BY THE time a full-scale musical comes to the end of its almost week-long run, there are bound to be signs of exhaustion visible amongst an amateur cast.
Include a leading lady aged 11, a gang of adorable small girls and a dog who has to appear on cue
and actually act, and you could be forgiven for assuming BYT's (Bathgate Youth Theatre) Saturday matinee sell-out performance may have lacked lustre.
You would have been totally wrong of course. Despite some of the backing musicians being absent leaving the piano of Lynn Anderson accompanied by Vitor Pinto on drums to provide the accompaniment, BYT's production had the X Factor with some of the players actually doubling up roles.
Not a brilliant idea in the case of dominant orphanage warden Miss Hannigan (Vicki Wilson) who also appeared without any thought of disguise, as one of the trio of singers in a beautifully staged radio studio sequence in which the presenter Bert (Colin Povey) was totally convincing.
Even the young lad who held up the 'Applause' sign looked the part. But what about Annie, the delightful orphan anxious to find her real parents? This was a role shared by Claudia Toner and Rachel Duncan on alternative performances.
As there was no advance notice of who was playing at the matinee we can only say this young lady gave a professional performance and sang each of the hit songs beautifully despite wearing a wig which was styled for an older person.
No doubt the other Annie gave an equally polished performance. We have it on good authority this was the case.
Not sure that using backdrops of still films of the Great Depression added to the storyline, but sympathetic, strong performances from Bob Clark as the millionaire Warbucks who wants to adopt Annie and Angela Clark as Grace.
His personal assistant raised the musical to a pretty high level with little Kirsty McIntosh - a name to look out for in future - as an apple seller.
Maybe more could have been done with the famous Easy Street number featuring the wicked Hannigan and her crooked companions, but when it came to belting out a number with enthusiasm and style, the adorable orphans (Becky Morley, Kaitlan Carmichael, Anita Stirling, Chloe Mulcahy, Katy Bishop, Taylor Young, Morgan Carmichael and Zoe Young) were word perfect and managed to dance well into the bargain.
Add a zany butler, a credible Roosevelt (David Mackie), the memory of Annie effortlessly singing The Sun's Gonna Shine Tomorrow, and excellent support from Walter Taylor, Willie Devlin, Andrew Duncan, Gayle Main, Jennifer Patterson, Emma Chandler, Jayson Fisher, and Bathgate Youth Theatre can chalk this production up as a hit for director Ian Sloan and the entire production team and cast.
Not forgetting Sandy (was that his stage name?), the delightful wee stray dog who befriends Annie and proved the perfect scene stealer. This show did have the Wow factor, after all!
