This is a show which is not often performed mainly I suspect perhaps because of its title and the ‘fear?’ that it will not attract an audience, so all credit to WAOS for tackling it which they did with gusto. 

As the show revolves around Mona, played by Samantha Moylan-Heydt she has to be a strong character.  Sam rose to the occasion excellently, she maintained a good accent and held the stage well, maybe the singing was not really all quite within her range, but she sang with vigour and vitality.  I liked her final scene which held real pathos.  Sheriff Ed Earl, Keith Kimnell acted well and was a good foil to Mona.  He had to be both a sympathetic friend as well as a State Officer and married up this two aspects of the man well.  Melvin, Nick Murza performed with enthusiasm and we didn’t really like him which was a good. sign that he acted well.  Jewel, Geninne Menzies acted her supporting role to Mona well and sang with great brio.  Doatsey Mae, Tricia Roddan rose to the challenge of her part and then Angel, Jenny Melodie Hughes along with Shy, Jennifer Lawrence also got into their roles with relish and grew in stature as the show progressed. 

Troy Chessman as Edsel (and other ‘bit’ parts) had a presence on the stage and according to his biog is looking to go further in the acting profession, I think he has every chance of doing so.  I “spotted “ Brian Higgs in his various cameo roles I particularly liked him in his tapping mode ! Well done Brian. I hope you will forgive me but it is impossible to mention all the Girls, The Dogettes, The Angelettes and The Aggies individually as choruses you all performed with great pizzazz both with your singing and dancing. The chorus numbers were delightful and superbly choreographed, thank you Lorraine. 

What can I say about the men? They were all in step!  

The set was fairly simple but effective, good exits and entrances and an impressive sweep of a stairway, with good colour throughout. The upper gauze windows with all the different shadow actions was a brilliant touch. Two levels are always very effective. The stairs were used well and stood up to all the traffic that they had to encompass. The props were fine though I may say that perhaps I did  not understood the exact purpose of the wheelchair, did I miss something?  ( It was not A 1905 model in any case !)  Well done Mike Bartlett and your team. The dancing puppets with their bodies and spiral legs were magical!

The costumes were really colourful and a credit to the suppliers and if the girls had gone to a great deal of trouble to provide their own which I suspect they had, it certainly worked.  The men too were fine. A good job Cathy. The wigs and make up were fine too. Sam’s wig was first class. 

A good sound from the band, thank you Ian. It did not overwhelm the singers which is sometimes a problem. Also the sound and lighting were well up to standard.

The programmme was fascinating and informative, do you not put a price on it? As there was gunfire in the show it is good practice to include that information in the programme and display the information in a prominent place in/and or outside the theatre. This also applies to strobe lighting which is really even more important to flag up if you are ever using it in the future.

Well done Brett and all your cast and back stage team, a fast-moving and enjoyable show

Thank you for your warm welcome especially from Martine and her FOH team.

Helen Mills
SE Area NODA Rep.