The original version of this production was a play first performed in 1942 at the University of Iowa and then on to Broadway, later to become a favourite with schools, and colleges. Now, played to a mixture of powerful rock and passionate love songs, it is ready to take off as a significant musical attraction for the West End.
Set in a small town the Appalachian mountains in north-east USA, this musical is a fantastical romp veering between mystic truths and everyday life. The show has its deep roots in British and Irish folk stories about inter-action between country people and supernatural beings, influenced by the age-old ballad Barbara Allen which Kiah Lindsay sings beautifully at the beginning of the two halves of this production.
The crux of the story is the battle between the witches and humans. The witches lack any affective emotion but are free, sexy and immortal (Hey! What not to like?). They are dressed in floaty ethereal outfits and flit about the stage with menace, while the humans wear ordinary working gear and live mundane lives. The humans are often grief-ridden, but have the ability to feel real love (well, there is that), but with all its difficulties.
The personification of these two sides is played out in the love story between John the Witch Boy and Barbara Allen, the rebellious human John has fallen for. Why, the sexy she-witches ask, would Johnny rather be with the petite human girl than with them? They do have a point.
The villagers are played as hill-billy types living in an Oklahoma style setting – wooden barns and houses, country music and hoedowns. A great number ‘Ordinary Life’ sets the scene depicting the humdrum existence of the rural folk. This allows for some wonderful harmonies and energetic dance routines. In musical opposition, the townsfolk play soft lilting country music with acoustic guitars, the witches blast out rock music with electric guitar riffs.
The introduction of the witches shows us the dark side: John asks the Conjur Mother (who seems to be Queen of Witches) to make him human despite her dire warnings that it will be a life of sorrow with the possibility of a terrible outcome. From the start, it is pretty clear the path of this true love is not going to run smooth.
Barbara Allen has already seen him in her dreams so feels she loves him as soon as he appears as a stranger in their close-knit community. The village people are superstitious and soon figure out that there is a witch in their midst. With the catchline ‘Being human is heartbreak’, this is a fast-moving show not lacking in subtlety: the prejudice and spitefulness of the townsfolk is matched by that of the witches.
Love is the resonating theme here, the duets between the leads fill the stage with longing and passion, notably ‘Forgive Me’. Lauren Jones with her pixie haircut shines as Barbara Allen with her demand for more than an ordinary life, ‘I laugh and choke to cover the tears in my eyes’. Glenn Adamson hits his rock peak screaming out the words ‘I was a Bad Ass…..electrified Warlock, certified Rock Star’, but can just as easily pull off the romantic songs. They are supported by the rest of a splendid cast. Martin Callaghan is heart-warming as Preacher Haggler trying to pacify the two warring factions and playing to comic effect. Josie Benson provides an overwhelmingly powerful performance dominating the cowering lesser witches.
The production felt lavish with a full with a cast of nineteen, expense seems no barrier to making what will no doubt make a splendid splash about town.
Venue: Charing Cross Theatre
Cast: Kiah Lindsay, Lauren Jones, Glenn Adamson, Josie Benson, Gary Turner, Ella Weston, Martin Callaghan, Al Knott, Appolilly Szwarc, Jordan Broatch, Thomas-Lee Kidd, Sue Appleby Wills Mercado, Samuel Murray, Gemma Maclean, Sophia Duncan, David- Michael Johnson
Original Play: Howard Richardson, William Berney
Musical Playscript: Jonathan Prince
Music & Lyrics: Lindy Robbins, Dave Bassett, Steve Robson
Director: Georgie Rankcom
Choreographer: Jane Mc Murtrie
MD: Matthew Herbert
Running Time 2 hours 30 min including interval
Performance Dates: 18 May – 8 August