The situation that every producer has nightmares about faced Cyril Bond minutes before the curtain went up at the Curzon cinema on Monday night. After 12 months of hard work and anxiety he could be excused a few minutes of relaxed satisfaction. Then came the bombshell. His leading man, Colin Griffiths whispered that he couldn't hit the high notes. He'd developed a cold earlier in the day and a minor throat infection had reduced his rich tenor to a husky baritone.
But Cyril was undaunted. He brought his emergency plan into operation and for two and three quarter hours colin sang - with his "voice" perched at the top of a ladder in the wings. "With a production as big as this you have to be prepared for everything." explained Cyril. "We had a stand-in sitting on the ladder, singing into a microphone while Colin mimed."
It must have been an unnerving experience for Colin who, as Danilo, the handsome lady's man, was on stage for almost the entire production. But Cyril's "secret" was perfectly safe in his hands and there were few in the capacity audience who latched onto this mild and excusable "deception." Urmston Operatic Society stage only one production a year and their supporters have long since relaised that they set a very high standard. They start at good and work upwards.
Their interpretation of Franz Lehar's famous operetta will rank very high in their long list of successes. The sheer size of the production would alone be enough to frighten most amateur societies. But the production team, heartened no doubt by past successes with spectaculars like Carousel and The King and I had the experience to tackle it confidently. Lehar's slightly naughty story of philandering in an obscure, fictitios embassy in Paris may be somewhat dated, but his music, always tuneful and easy on the ear, will never lose its universal appeal. His immortal widow, Anna, was delicately played by attractive Joan Duffy, who made a sparkling success with her first leading role. She refused to be overawed by the occasion, and, as the part demanded, dominated the stage whenever she glided elegantly into the footlights.
Colin Griffiths, despite his lost voice, was suitably dashing as her wayward suitor, while burly Peter Clough quickly established himself as the favourite of the audience with his portrayal of Baron Zeta, the bungling ambassador, intent on capturing the widow's millions for the "fatherland." Valencienne, the Baron's philandering wife, was a personal triumph for pretty Edith Rogerson, and Bill Dempster, the Baron's right hand man, dealt expertly with the comic situations. There was also a superb performance by Eric Fogg as Camille, the "othe man" in Valencienne's life. Cedric Young and J Marsden Bevan, as St Brioche and Cascada, rivals for the widow's bejewelled hands, had a great time threatening each other, while June Phillips, Stella Fogg, Joan Pegg, Clarie Pollit, Audrey Beattie and Una Holt decorated the stage prettily as the girls from Maxim's.
The Urmston society revelled in the musical comedy - producing not a nostalgic look backwards at the "naughty nineties" but three hours of gay abandonment to the atmosphere of Paris. They swept their audience along and gave us the impression of being not spectators but almost participants in the glittering embassy ball, the pleasures of Maxim's and all the sparkling scenes of Paris when the city set the pattern of gaiety throughout the western world.
Costuming in this £2,000 production was lavish but the colourful swish and swirl of their ball gowns as the ladies whirled round the "ballroom" of the stage to the strains of the waltz made the sizeable chunk of money spent by the society to achieve this effect worthwhile. This, incidentally, was one of the minor triumphs of the Urmston Society - that they managed to create this sensation of a ballroom on what is, after all, a comparitively small stage. The sets for the play were magnificent and deserved the oohs and aahs of delight with which the audience rewarded the weeks of hard work members of the stage staff had spent creating them. But it was the cast who made this evening at the Curzon Cinema a memorable one. Joan Duffy, a beautiful and talented artist led them in the role of Anna, the merriest and richest widow ever to flounce across the Paris scene, arousing the admiration of men and the envy of women.
