If ever you needed confirmation that Am/Dram is balanced on a knife edge and always needs your support, this week’s news that Dukinfield Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Societies autumn show, The Wiz, has been cancelled will have made that point very clearly.
I’d attended a rehearsal just a couple of weeks ago and I was met with passion and talent, as usual. All the creatives behind this wonderful production were putting their hearts and souls into the latest show by this wonderful society. I then got the call, late last week, that ticket sales were well down on normal and there might have been a risk to their future if they’d gone ahead. They might have suffered a huge financial loss if they’d gone ahead.
I’m well aware of the costs of staging these shows. My son is a regular performer and I know lots creatives around the Greater Manchester area who live and breathe Amateur Dramatics. I guess the big question is why the Wiz, best known from the film version starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, didn’t sell? I don’t know the answer, do you? DAODS are now planning an evening of songs from the shows to replace their run at the George Lawton Hall in Mossley. As soon as their plans are finalised, I’ll bring you the details right here.
Whenever I’ve been in the Professional Theatres in Manchester or the West End, in recent months, there seem to have been full houses, which is very encouraging, but I was speaking to Kristi Hummel-Rosen, for my show on Tameside Radio, and she says there are times when they struggle to fill the theatre she’s involved. Kristi works at the Old Globe in San Diego, California, which has often been the launch pad for Musicals and Plays that have gone on to huge success on Broadway. The problem might be Worldwide.
In my opinion, theatre is an essential part of human culture. It helps promote good mental health both for those who’re talented enough to tread the boards themselves, but also for those off stage and in the audience.
I was at a rehearsal of the Musical Six last weekend at the Forum Theatre in Romiley, near Stockport. I was told by the director, that nearly fifty teenagers auditioned for the roles of the six wives of Henry the Eighth, who sing and dance their way through the show. The talent was so high that they decided to cast twelve of them into two complete sets of six, who will alternate performances. I’ve seen enough Am/Drams down the years, and met enough of the creatives, to know that there’s no shortage of talent.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that if you see a performance being advertised of an Am/Dram show near you, don’t write it off as Amateur. It might be in name, but I guarantee it won’t be on stage. Let’s keep local theatre alive and kicking, it’s an essential part of our culture.
You can hear my interview with Kirsti during this week’s edition of Break-a-Leg from 7pm and I can tell you she’s fascinating to listen to. I’ve also been speaking to Amelia Adams, who’ll be alongside Craig Revel Horwood, at Manchester’s Opera House from 18th – 30th September, in Annie the Musical. Amelia had lots of fascinating stories to tell and in the first part of the interview she talks about being on stage with the star of Strictly Come Dancing.
There’ll also be the second part of my interview with Jonathan Sayer, Ashton’s own theatrical genius. That’s Break-a-Leg, all things Theatrical and Musical Theatre every Sunday from 7pm, and Wednesday from 9pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM.
