South Pacific
Rodgers & Hammerstein
In Concert
Northern Musical Theatre Orchestra
Majestic Theatre Retrford
24 July 2022
The Northern Musical Theatre Orchestra was born in 2017 when three musicians based in Nottinghamshire had the vision to set up an organisation that would bring together lovers of musical theatre from across the North of England. NMTO welcomes a wide range of amateur, semi-professional and professional singers and musicians, who travel from all over the UK and yet nobody gets paid for their contributions. The entire project is voluntary, focussing on collaboration and participation irrespective of training, experience or financial situation.
There is no way anyone would have guessed that seeing the astonishingly impressive concert at the beautiful Majestic Theatre in Retford, home of the NMTO. The orchestra has been planning to stage this concert performance for three years but have been repeatedly disrupted by worldwide events of some note. However, it was absolutely worth the wait. Playing to a packed audience, the orchestra led by Sarah Bongiovanni, conducted by Musical Director and Producer, Brady Mould and directed by Sean Aquilina was fabulous and sets the bar exceptionally high for future projects.
The 55-piece orchestra was sat in full view of the audience on stage and performers delivered the lines and sang the songs on the very front of the stage. The chorus were in fact seated in the boxes which flank the auditorium of the theatre. The stage was wonderfully set with props and set pieces strewn, as if casually, but with clarity of purpose to suggest the settings that occur within the show and various scenery was flown in from above throughout. The result was quite magical and special praise should be given to the creative team who designed it all. Either side of the stage were two projectors which gave context and further information as the show progressed.
Lovers of classic musical theatre know the story well, South Pacific is one of Rodgers & Hammerstein's best-loved musicals. All of the incidental music and the oh so familiar songs were included in this concert. I feel that the beguiling Some Enchanted Evening may be a little overused in the show, but that is not the fault of this production. We heard There is Nothing Like A Dame, Bali Ha'i, I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair, Happy Talk and This Nearly Was Mine - every one a classic and every one delivered and performed exquisitely. And the aforementioned Some Enchanted Evening delivered with velvety tones from leading man Sean Curtis.
Set on two islands during WW2, it presents a love story between an American nurse and a renegade French man who has made the islands his home as a plantation owner. Surprisingly advanced for its time, the show confronts issues of racial prejudice head on as Nurse Nellie struggles to accept that Emile De Becque has two mixed race children from his marriage to a, now deceased, Polynesian woman. Prejudice also plays a partin the secondary romance between a young Lieutenant named Joe Cable and a Tonkinese girl named Liat, as he realises the consequences should he marry the girl and he reluctantly refuses to follow his heart afraid of what others would say on his return home.
The principal cast are made up of singers from across the North as mentioned above but he two main role of Nellie Forbush and Emile De Becque are presented with assurance and confidence by Alice Croft and Sean Curtis. Each is possessed of charismatic stage presence, a strong singing voice and excellent acting ability. Curtis in particular has the rich, warm vocal required to fill the shoes of the show's original Emile on Broadway, Ezio Pinza. He presents a handsome, loving father who wants to settle down with Nellie and the audience absolutely took to this performance.
Alice Croft is a more than capable Nellie, following in the footsteps of Mary Martin and demonstrating a comic side to her performance, alongside a certain steel that the role requires. She is clearly an accomplished dancer too though the staging didn't really allow for that this evening. She has a winning personality ideally suited to the role.
As Lieutenant Joe Cable, Jamie Savage, last seen as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots at the Majestic, presented the naive, love-struck but conflicted, military man, only too aware of the racial tension at home and performed the solo Younger Than Springtime as he falls for Liat (played by Maisie Noopuri) the daughter of the outrageous Bloody Mary. Noorpuri made a charming young love interest forced upon Cable but the pair clearly developed feelings for each other as the story progressed.
I feel special mention must be given to the wonderful scene-stealing Sophie Kamal, who as Bloody Mary, delivers a fantastic performance. Her strong singing voice, deft characterisation and fantastic comic timing allowed her the chance to really shine. Always animated, acting and reacting, her facial expressions (especially her eyes) conveyed so much. This was a really memorable performance.
The featured seamen, Billis, Stewpot, and the Professor were well cast. Mark Thompson, Andrew Darksus and Stephen Thomas Lee respectively gave the comic performances necessary to counter-balance the drama of the show and often were the engine to maintain forward momentum in the narrative. Thompson's "femme fatale" complete with coconut bra, had the audience in stitches though I don't think the Little Mermaid has any competition there.
Mike Pinkerton and Malcolm Coking played the senior officers based on the island with gravitas and purpose. Yash Vaddaram and Kassandra Williams played Emile's children and showed that each has already gained considerable, valuable experience of performing on stage in musical theatre despite their relatively young age.
The spectacle of this concert was breathtaking. To hear a full orchestra strike up and present the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein and really do it justice is an aural treat. It is almost impossible to experience such a magnificent sound in amateur theatre productions of the classic musicals making this a very special occasion. It was quite thrilling to hear the musicians strike up for the overture. The fullness of the sound was magical, or to borrow the name of the venue - majestic.
The audience was in rapture at the show's conclusion and the buzz around the foyer was that people can't wait for the opportunity to see their next public show in December, when NMTO presents Musicals From The Movies on December 18, which promises to be another treat. I suggest booking tickets as soon as possible because this really is a special company and a special experience.
Andy Evans 25 July 2022
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