Near capacity audiences enjoy Youth Opera show
Grease - The Musical staged by Carmarthen Youth Opera at The Lyric Theatre, in Carmarthen Review by Gary Owen
FEBRUARY half-term school holidays saw the welcome and much-anticipated return of the Carmarthen Youth Opera to The Lyric Theatre.
Their four-show run of Grease was watched and enjoyed by near capacity audiences who, once again, were enthralled by the singing, dancing and acting talent of this well-established company.
The turnout and response to each performance clearly vindicated the decision to go ahead with the 2022 show despite a pandemic which affected rehearsals which began last September.
The show’s director, Dan Williams, was full of praise for the cast and crew for putting on such a wonderful spectacle during these difficult times.
“Of all of the shows I’ve been involved with, Grease, has been the most rewarding,” he said.
He was proud of his young cast members who “demonstrated great determination and motivation and their resilience in overcoming challenges. It has seen them mature as people and performers”.
The young cast, reduced in number this year, gave everything in this fast-paced, romantic comedy filled with colourful well-known characters and memorable songs.
Finn Radford and Gwennan
Wright entertained as the romantic leads, ably supported by their gang members - Llew Richards, Bryn Richards, Taran Jones, Dan Bond, Steffan Williams-evans, Beca Williams, Rosie Harries, Mabli Reynolds, Hannah Green and Amelia Thorne.
This talented group performed the classic hits of the show and added moments of high drama and comedy, as too did Hayley Hume, playing Patty Simcox, who was the worthy and popular recipient of the President’s Shield for best performance.
Dan Williams was very pleased with the performance of his more mature performers, too.
Joanne Morris (Miss Lynch), Rhys Morgan (Vince Fontaine), Benn Williams and (especially) Steffan Hughes, Jordan Dickin and Mark Llewelyn Evans who shared the role of the Teen Angel who each added their own individual twist to the role.
The impressive staging, designed and built in conjunction with the Torch Theatre, was brought to life with the lightning, sound and lavish costumes made by our wardrobe department provided the perfect backdrop for these young, talented performers.
Once again the company’s hair, makeup and props departments did a magnificent job of capturing the spirit and look of the period and, together with dance routines choreographed by Rachel Saddler, helped to transport the audience to the rock and roll era of 1950s America.
The cast, as has been the case for many years now, are fortunate to be supported by a professional orchestra, once again under the expert baton of musical director Bridget Radford. They provided West End quality accompaniment.
A tremendous amount of hard work over many months went into producing a show of this calibre and everyone involved, in whatever capacity, on stage, back stage or supporting, should be justifiably proud of what they have achieved.
Dan Williams added that he was “especially pleased for everyone involved that we were able to perform before such large and appreciative audiences which has made all of the hard work worthwhile”.
With another successful production added to the company’s back catalogue, thoughts are already turning to 2023’s show.
Shrek the Musical, originally to be performed in 2021 and delayed due to the Covid pandemic, has been announced as next year’s production.
Auditions will take place in the summer with rehearsals beginning soon afterwards for what is sure to be a lavish production, with details and updates to be found on Carmarthen Youth Opera’s Facebook page in the coming months.