On the 9th, 10th and 12th of February many of the pupils and staff of Wolgarston saw all their hard work and effort pay off when 'Guys and Dolls' played with three nights of roaring success.

The story of Guys and Dolls is based around the lives of some Broadway gamblers, a group of mission workers and the consequences of what happens when the two mix. Since the beginning of the autumn term, the cast worked hard learning lines, songs and dances. When the time had come for the dress rehearsal, many, including numerous cast members, thought that the production was never going to happen, but when the time came for the real thing everything went much better than anyone had ever expected. All three nights of the production were a success and everyone involved deserved the credit they received with the audiences' applause.

The night of this review was Friday 12^th, 'The Finale'. With almost a full house, the performance kicked off at 7:00pm with an overture by the orchestra who played excellently throughout. A host of different pupils and staff members made their appearance at the beginning to give the impression of a busy Broadway sidewalk. These included Ms Tyzack and Mrs Cornfield as actresses, Mr Hollinshead as a very believable drunk and Andrew Parrot as a prize fighter being trained by Mrs Barratt. The first song of the night performed by Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Joe Barnett), Benny Southstreet (Simon Sharma) and Rusty Charlie (Mr Allardice), got a good reception from the audience and was a good indicator of things to come. The 'Hot Box' girls, led by Miss Adelaide (Kerry Hodgkiss), were

involved in a number of dances which left little to the imagination, Kerry "stripped" during the performance of 'Take Back Your Mink'! The comic element in the script was enhanced by the unintentional comedy created when on arriving in Havana,  Sky Masterson (Ben Harper) and Sarah Brown (Lindsey Hughes) were attacked by the stage trees.  Fortunately major injury was avoided and Ben ably covered the moment in a manner that typified the professional quality of the show.

All things considered, this was the best performance they had done and with it being the last there were two reprises at the end with Lindsey singing 'If I Were A Bell' and Joe singing 'Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat'. Many gifts were presented at the end to give thanks to all those involved, including a huge bouquet of flowers for Ms Hutchings and a bottle of wine for Mr Watkins. The entire cast and everyone who helped deserve to be very proud of themselves for what they have achieved.

Laura Felton

 

Performing in Guys and Dolls was a great achievement for me and also a great experience, as I would really like to follow a career in acting. I would like to say well done to all the other cast members, in particular Ben Harper who I enjoyed acting with. The aftershow 'nibbles' on the last night were also great fun, and to quote Steven Wilde 'It was a really excellent evening!'

Joe Barnett

It seems a long time ago since I auditioned for Guys and Dolls in July 1998.  I had to wait until after the six weeks holidays to find out what part I had.  I returned to school to find a few weeks later I had been given the part of Sarah Brown, the "mission doll".  There were plenty of rehearsals and I thought that it would never come together.  Even when the final rehearsal arrived I was still rather apprehensive.  There had been many drop-outs and people thinking nothing would become of it.  (I even felt the same way at times).  We had three performances looming. 

The first performance went well, but felt more like a dress rehearsal than an actual performance.  On the second night everyone was in high spirits and again it went well.  However it was Friday's performance where it all came together.  It was  the best performance we had ever done.  I must admit, however, my pre-stage nerves that night were really bad, but they paid off in the end. 

Everyone involved had a great laugh and I would like to say a great big thanks from me to everyone who took part both back, front and on stage. 

Lindsey Hughes