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Brilliant! was the verdict of Clare aged 10 陆 (don鈥檛 forget the half), excellent! said Janet aged 64 戮 (don鈥檛 forget the three quarters) and the two of us who are somewhere in between wholeheartedly agreed.听 Also congratulations to Dave Willetts, Shona Lindsay and company as Clare stayed awake for the whole performance unlike recent theatre experiences (sorry G4 and Shakin鈥 Stevens).听
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is based on a story by Greek historian Mestrius Plutarchus and was written in 75 AD.听It tells the story of the abduction of the Sabine women by Roman soldiers.听American Stephen Vincent Benet updated the tale in 1928.听 Entitled The Sobbin鈥 Women, the setting was 19th century Tennessee, the Roman soldiers became na茂ve backwoodsmen 鈥 the Pontipee Brothers, and it tells how they came to marry their wives, and so the musical loved by many was born.听 The show opens with the classic 鈥淏less Your Beautiful Hide鈥 sung by Adam Pontipee, played by Master of the Musicals Dave Willetts and his performance was, as expected, very strong, although we did struggle to hear him and some of the other male cast at times.听Shona Lindsay is a delight as Millie, his bride, with a beautiful, clear voice.听The supporting cast of brothers and brides was fantastic and the dancing, especially the men, was astounding - even though they did seem to be a bit cramped on the small stage, they still managed some breathtaking leaps.听The highlights were the Social Dance and the wood chopping scene.听Those were Clare鈥檚 favourite bits.
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The set was fairly simple, but effective, easily transporting us to Tennessee in the 1800鈥檚 with wooden houses and barns, which turned to reveal interiors.听The scene changes were smooth and nothing seemed to get stuck!听Costumes, as you would expect, were colourful with lots of frilly petticoats swirling around for the ladies. This is a great show for all the family - with music, dancing, a touch of comedy and a good storyline, there鈥檚 something for everyone. Carole Green |
