Trip back to the '50s well worth it

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

Through the haze of the St James Theatre in Gore shone the pastels of the 1950s, as Happy Days: A New Musical had its opening weekend.
The humour, singing, and dancing of Gore Musical Theatre's Southland cast, with some new and old faces from across the region, shone in the show's debut.
Costumes and sets partly sourced and partly hand-made by behind-the-scenes volunteers were taken out for their first spin.
Invercargill's Craig Waddell directed the show, his first in Gore, and brought in some new talent from his part of the South to play the teenaged cast.
The vocal stylings of The Dialtones, and the barbershop quartet of Richie Cunningham, Ralph Malph, Potsie and Chachi, all played by young Invercargill actors, were easy on the ear.
The ad-libs and physical comedy of newcomer Flynn Elder as Ralph Malph stood out, alongside the voice of radio host Corbyn Shuttleworth, playing Potsie.
New to Gore, Billy Weeks played the Fonz, and was also a strong singer, while also managing to hit the character's jukebox-thumping and thumbs-up signature moves on cue.
The hilarity of some mainstays of the local theatre scene — including Gore Musical Theatre president Sean Burke as Richie's father Howard Cunningham — was a highlight.
No spoilers, but Mr Burke, along with other actors, perform a surprisingly humorous scene as a purring spoof of sort of a Lions-club-meets-Freemasons group, called "The Leopards".
Kayla Wilcox, who the audience knows for her titular role in West Otago Theatrical Society's production of Mary Poppins , found humour in the role of Marion Cunningham.
Ms Wilcox played the pie-making, stay-at-home-mum like a dissatisfied Stepford Wife, tap-dancing on overdrive, much to the nearly full-house's amusement.
Campbell Heads and Duncan McAllister were the show's villains and Fonzie's rivals, the Malachi brothers.
Mr Heads played a very camp, Shakespearean and slightly operatic Myron, "The Count", while Mr McAllister took the gormless heavy route.
After the show, Mr Waddell said he liked to add extra humour into all of the material, as it was one of his favourite aspects of any production.
There were tender sincere moments in the show too, however, as Pinky Tuscadero and the Fonz's romantic relationship was portrayed.
Invercargill nurse Willow Gush, who said previously she found getting into Pinky's saucy, sassy character a challenge, showed no fear on stage with her clear, confident singing.
The levels of tap, rock'n'roll dancing and hand jiving by the whole cast, choreographed by Nikoia McKelvie, were also refreshing and not to be missed.
Happy Days: The Musical has its last three dates this weekend; tickets are available on iTicket and at the theatre.
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