An unforgettable dinner party like no other. Reviewing songs from shows such as Oklahoma, Half a Sixpence, West Side Story and much more.

Review:

This musical revue was more of a cocktail than a dinner party – When We Are Married meets Mama Mia.

A slender plotline provided sufficient reason for an evening of songs from the shows, bringing back memories of the dear departed Mere Players.

The programme included crowd pleasers like Oliver and Half a Sixpence but also meatier shows like Company.

The potency of cheap music, in Coward’s phrase, was never so apparent as an engaging cast took us from the Oklahoma plains to New York’s West Side and the old East End of London.

Singing in the Rain was given a new slant by being performed by six tap dancers.

Solos from West Side Story (Harry Diggins), The Mikado (Roy Preston) and Oklahoma (Suzanne Stevens) were delivered with aplomb.

Duets, notably from Carousel (Karen Stephenson & Sean Lilley), Little Shop of Horrors (Cathal Prendergast & Sadie Catton) and others, were heartfelt.

Feed the Birds, from Mary Poppins, had a sweetly memorable rendering by Celia Baker, Karen Stephenson and Monica Barrell.

Under the musical direction of Andrew Wheeler, the company choruses – Flash Bang Wallop, Oom Pah Pah, Oklahoma, Get Me to the Church – dispelled the gloom of hardship in the outside world.

“You’re doing fine, Palgrave Players, Palgrave Players, okay!”