Review: We like to hear the people sing
From the opening bars of Oliver‘s Oom pah pah to the rousing final chorus from Les Miserables the audience was wonderfully entertained by the Ha¯ wera Memorial Theatre Trust’s Hear the People Sing – Song and Dance from the World’s Greatest Musicals, on Monday night in the Ha¯ wera theatre.
The old adage that good things take time was never truer. After only half the opening numbers on Saturday night a power failure closed the show - a first on the Ha¯wera stage - so in effect Monday was the opening night and well worth the wait.
Director Russ Standing gave us a well-considered combination of old and new performers to delight the audience with brackets of songs from more than a dozen shows, well-supported by a troupe of dancers, led by choreographer Michelle Glover.
It was a great evening’s entertainment with everything from high drama to low comedy all delivered with energy and enthusiasm and impossible to mention all the highlights – you will just have to go and see it for yourselves.
It was wonderful to see so much new talent on the Ha¯ wera stage but also such a pleasure to see ‘old hands’ Barry Brett and Mary Neale back in town for the show. A recreation of their roles as the odious Thenardiers in Les Miserables was one of the standouts.
Another highlight was the combination of Deborah Thomas and Lisa Pitcher’s voices for a lovely rendition of I Know Him So Well from Chess. Pitcher also charmed as Maria in The Sound of Music with a delightfully cast group of youngsters as the Von Trapp children. Thomas also gave us a strongly emotional performance of As Long as He Needs Me from Oliver.
Another former Ha¯ wera singer and performer, Shane Burgess, was very effective in songs from Phantom and Miss Saigon.
Thomas, Pitcher, Brett and Burgess carried most of the solo numbers, ably abetted by some marvellous cameos from the likes of Tracey Blake, Bathsheba Turner, Otis Cleaver, Patrick McKenna, violinist Wairingiringi Hemara-Wahanui, Brenna Johnson and scene-stealer Holly the dog.
Continuity was provided by narrator Richard Kennedy-Moffat who introduced the brackets of songs and also explained the role of the theatre trust.
The show is on until Saturday.