Dancing in the aisles to salute Bungalow
Tommy’s show beats the weather for one night only
One of Paisley’s proudest Buddies is celebrating after his ground breaking musical production about the town’s rich past went down a storm.
Tommy McGrory was left heartbroken by the news that two nights of The Bungalow Musical had to be cancelled due to treacherous weather conditions.
After a lot of stress and reshuffling of plans, the final night of the run went ahead on Saturday, with audiences dubbing the production a huge success.
Tommy told the Express the finalweek before the show was a whirlwind.
“Preparing for a show requires a lot of time as it is,” he said.
“That’s before you even think about calling it off because of the weather.
“When it got to the stage where I knew we had to cancel the Thursday and Friday show, I was totally devastated.
“So much work had gone into it. Thank goodness the Saturday performance was able to go ahead.”
Telling the story of Paisley’s renowned Bungalow Bar and its meteoric rise to fame, The Bungalow Musical involved over 80 young cast and crew members.
Actors, singers, dancers and musicians from various local youth groups had been rehearsing for months for the run at Paisley Town Hall.
A capacity audience was on its feet as the musical came to a close, before taking to social media to praise the efforts of everyone who was involved.
Gerry Attrick posted on Facebook: “I loved the way the stories ran into the tunes and I was blown away by the talent in Paisley.
“The people came out to support them all.
“It’s great to know that live music is still alive.”
Laura Savage took part in the show and shared a photo will fellow dancers.
She said: “What a fantastic show by every single person involved.
“So proud to be a buddy.
“How Tommy McGrory does it amazes me.”
Audience member David Sturgeon added: “Great night at Paisley Town Hall. “Can we not do it all again?” Cast member Catherine Gillies said: “I feel privileged to have been part of this show.
“It was absolutely fantastic – what a fabulous concept pulled off by an amazing team.”
While the technical elements, professionalism and talents of those involved has been highlighted, Tommy is most proud of the impact the show had on young people in the area.
“There were lots of teens in this show who had never done anything like this before,” Tommy added.
“When they arrived at the town hall and saw the set, lights, sound, costumes and so on all set up they were ecstatic. At the end when they were enjoying the reaction from the crowd they were on an absolute high.
“If any of them end up going for a career in music or drama this will be such a stepping stone for them.
“That’s what it’s all about.”