Review: Standing ovations all round for stunning show 'A Musical Celebration' by Burnley Light Opera Society

Running over two nights last weekend the concert was part of the society’s landmark 90th birthday celebrations. And boy, do these talented performers know how to put on a show.

Packed with almost 40 songs from the many shows the society has staged over the years, and a selection of Broadway and West End hits past and present, there was no stopping for breath from start to finish. Kicking off with ‘Something About This Night’ from the musical Neverland, by Ronan Pilkington and the company we were treated to medley of hits including ‘I See Stars’ from Mean Girls by the wonderful gifted singer Jenny Cliff and ‘She’s A Woman’ from Kiss Of A Spiderwoman by Mal Wood, whose voice and delivery of a song is mesmerising.

Leanne Wharf had us all weeping with her storming rendition of ‘He’s My Boy’ from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. I have to confess to not seeing the production itself, but there was no need with such a powerful and moving delivery of this song about the pride a mother feels for her son who is being ridiculed for wanting to wear a dress to his prom. As soon as she had finished I wanted to hear Leanne again. The performance of ‘Heart of Stone’ from the musical Six by Penny Poulton, Scarlet Dickinson, Tori Vaal, Catherine Wright, Kayleigh and Laura brought the house down along with ‘I Know You’ from Bad Cinderella by Ann Mason, Joanne Gill and Jackie Catlow.

I loved the pairing of real life mum and daughter Ann Mason and Scarlet Dickinson for ‘Don’t Ah Ma Me’ from The Rink. They brought some sass and comedy to the evening and the ‘opera’ element was provided by Megan Ingham. The phrase ‘voice of an angel’ could have been invented for Megan.

I have been reviewing amateur dramatic productions in my role as a journalist for over 30 years now and I was absolutely delighted to see a long time favourite of mine, David Norris, gracing the stage at the Burnley Mechanics Theatre. He appeared in three numbers, ‘Me and My Shadow’ from the 1925 musical Big Boy,’ Get Me To The Church on Time’ from My Fair Lady and ‘I Am What I Am’ from La Cage Aux Folles. I first saw David sing this song in ‘La Cage’ around 25 years ago with the Hyndburn Bel Canto Theatre Group. He brought the house down and had three standing ovations. It gave me goosebumps to watch him perform it again with the same power, pathos and emotion.

The society has some real powerhouse voices. “They should be on the professional stage’ is often heard among the audience when you attend a production by BLOS. Every single person on that stage gave 100 per cent and the standing ovation at the end of the show was more than deserved. All credit to directors Anthony Williams and Steven Mercer-Murray, and also the team of narrators who introduced each section of the show with background information on the songs we were about to hear. After a little rest the players will gather again for their annual production in November which this year is Annie. I cannot wait.