2024 - 2025 Amateur Musicals

A trio of seldom -performed musicals coming up at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge.

First there's Fun Home from Tues 24 to Sat 28 September. 100 minutes, no interval.

Daddy Long Legs follows from Wed 18 to Sat 21 December.

Also booking already open for Amelie next April. There are others including Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar and Little Shop Of Horrors.

Rarely performed is the theme of this thread currently! I co-run a small community theatre in Ipswich called The Gallery Studio Theatre and coming up we have:

The Bridges of Madison County
Sep 30 - Oct 5th

Parade
Nov 15 - 23
(Directed by yours truly!)

Fun Home
March 24 - 29

Looks like it’s completely sold out already - I know of a couple friends who missed out on tickets.

What a season - my faves ❤️

Abingdon Operatic Society are performing ‘Guys & Dolls’ at the end of the month, if you fancy seeing a version out-of-London!

Tues 29th Oct - Sat 2nd Nov
7.30pm (plus 2.30pm Sat matinee)
Amey Theatre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Tickets at www.ticketsource.co.uk/abingdonoperatic

By way of update -  Belfast, Glasgow, Swansea, Nottingham and Leeds are already on sale. Belfast and Glasgow too far to go for me but just booked the other three.

Prices approx £32 Swansea, £42 Nottingham and £52 Leeds for front row at the matinees I've booked, good availability and plenty of seats at lower prices for all venues and performances at present.

Planning to book the other six when on sale.

An absolutely shameless plug for the area premiere of "Parade", directed by myself and playing in Ipswich for 8 shows starting from the end of next week...

I know this has been going on for decades, and will be ever thus, but....

'How was was Les Miserables, that tale of impoverished nineteenth century Parisiens and the man harried throughout his life for stealing a loaf of bread'?
'Oooh excellent. We had a great view from £71 seats and had access to the Ambassador Gold Lounge'

Hehe.

The Grinning Man (Wimbledon Light Opera Society)

This is certainly an ambitious production for any amateur company to mount but WLOS made a very decent go of it. The Grinning Man is a dark, macabre tragicomedy, with a fair amount of puppetry thrown in for good measure.

But the almost full capacity audience in the New Wimbledon Theatre’s studio space were given a very high standard of performance. Joe McWilliam was great as Grinpayne but it really was Johan Samuelsson as Ursus who stole the show.

Kate Landy shone as Josiana, while Laura Marshall gave a fantastic comic performance as Queen Angelica. Special mention must of course go to Will Garrood, who had the audience in the palm of his hand as Barkilphedro, as well as Tom Harper as David Dirry-Moir.

A really strong amateur performance of a difficult piece to pull off, with some wonderful individual performances. The puppets were fantastically handled too.

The Color Purple (Sedos)

This is an amateur production in name only. With a slightly fuller set, audiences could easily be fooled into thinking this is a triumph of an off-West End revival. The talent, both in terms of singing and acting, is truly remarkable.

My only experience of this show had been the recent movie musical. I’ve seen clips of Cynthia Erivo performing the spine-tingling I’m Here at the Tony awards but this Sedos company is now my formative view of The Color Purple on stage.

The sister relationship between Celie (played by Rachelle Ojomo) and Nettie (Josephine Bannerman) is genuinely moving. Ojomo’s singing style differs from Erivo, who originated the role in London, in that it builds and builds until she sends a tidal wave of emotion cascading over the audience.

I’ve seen a fair few non-professional productions now but never before have I seen a mid-show standing ovation but Ojomo made I’m Here her own and the audience response was richly deserved. The relationship with Nettie was also played with nuance and warmth.

Michaella Monroe was a fiery Shug, with vocal range to match. However, it was Shylo Malone’s portrayal of Mister that really stayed with me the next day; he really nailed the light and dark of what is a very complicated character and sounded absolutely incredible.

Rinre Olusola made for a wonderful Sofia, while Dupri Mckoy and Bailey Edwards gave strong performances as Harpo and Squeak - the latter providing a moment of levity with her squeaky sobs to match her character’s name!

The ensemble ensured the group numbers were a real spectacle. This was my first Sedos experience but, with Assassins and Dreamgirls coming up in 2025, it won’t be my last. A thrilling production of a great piece of musical theatre (revive it!).