She is in fact, Mrs Duffy with three children, but if ever a part suited a singer, the part of the Merry Widow suited her. She teased, coquetted and sang every way into the hearts of every man on the stage - and in the audience - with all the assurance and poise of the most beautiful and eligible woman in Paris, and with all the self confidence that wealthy widowhood can bring. Her singing of "So Many Men Admire Me" weas a classic and set the Paris scene perfectly. But it was the haunting melody of "Villa"which must be one of the best known songs ever ever to come onto the popular scene from light opera, that Joan Duffy really impressed. Backed by the ensemble of the Urmston Society, she made of the scene the most delicate and lovely moment of the evening.
The Urmston company were also fortunate with their choice of leading man. Although he had some trouble with his voice on the opening night on Monday. Colin Griffiths who has taken leading parts with several operatic societies made an excellent Danillo. His solo before an admiring group of ladies of the cast "You'll Find Me At Maxim's" was one of the high spots of the show. As an actor, too, he played well the part of the young aristocrat too proud to confess his love for Anna because it might be thought he wants only her money.
The story is rich in sub plots and provides a host of character parts for the comically-inclined-section of the company's membership. Chief amongst these is Peter Clough, who romped his way through the part of Baron Zeta, Pontevedrian Ambassador in Paris. The baron's one aim in life is to keep the millions of money Anna has inherited from her newly-wed but very quickly dead, husband in Pontevedro. Unwitingly the Baron provides much of the comedy. Cuckolded by his wife, he searches anxiously for a way of keeping Anna's money in Pontevedro - in blissful ignorance of the romance going on between the Baroness and the young Count Camille. Peter Clough was joined in some first class comedy sketches by Bill Dempster, who took the part of his general factotum, Njegus. Together they put an athletic zest into their comedy - almost farcical - parts that brought roars of laughter from their appreciative audience.
The difficult part of Valencienne, the Baron's wife, was well played by Edith Rogerson. She excelled not only with her acting of the sophisticated lady of leaisure but also with her tender duet "A Highly Respectable Wife" with Camille played by Eric Fogg. Again, with the romance "Flowers Are Awakened In Maytime" she and Mr Fogg proved to have very fine singing voices. Minor parts...another comedy team played by Cedric Young and J Marsden Bevan with some excellent domestic sketches by Ivor J Brown and Muriel Mullen as the attache Kromov and his wife Olga, two delightful, giggling ladies played by Sheila Scott and Blanche Feeley, and useful support from Graham Bateman and Pennant Roberts, added greatly to the overall excellence of the production.
Special mention must be made of the "Grisettes" of Maxim's and the dancers whose line up in the Can-Can delighted at least the male mebers of the audience. The "Grisettes" were played by June Phillips, Stella Fogg, Joan Pegg, Claire Pollitt, Audrey Beattie and Una Holt. The dancers in the Can-Canwhose high kicking antics weree so appreciated were Ivy Ainscow, BrendaBrown, Dorothy Crowther, Audrey Hamill, Margaret Howarth, Margaret Hollinrake, Eunice Lea, Margaret Parker, Jose Parkinson and Shirley Packard. This 46th show of the Urmston Society in its 53 years of existence, was produced by Cyril Bond, his fourth production with the society. Together with Walter Webb, musical director and Miss Sheila Payant, choreographer. Mr Bond had welded his cast into a team that made a great production of "The Merry Widow." Often forgotten when laurels are being handed out after an amateur operatic production, the members of the chorus did a great deal to ensure the success of the Urmston Company's production of "The Merry Widow." Their singing was excellent. The orchestra too was first class, supporting the singing without ever becoming annoying loud or obvious.
The Merry Widow
Few doubtless bothered very much either, if indeed they noticed it, about the "dubbed" voice. It was not, in fact, Colin Griffiths, playing Danilo, who sang the part. He mimed it while Gerald Bullough, of Worsley Opera Company, on a 9ft high perch in the wings actually did the singing. Colin's singing voice vanished a few hours before the show, and he microphone trick was tried insated of finding a stand-in player. With more rehearsal time they might have deceived most people, but not everyone, because Colin's speaking voice didn't match with Gerald's singing voice. Again nobody would care because here, in Cyril Bond's Production, was a hit show.