Latest news with #HappyDays:ANewMusical
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Theatre date
PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING Before seeing Happy Days: A New Musical at the St James Theatre were (from left) Les Argyle, who has a car with the number plate "The Fonz", Wendy Dowling, Les's wife Lorna and Thelma Williams.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Trip back to the '50s well worth it
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.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ole Olsen puts on 'Happy Days: A New Musical'
PERU — The nostalgia of the '50s and one of the country's most beloved classic TV sitcoms is the topic of Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre's latest production. The Peru theater company is putting on 'Happy Days: A New Musical,' beginning this weekend at the Peru Depot, 154 S. Broadway St., Peru. 'Happy Days: A New Musical' is set in season four of the famous TV show and follows the kids' plans to save the diner Arnold's from demolition by hosting a dance contest and wrestling match. The adaption is written by the sitcom's creator Gary Marshall and its music is written by famed songwriter Paul Williams, writer of the number 1 chart-topping song 'Evergreen,' featured in the 1976 adaptation of 'A Star is Born.' Members of Ole Olsen have been working on the production for the last two months, a process show director Shanna Stoll described as arduous but rewarding. The theater company has worked meticulously to recreate the clothing, set design and props to accurately portray the time period and TV show. 'What I'm wanting to happen is the audience getting sucked back into that 'Happy Days' nostalgia,' Stoll, who also portrays Marian Cunningham in the musical, said. All the show's iconic characters are featured in the musical, including Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzarelli played by Lucas Bowley, Richie Cunnigham played by Dustin Huddleston and Chachi Arcola played by Tanner Davis. This is Bowley's first Ole Olsen production. The Indiana University Kokomo student said he knew he wanted to be a part of the show once the casting call was announced. If you're a fan of the TV show, you'll be a fan of this musical, he said. 'It takes a lot of the ideas of the show that people love from different parts of the show and mesh it all together so it's the best of all of it,' Bowley said. The key to this production, Huddleston said, was the cast's ability to all 'gel together,' a must for a type of show that relies on the cast recreating the chemistry among actors of the original sitcom. For Huddleston, the hope is for the musical to allow the audience to look back in their life and fondly remember some of their happiest days. 'One of my favorite lines is at the very end, Richie says 'For most of us, and I hope for a lot of you, I hope you'll look back on these days and they'll truly be happy days,'' he said. 'Some of my greatest times were in high school and being around all my friends. So when I look back on those days, I truly do think about those days being happy days. No matter where you're at in life, you can look back at life and either you grew from it or it was a lesson you can learn from.'
