Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
1953 saw the first Broadway performance of Wonderful Town, a Bernstein musical of the highest calibre. It boasts catchy tunes, screaming brass and both the glam and less alluring reality of America in the 1930s. Nearly 60 years on, it has been revived, with a fresh, imaginative performance by students from the University of York Music Department. Every year the department runs a ‘Practical Project’ – an intensive six week venture, culminating in three nights of entertainment, provided by every first year as well as a number of interested second and third year students.
Judging by last night’s performance there is a wealth of talent amongst the new department intake, both in the spectacularly tight orchestra and the gifted, confident singers. The lead roles were extremely well cast, with Lottie Johnson (Ruth Sherwood) and Amy Walsh (Eileen Sherwood) showing off incredible voices and realistic portrayals of the characters. Jamie Wright (Bob Baker) also stood out, with one of the more convincing American accents, and a powerful, impressive voice. Bringing humour to the musical, Sam Weatherstone (Chick Clark) was every bit the sleazy, womanising man he set out to play.
It is perhaps advisable to read a plot synopsis before hand, as many of the words – both songs and narrative – are lost in the unkind acoustics of the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall. Combined with the occasionally overt sassiness of the band (easy to understand why!), it gave the singers little chance of being heard. However, don’t let this put you off, because even when things were a little unclear, the unremitting buzz and excitement of the performance meant that it almost didn’t matter.
Considerable appreciation should be shown for the fantastically talented band that, from the punchy opening right through to the finale, was spot on. The trombones and clarinets were particularly notable, with the trumpets screaming above the rest for some spine-tingling moments. Impressive conducting gave the instrumentalists the leadership they needed to form such a tight unit.
Credit must be given to those behind the scenes for creating such a smooth, relentlessly engaging performance. In addition, the set was simple, yet effective and the costume well representative of the times. A most enjoyable way to spend an evening, the musical is pure entertainment.
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