Review by Sally Putnam
May 2012
The Merry Widow brought back fond memories of being taken to the Connaught Theatre in Worthing by my grandparents. Maybe it was the style of music, or the set and expensive-looking costumes, or the style of the production. Whatever it was the SALOS production was a pleasant night out.
The company is blessed with experienced and talented vocalists who blended well with the orchestra. In particular, Fiona Lardner made an excellent debut as the flirtatious Valencienne and Kevin Farrelly as Camille was a good match. Maria Geraghty and Peter Papps played the two lead roles with a confidence that comes from feeling comfortable with each other and their audience.
One of the features I enjoyed about this production was the obvious enjoyment of the cast. They were having fun and there were notable cameo performances from Noel Carthew as Njegus, the factotum, and from one of the 'wives' who made a humorous – if fruitless – attempt at seducing Danilo while wearing 'Dame Edna' style of glasses.
The weakness of this production was the acting and David Roberts as Baron Zeta wasn't as sure of his words as he could have been. The clarity and voice projection was good and the presence of the dancers, 'Les Grisettes' added energy and lively choreography.
This company knows its repertoire and its audience and as it says in the program, 'The company consists of people with a love of performing, and singing in particular,'…..
