Once again GLOC are to be congratulated on having the courage to bring us the unusual, indeed for this reviewer, unknown piece of musical theatre. There is always a risk in presenting works currently outside the popular cannon, but GLOC in recent years have boldly gone where other local companies seem to fear to tread. You will have had a more difficult task in both marketing and selling such an unusual piece outside your own audience base. Not only has the piece not been performed within the region according to your own programme notes, but the title itself is off putting to those who have fixed views on Country & Western music. It is surprising therefore that you chose not to elaborate on the plot line in your publicity material or to advertise some sort of premiere within the title space. Saying this however, the near capacity audience on the night of my visit bears testament to the strong in house following of the group. The familiar Phantom story is given a Grand Ole Op'ry twist along with tongue-in-cheek references to the Lord Lloyd Webber musical and some of his other works, most notably Evita. The plot also carries marked similarities to Terry Prachett's marvellous discworld novel 'Maskerade'. (Highly recommended if you haven't already come across it). In essence the piece has a little of everything yet very little of anything. It has some choral singing but is not a chorus show. It has some movement (sadly downgraded to somewhat uninspiring Line Dancing), but is not a dancers' show. It has some fine C&W tunes but others that are fairly nondescript. It has some very witty lines set alongside absolute schoolboy howlers. It has some finely drawn characters working alongside cartoon caricatures. And yet despite all this it was a fun evening. Why? Probably because the production team ran with what they'd got and rang every last drop of humour from a rather raw and occasionally thin product. Casting was in the main inspired. Knowing this company rather better than others on my patch I can safely vouch for the pleasure I had in seeing so many familiar faces in either ideal roles or surprisingly unexpected ones. Sue Astbury as Chrissy Jo masked her native accent completely to provide a polished performance sung with sincerity and acted with charm, warm humour and poise. The transition from operatic soprano to C&W Partonesque is not for the faint hearted and Sue acquitted herself with flying colours. This show is a real ask for any singer in this role with 8 ensemble numbers, 6 duets and 4 solos including reprises from which I would single out 'If I Could Hold You' towards the end of act one, and the duet with Antonio 'An Open Door' as highpoints. Nick King as Antonio is a consummate performer. A quality singing voice rarely matched on the amateur circuit coupled with excellent comic stage presence, in this instance aided marvellously by stature, produced a wonderfully rounded portrayal of a man willing to try anything to win back the heart of his love. 'Spaghetti Western' was just perfect. Colin Smith as the reclusive Aaron had just the right mystery about him, aided by a home grown full set and a black slouch hat which cast a deep shadow across his eyes. His measured movement and fine singing made his characterisation very convincing, particularly in his scenes with Chrissy Jo. Karen Anstiss as Sally Kincaid coped admirably with the difficult task of portraying a fading C&W Queen. A strong accent and solid singing voice coupled with an ease on stage even in dramatic moments created a confident characterisation of an otherwise shallow woman. Dave Simpson as Sally's other half Major Billy resplendent in white suit and hat, (was he really the good guy?), gave a strong comic performance though his affected foot stomp began to grate after a while. However in this role Dave amply demonstrated why he remains the doyen of the NBS, (The Novelty Baritone Society). Richard Field as Skipper portrayed this gauche youth infatuated with the young woman extremely well. His gangling gait and stooped shoulders were a mark of real understanding of the oft times embarrassment of teenagers in an adult world. Very nicely observed and executed. A strong singing voice completed a fine performance notwithstanding a little technical inexperience allowing for voice and band to separate in one number. David Smith as the hard pressed stage manager had a peach of a part with some of the best one-liners in the script. The Vasectomy line had me in stitches! (sorry). David continues to grow as a performer and made the very most of this character. GLOC is fortunate to have so many performers of calibre to play the supporting roles often given to keen but less talented members in weaker societies. Liz Yuille was another marvellous castee in the role of Officer Tammy Faye with both verbal and visual running gags played absolutely straight which gave them maximum effect. Great fun. Ken Williams as Mort and Karen Steel as Crystal worked extremely effectively together. He as the sleazy film tycoon and she as the transparent feng shuist made everything possible out of their respective two dimensional roles. Ken Kinghorn was a revelation as the German restaurateur Willy. He and Martin Elliff as Chad left me speechless with laughter. Without exception all the many smaller roles were played with aplomb and created an ensemble