Formerly known as Maghull Amateur Operatic Society
King and I
Performed at The Little Theatre,
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Nominations - NODA Region 6
Les Gomersall - Best actor in a Musical, Jane Rigby - Best Actress in a Musical, Tony Adamson - Best supporting Actor in a Musical, Betty Hall - Best Direction, Jeff Rimmer - Best Musical Director
Review - Ron Ellis (Champion) and Colin McGenty (NODA)
Cast
(In order of Appearence)
Captain Orton ................... Danny McKillop
Louis Leonowens ................Charlie McMullan / Josh Dennison-Doby
Anna Leonowens ................ Jo Howarth *
The Interpreter ...................Ian Culshaw
The Kralahome ...................Neil Butler
The King ............................Les Gomersall
Phara Alack ....................... Philip Makin
Lun Tha .............................Matt Casson
Tuptim ............................. Fiona Allwright
Lady Thiang........................Elaine Cox
Prince Chullulongkorn ..........Mathew Green/ Alex McKillop
Sir Edward Ramsay .............Tony Adamson
Prince Ying Yaowlak ........... Elizabeth Butler / Melissa Lowe
* Due to illness, Anna was played by Jane Rigby on the Wednesday & Thursday nights.
Victoria Booth, Romany Brooks, Laura Burgess, Elizabeth Butler, Harry Cartwright, Rachael Doherty, Joshua Dennison-Dobey, Charlie Flowers, Hannah Gomersall, Heather Gomersall, Matthew Green, Bethany Griffin, Niall Haughey, Karl Hughes, Melissa Lowe, Grace Maden, Joshua Making, Alex McKillop, Charlie McMullan, Melissa McLoughlin, Kate Rusling, Rachael Shone, Steven Stokey, George Walsh, Charlotte Webster
Clare, Bryan, Gill Culshaw, Laura Fegan, Kaley Foran, Rebecca Gavin, Sally Lane, Cate Leight, Laura McDonald, Laura Riella, Janet Rose, Anna Taylor, Gill Thornton, Louise Webster, Rebecca Wooder, Louisa Woods
Servants, Guards, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera
Thelma Adamson, Gaynor Hale, Carol Kennedy, Chris McCabe, Joyce Perrin, Rita Morgan, Eric Fletcher, Mike Hughes, Dan McWaters Mark Wilson
Director ................................................................ Betty Hall
Assistand Director .................................................. Sara Culshaw
Musical Director ..................................................... Jeff Rimmer
Assistant Musical Director ....................................... Jill Thornton
Choreographers ..................................................... Betty Hall and Sara Culshaw
Rehearsal Pianist.................................................... Paul Williams
Stage Manager....................................................... Andrew Connard
Stage Crew ........................................................... Adrian Roberts, Dave Cox, Phil Hutchinson, Chris Hutchinson, John McMullan, Pete Brennen Ronnie Orr
Fly Man ................................................................ Colin Haynes
Production Co-Ordinator .......................................... Betty Hall
Costumes ............................................................. Charades, St. Helens
Continuity.............................................................. Pam Ashcroft
Scenery ................................................................ Scenic Projects
Ticket Secretaries .................................................. Dave & Elaine Cox
Front of House....................................................... Friends of the Society
Publicity ............................................................... Members of the Society
Photography ......................................................... Dick Mobey, Rebecca Clark
FOR THE LITTLE THEATRE
Sound… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Bernie Howat
Lighting … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Tony Berry
The King and I
Maghull Musical Theatre Company, Little Theatre
Not a company to do things by halves, Maghull Musical Theatre Company assembled a cast of more than 60, including 25 children, for their ambitious production of The King and I at the Little Theatre, directed by Betty Hall.
The stage was filled with colourful costumes, lively dancing and the well-loved Rodgers and Hammerstein music, played by a 12-piece orchestra under the direction of Jeff Rimmer.
Jo Howarth was in fine voice as Anna Leonowens, the English teacher who has been brought to Siam in the late 19th century to educate the children in Western culture.
She soon finds out she has to educate the king, too, and try to persuade him to renounce his barbarian ways. Not only was her singing superb but her demeanour suited the part perfectly.
Les Gomersall, looking more like Vinnie Jones than Yul Brynner, revelled in his role as the autocratic King Mongkut of Siam who still believed in having several wives and several slaves, many of them the same people. This was the third time he has taken this role and his rendition, with Anna, of ‘Shall we dance’, as the couple grew closer together, was for me the outstanding number in the show.
Elaine Cox played Lady Thiang, the King’s Chief Wife, and her melodic rendition of ‘Something Wonderful’ was just that. Fiona Allwright and Matt Casson took the part of the tragic young lovers, Tuptin and Lun Tha, whose hopes in ‘I have dreamed’ are so cruelly shattered when he is killed by the king’s men when they try to escape together.
The ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ ballet, put on to show the British governor (suitably played by Tony Adamson) that the King has accepted the ignominy of the slave trade, was quite moving as was the final scene where Anna agrees to the deathbed wish of the king to stay on in Siam where she is loved by all the people.
The death earlier in the week of Deborah Kerr, who played Gertrude Lawrence’s original role of Anna in the classic film version, gave the performance a special poignancy.
Against modern musicals like Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon, with their special effects and dynamic sound, The King and I seems quaint and somewhat dated these days but perhaps that is part of its charm, a reminder of a more gentle age.
Looking at the audience and seeing their lips moving as they sang silently along with old favourites like ‘Getting to know you’ and ‘Hello Young Lovers’ you know they certainly enjoyed every minute of a marathon show, which lasted a little over three hours.
Champ verdict: 3/5 Charming
REVIEW by RON ELLIS
This production was full of very nice touches. I especially liked the Krahalome's barge at the beginning which passed the boat before arriving at the ship.
The music was again superb under the baton of Jeff Rimmer and we had some wonderful costumes from Charades. From a production point of view my only quibble would be that there were too many on stage - this would applies [sic] to wives and children.
I know it is difficult if everyone wishes to be on stage but it does make the director's job even harder. Having said that, we still had some lovely pictures.
In the main, over the years, amateur societies have tended not to have understudies. It can be a disaster when a lead is ill during the run. Although it happened during this show, they were so lucky to find Jane Rigby, the answer to any director's prayer.
For poor Joe [sic] Howarth had vocal problems and I do wish her a quick recovery, but her stand-in was as good as anything you would see on the professional stage.
Luckily Jane had been performing the role with Centenary Theatre Company at Runcorn 2 weeks earlier, and came to their aid. Her performance was outstanding!
There was a very good rapport between Anna and the King played by Les Gomersall. Les plays this role with a regal bearing and both worked well off each other.
The Kralahome was played well by Neil Butler and we had two nice performances from the young Josh-Dennison Doby and Matthew Green who played Louis and the young prince respectively.
Danny McKillop was the Captain and the role of the Interpreter was taken by Ian Culshaw. Lun Tha was performed by Matt Casson who sang his songs with tenderness to Fiona Allwright whose performance as Tuptim improved as the show progressed. Lady Thiang was played by Elaine Cox. This is, like the King, a regal part, that was wasn't [sic] always demonstrated in the movement.
Sir Edward Ramsay gave Tony Adamson yet another chance to show there are no small parts with a splendid cameo.
My thanks to the Society and all concerned in the production - a memorable evening.
COLIN MAGENTY