her two siblings, Brat and Poor Baby discover the unconscious man. They believe him to be Jesus, as when they ask who he is when he gains consciousness he exclaims, "Jesus Christ". The children, who have recently lost their mother then believe that all their prayers have been answered and if they nurse him back to health he will be able to bring their beloved mother back from the dead.
This show has some engaging characters and a lot of sentiment is portrayed through the bereft family left to deal with the death of a dear wife and mother. Gareth Barton as their dad, Boone, does a convincing job conveying how tough it is for him to understand his children's needs when he is struggling with his own and Ethan Saggers as Poor Baby and in particular, the delightful Louisa Gallucci as Brat do wonderfully well in their roles as Swallow's younger siblings showing off some lovely naturalistic performances as well as proving they can sing beautifully too.
Rebecca Wallace as Swallow is also a delight to watch and has the most gorgeous voice. Her vocals in If Only gave me goosebumps and she truly captures the emotions of a young girl who is becoming a woman.
Playing the role of The Man is certainly a challenge for any singer but Anthony Bristoe has clearly seized the opportunity to give this role his all and belts out the Soliloquy number like a real pro. His scenes with Swallow are sensitively played and the number at the end of Act 1 with all the children, No Matter What brought a big old lump to my throat. The children in this particular performance (there are two sets of children throughout the week) Lucy Acton, Elizabeth Ambrose, Millie Assiter, Mia Cater, Samuel Fraser, Evie Hendon-Radley, Ruby Lewis, Mattia Mollica, Sophie Moore, Jared Moyse, Sadie Moyse, Amelie O'Connell and Madison Olatunji were, without doubt, utterly adorable and they all get a chance to show off their wonderful singing in this heartwarming number.
With Jim Steinman you are always going to have that undercurrent of Bat Out of Hell type tunes; in fact, I fully expected a leather-clad Meatloaf to pop up on a motorbike up in A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste at any given moment. In this show, the motorbike belongs to bad boy, Amos, played nicely by Matt Wallace, and his on/off girlfriend Candy (Natalie McMillan) who do a good job with the difficult Tire Tracks number and in particular, Natalie with Off Ramp Exit.
Some of the best sounding musical moments in the show, I found, were with the full ensemble in particular, the opening number Keys to the Vaults of Heaven with a nice cameo from Jason Weir and Wrestle with the Devil with some imaginative choreography given by Laura Hurrell.
The show has a fabulous set with some impressive staging which has to become a town, a bar and the barn which was never going to be easy for scene changes, however, huge credit must go to everyone working backstage on this show as there was obviously a massive amount of effort going in to getting these changes done as smoothly and quickly as possible.
The problem with this show for me is that it never really knows which direction it wants to go in musically and emotionally; for want of a better expression, it's a little bit 'all over the place' - a kind of Jesus Christ Superstar meets Bat Out of Hell meets Matilda (When Children Rule the World). Storywise, there seems to be an awful lot going on but lacks a really satisfactory conclusion. That said, Helen Sharpe has done a marvellous job in directing her leading actors and has put in a nice touch, which I loved, in giving her cast the opportunity to develop their own family units as the townspeople which was lovely to see, particularly at the end of the show.
Stuart Woolner, MD and Rachael Plunkett have once again proved a perfect team musically, especially with their work with the children.
Whistle Down the Wind is playing until 21st October and tickets are available at the box office or by calling 01702 351135
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
Anthony as The Man
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Anthony and Rebecca Wallace, who plays Swallow
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Ask the Audience
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Kate Simpson, Maldon
"I thought it was brilliant, really good. It was quite moving, the children made me cry when they sang. I loved it - I feel quite emotional. I was really impressed with the small children who had quite a lot to learn considering how small they were." |
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Beverly Bonora, Southend on Sea
"I thought it was absolutely super. From beginning to end it was absolutely wonderful. The Man and Swallow were excellent!" |