April 5, 2006
Oh, for the energy and enthusiasm of the Musical Youth Company of Oxford! I can only imagine the enormous effort and hours of rehearsal it took to perfect the dance routines of such a large cast – at least twenty chorus girls in identical spangly black halter-necks, tight satin shorts, fish-net tights and shiny black bobs, like so many Sally Bowleses, not to mention the cowboys and girls of Deadrock, Nevada. The chorus girls of the Zangler Follies were simply stunning – they really lit up the stage every time they came on. My daughter’s favourite was Patsy, the one with the Betty Boop squeaky voice. The two leads, Emrys Matthews as Bobby and Nicola Blake as Polly, were excellent – Bobby characterized by a kind of goofy charm that metamorphosed into smooth confidence whenever he danced or sang, and Polly a spirited heroine whose voice had great warmth and sweetness as well as power. Honourable mention should also go to the stunningly beautiful and delightfully waspish Grace Fairbairn as Bobby’s fiancée Irene, the wonderfully curmudgeonly Ben Watts as Lank Hawkins, the charismatic and fiery Howard Grater as Bela Zangler, and gorgeous Rachel-Weiss-lookalike Liza Cosier as Bobby’s dragon of a mother.
For those who haven’t heard of this musical, that’s probably because it was recently made up as a show-case for a number of much-loved Gershwin songs. The plot, therefore, is neither here nor there and you really have to leave your disbelief at home and just come out to enjoy the spectacular ensemble numbers and wistful lovelorn lyrics – which I thoroughly recommend you do. Full credit should also go to MYCO’s own orchestra, who performed with great verve and flair. I have to say that I did not know when I accepted this assignment that the company consisted of sixty-some teenagers from schools around Oxfordshire, and it was almost half-time before the penny dropped – they were that good. Just the teeniest quibble about the costumes – was it really necessary to design the halter-necks so that they revealed lots of foundation-garment strappage at the back? And the white harem-pants were definitely a no-no. Polly’s Act I blue dress was dreadfully ill-fitting – if this was intended to be verisimilitude, it was most unnecessary. But otherwise, an absolutely splendid production, and a very enjoyable evening out.
For those who haven’t heard of this musical, that’s probably because it was recently made up as a show-case for a number of much-loved Gershwin songs. The plot, therefore, is neither here nor there and you really have to leave your disbelief at home and just come out to enjoy the spectacular ensemble numbers and wistful lovelorn lyrics – which I thoroughly recommend you do. Full credit should also go to MYCO’s own orchestra, who performed with great verve and flair. I have to say that I did not know when I accepted this assignment that the company consisted of sixty-some teenagers from schools around Oxfordshire, and it was almost half-time before the penny dropped – they were that good. Just the teeniest quibble about the costumes – was it really necessary to design the halter-necks so that they revealed lots of foundation-garment strappage at the back? And the white harem-pants were definitely a no-no. Polly’s Act I blue dress was dreadfully ill-fitting – if this was intended to be verisimilitude, it was most unnecessary. But otherwise, an absolutely splendid production, and a very enjoyable evening out.