There are so many good musicals these days that theatre companies must find it difficult to choose the best one for a production.
Lichfield Operatic Society (LOS) chose a well-established favourite for this week’s presentation at the Garrick – and they chose wisely.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers may be a familiar story, but it was given a fresh look by the company and audiences loved it.
Heading the large cast were Connor Brooks and Lucy Lacey.
Lucy, in her fourth production with LOS, makes a delightfully sassy Milly, the girl picked by Adam to be his ‘beautiful bride’. Connor, also in his fourth production with the company, is a forceful Adam with a fantastic singing voice and first-rate acting ability.
The brides, characters played to the full, were Charlotte Jervis, Megan Lambert, Jemma Tiso-Johnson, Shannon Robinson, Kathryn Lane and Carys Wilson.
The brothers, Ben Green, Cameron Morgan, Ben Adams, Will Bourn, Adam Gregory and Connor Bacon, each turned in spectacular performances, particularly in the fight and dance scenes.
Together, they delighted audiences with their singing, dancing and particularly their comic timing.
This show has a very large cast and praise must go to each performer and to production director Patrick Jervis, an actor/singer making his directing debut with LOS, and choreographer Jessica Bennett. How they managed to move around the comparatively small stage of the Garrick without any collisions was an (obviously well-rehearsed) miracle.
Musical director Davis Easto again wielded the baton – and keyboards – in his usual outstanding style, conducting a first rate orchestra.
This show is a real pleasure to watch from beginning to end.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers runs until Saturday. Get tickets if you can and have a great night out.
