Ware Musical Theatre
A night Out in the West End
Friday and Saturday 11 ,12 July
Ware Drill Hall
The Summer Concert with was another great success with near capacity of 600 attending over the two nights
Vicki Avery from NODA attended the concert and commented
"This was an evening of music reflecting some well known and some lesser-known songs from musicals that have appeared in London’s West End. The concert opened with a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and then moved on to such delights as 'Bui Doi' from Miss Saigon sung expertly by Mick Wilson and 'Loosing My Mind' from Follies, sung with superb musicality by Melanie Tilbury. The first half ended with a compendium of ABBA songs from Mamma Mia.
The second half commenced with the company entering from the auditorium singing a piece from The Lion King arranged by Ed Bussey. I really enjoyed this arrangement. There were some beautifully sung pieces in this half, both serious and tongue in cheek. Joanna Tripp’s rendition of 'Feed the Birds' from Mary Poppins was hauntingly reflective and 'Popular' from Wicked sung by Philippa Christer, Sarah Lodge and Zoe Briggs was great fun and Beth Wischhusen gave a stunning performance of 'Glitter and Be Gay' from Candide. The evening came to a close with Ed Lojeski’s arrangement from Les Miserables.
This was an enjoyable concert and one that I know the audience appreciated. Congratulations to all involved "
Keep the Home Fires Burning 100th Anniversary of WW1
Saturday 2nd August
Ware Drill
Ware Operatic with support from some members of Ware Choral had the pleasure in being part of this sell out concert . which also featured the Opus One Swing Band, and Ware Brass as part of a cast of over 80 musicians and actors.
We featured in the première of two chorale pieces composed by an American Peter Mitchell from Chicago. The two pieces “In Flanders Field” and “On the Beaches of Normandy” had only ever been performed before by the resident choir in Fox Valley near Chicago USA. Despite suffering a stroke 8 weeks before the concert, the composer Peter Mitchell together with eight of his family still managed to make the trip from the USA, although he was not well enough to conduct his work.
The event coordinator and leader of Opus One, Ted Higgins was delighted with the audience response. He said “ I could have sold the show twice over, such was the overwhelming demand for tickets.