St. Paul’s Players Presents

Billy the Musical

4th till 9th March 1996

  

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

DIRECTOR- Stephen Blundell

PRODUCER- Liz Blundell

CHOREOGRAPHER- Julia M. Salvage

MUSICAL DIRECTOR- Dylis Hunter

 

THE CAST

BILLY FISHER- Andrew Lane

GEOFFREY FISHER- Tony Henry

ALICE FISHER- Audrey Power

GRAN FISHER- Mary Mayor

ARTHUR CRABTREE- Keiron Garlick

SHADRACK- Ken Brindley

STAMP- Adrian Beaumont

COUNCILLOR DUXBURY- Eddie Blundell

LIZ- Laura Crawford

BARBARA- Catherine Foster

RITA- Leanne Downes

MRS. CRABTREE- Kathleen Ashworth

 

CHORUS

Katy Brindley, Alistair McDermott, Joyce Clarkson, Jackie Harris, Jennifer Dixon, Felicity Livesey, Tom Power, Margaret Holgate, Ken

Thompson, Janet Gulliver, Carol Benthan, Emma Unsworth, Jolene Briggs, Richard Walmsley 

 

NODA REVIEW

Produced and directed by Steve and Liz Blundell and choreographed by Julia Salvage, this was an excellent show. Everyone concerned with the production must have spent a good deal of time in the research, especially the wardrobe department. Not only were the clothes correct but the hairstyles of the 60s were well re-created.

Andrew Lane’s portrayal of Billy was an energetic and confident performance. He handled the transference from reality to fantasy with ease. Tony Henry, Audrey Power and Mary Mayor played his long-suffering parents and Grandmother with skill and a good deal of humour. Tony and Audrey sang ‘Remembering’ with feeling. Billy’s three fiancées were played by Laura Crawford as Liz, Catherine Foster as Barbara and Leanne Downes as Rita: three contrasting characters, beautifully handled by these ladies. Eddie Blundell was a sympathetic Councillor Duxbury and sang it Were All Green Hills with a lovely nostalgic feeling. Ken Brindley as Shadrack gave us his, now to be expected, fine characterisation.

Although the society used pre-tape music, the chorus and principals sang exceedingly well without any missed cues. This is not an easy show to stage but the production team was very inventive, even to the crashed aeroplane. Congratulations to scenic designer Howard Bates and all the stage crew.

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