of huge fun. With humour as the focal point of both dialogue and lyrics the production team are to be commended for developing this theme across the entire gamut of the production. The DSBs (Dave Simpson Biographies) are so much more fun than the usual dry fare. The inclusion of Julia Roberts (uncast) was a moment of genius. Gareth Bevan's director's eye and ear for comedy were put to good use in multifarious ways including his own mute Hitchcockian appearances as Sally's Doctor. The casting of Arnold the Pig was great fun as was his bow in the walk-downs. However, the extremely funny ensemble mime work at the top of the show and during the opening scenes was so interesting that it drew attention away from the principal dialogue on the thrust below. Inevitably there were odd moments when the raisons d'etre failed. The 'Freaky Sheet Party' of female ghouls in Ghost Town seemed unnecessary, was certainly distracting and looked like a contrivance to give the female chorus something else to do. Commendations go also to the very fine band under the dual digit control of Berni Messenger. With an engine room supplied almost entirely courtesy of HM Scots Guards coupled with virtuoso guitarists there was little doubt as to the quality of sound they would produce. Allowing for some glitches in sound reproduction on the night, and a slight hesitancy in tempo on occasion they complimented the singers extremely well and added just the right C&W feel when appropriate. Staging was typically GLOC utilising lots of steel-deck to create levels. In this instance including unusually placed Juliet platforms in front of the proscenium faces stage left and right accessed through gaps in the proscenium panels. By placing these at height and well set back to the sides of the auditorium the vomitories could still be utilised below. While they made useful additional floor space for minor scenes and reduced the need for scene changes on the main stage they did create some awkward sightlines from the lower side seats. The band was sighted in a pit recessed centrally into the main stage floor with an upper platform above used for the opening opera scene and subsequently as the stage of the Country Palace. While this created the desired physical separation of stage and other places it was also a long way from the central block of seats and with the large numbers in the cast there were times when this platform seemed rather cramped. In every other respect the placing of the action worked well and the flow of cast to & from the stages avoided any crushing or cueing often seen in amateur productions. Radio mics worked efficiently in all bar one case and when balanced correctly with the band levels gave clarity to both lyrics and music. However there were sadly a number of instances when the band level was too strong causing loss of lyrics and voice-over dialogue. It was also often difficult to pick out key instruments, particularly strings within the band sound. Perhaps in this venue sound designers use too much kit and mic brass and wood when they would be heard acoustically without any extra amplification? Adjusting fold-back levels is also critical if the audience is not to be denied access to that all important script. All this ought to be sorted at the technical rehearsal and really should not be an issue on the last night of a run. With centre vom closed the usual central video monitor was placed in the lighting box, while those positioned over side voms were on the aforementioned platforms. These were angled towards the stage making for much less visual interference from the audiences point of view. This was altogether a far more efficient system and one to be considered for future shows. Stage management worked swiftly and efficiently clearing and setting furniture and props though there were instances when a couple more hands would have not gone amiss. The pig flew well as did the chandelier, but I would have liked more weight in the dropped sacks which hardly represented a health hazard! Presumably they should have been sandbags of the type used to counterweight flying lines in the days of hemp-roped theatres, but in these days of over cautious health & safety may have been deemed too risky? Costumes and make-up hardly impinged upon my conscience so by inference must have been bang on. The only exception to this would be the rather ordinary opera costumes in the opening scene. I suspect that budget may well have been an issue here, so a minor blip only. So in summary, an amusing and light-hearted evening spent in the company of a group of people intent on having and also importantly giving much enjoyment to its audience. If this isn't the essence of amateur theatre then I don't know what is. And my thoughts on POTCO? "Culture it ain't, Fun it Is". It is always a pleasure visiting this company and I received a warm welcome from Martin Wilcox and Paul Hayes. My thanks to them and all the many friends with whom I was able to exchange words in the bar afterwards. I hope my comments will be taken as constructive criticism/praise. Please feel free to respond if you think I have been unfair. I look forward to renewing acquaintances at future shows.

WHR	whr@1000dayproductions.org.uk
4a Park Avenue	tel 020 8898 1294
Hounslow	fax 020 8755 4010
TW3 2LZ	mob 07958 231035

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