S4RtS WOR INUVOEITIOE! 14, 1770, FMS Wilt

_ON STAGE

t least six full-cast
musicals are on the

boards __ before
hristmas. The
amount of talent required to
stage these festive produc-
@eons simultaneously is
ystaggering. Top amateurs

By BARB LITTLE

rehearse up to four times
weekly, many under profes-
| sional guidance, and tumin
highly commendable per-
formances. These com-
munity arts organizations
have created a varied un-
; planned festival of musical
2 theatre, a format which at-
a tracts the largest audiences
in today’s arts world. Tenors
mand male dancers can dic-
tate their own terms. They
do become scarce!

THE GONDOLIERS IS
VISUALLY STUNNING

m ihe sets and costumes
# designed by Paul Dishaw for the
# Victoria Savoyard’s production
7 of Gilbert and Sullivan's The
Gondoliers are true works of art.
A backdrop of Venetian canals
and buildings, plus gondolas
that moved, gave the British
19th-century operetta a realistic
background to highlight the
delightful parody. Music direc-
tor Michael Gormley had vocally
molded a fine chorus of gon-
@ doliers and contadine.

Stage director Judy Treloar
gave each of the 20 chorus mem-
bers a specific character to
portray and each of the 10 leads
had many moments to shine
with innovative stage business.
More than 100 dedicated sing-
ing actors, backstage crew and
musicians made the five-night
run possible. The Victoria
Savoyard Society continues to
grow and is dedicated to the
preservation of the musical
= heritage of the operettas of Gil-
a bert and Sullivan.

Heather-Elayne Day is a
@horeographer who had the cast

moving in character, and the

dancing added bright moments
to the lengthy score. Deanne

Reschke, as Casilda, and Vir-

ginia Langham and Susan Kelly
| as Gianetta and Tessa, are

young singers with possible
professional futures.

CABARET NOW IN
FINAL REHEARSALS

Watching a Broadway musical
come together in the final throes
of rehearsal is enlightening. The
p Victoria Operatic Society's
Cabaret opens at the Mc
Pherson Playhouse on Nov. 16

for three successive weekends.

At the Esquimalt warehouse
facility, liberally decorated with
posters and pictures of past
shows, a complete run through
was about to begin. Director Bill
Johnston, with years of exper-
tise guaranteeing good staging,
was ready at 7 p.m. with musical
director Chuck Harmon and re-
hearsal accompanist Angela
Carter in place. There will be 30
cast members and 14 in the or-
chestra when Harmon makes
his VOS debut and the curtain
rises on opening night.

The year is pre-war 1929, the
city Berlin, in winter. Cynthia
Dynowski plays entertainer
Sally Bowles. Paul Totze is Cliff,
the American writer with whom
she is in love. Cabaret is their
story. A long Broadway run and
a successful film version makes
Cabaret a popular choice.

That thisis a carefully selected
cast of fine singing actors is evi-
dent as the rehearsal begins.
David Brillinger plays the Kit
Kat Club host-narrator. Gloria
Mastin and Bob MacDonald are
atruly colorful couple, an elderly
lady and her Jewish beau, lovers
of the older set. The dancing
amazed this observer.

How do all cope with the Nazi
invasion? The cast keeps smil-
ing. They are excited even
though hours of work could chal-

lenge lesser spirits. Call the Mc- -

Pherson Playhouse and reserve
for a night at the Cabaret.

THEYRE SAYING YES
TO NO, NO, NANETTE!
Nine of the 14 performances of
No, No, Nanette were sold out
before the ‘20s musical opened
at the Langham Court Theatre.
The Victoria Theatre Guild
programs with flair and this
production is worthy of a hold-
over status, beyond Nov. 24.
The cast of 20 actor-singer-
dancers filled but never over-
crowded the small stage. They
were enjoying themselves and it
was infectious. There was vir-
ginal Nanette, seeking personal
identity and a good fling before
marriage. Three beautiful flap-
pers of questionable reputation
are chasing her wealthy guar-
dian, Uncle Jimmy, husband of

Musical theatre festival emerges

an elegant, tap-dancing Aunt
Sue. He passes the philandering
buck to his lawyer Billy, who has
a traditional wife, Lucille.
Conventional Tom is hoping to
become engaged to Nanette and
he is Billy’s assistant. Lots of
young friends and a maid-
chaperone for Nanette add to
the confusion, which Jutta
Woodland manages to untangle.

Ceris Thomas is an adorable
Nanette and Marlene Docherty
turns in a perfect portrayal of
dancing Aunt Sue. Winnie
Cooper, Gini Foley, and Jac-
queline Fisher are hilarious and
convincing seductresses. Jane
Forster, Bee Hammond, John
Owen, George Reid and Bill
Murphy-Dyson complete the ex-
cellent cast.

unplanned

NO NO NANETTE with (from lefi) Winnie Cooper, Gini Foley,
Jacqueline Fisher and Don House plays at the Langham
Court Theatre, Nov. 8 to 24.

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saturday, November 17 at 10:00 a.m.

Join the celebration as we welcome Santa back to Tillicum Mall! Enjoy the magic of
Tony Eng and sing along with Pat Carfra, Victoria's own Lullaby Lady. The fun starts at
10:00 and Santa arrives at 10:45. Free Santa bells go to the first 950 children.
After the party, children can have their picture taken with the guest of honour
at Santa's house for only $1.99.

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