Our KTB Music Theatre Chorus autumn concert series "Opposites Attract" was a smash hit! Time to sift through my memories and my notes, and try to recap the hours of fun, laughter, and amazing singing for all of our dear readers out there.
The concept of role-switching had us all invested from the very first rehearsal, and it was great fun to watch it all come together for our audiences across our two-venue, two-setlist shows. Making things even more interesting: a lot of us were hearing most of the songs for the first time along with the audience. We were right in it with you all, and this writer believes that it couldn't have worked out more appropriately for an acoustic, experimental, and surprisingly intimate show. It's definitely a different vibe when you can actually see the audience.
Our Friday night guests at Hoole Village Memorial Hall, in particular, essentially got to witness a mixture of our musical professionalism and genuine MTC rehearsal chaos, but our Saturday night audience at Chorley Theatre Studio didn't miss out on any of the fun. Yes, we really are like that. I am not exaggerating for comedic effect in this here blog... in fact, I tend to underplay how much side-splitting laughter is usually involved, in case you all think we never get any work done.
It's also not usual for audiences to get to experience our explosive cheering quite so authentically, but this time we were un-mic-ed and unleashed! As I mentioned in our June concert wrap-up blog, we need to be careful with our volume level when we're on the stage because microphones and headsets are sensitive bits of kit and we don't want to blow out anyone's eardrums with enthusiastic whooping. The 'loud environment' alert on my smartwatch was pinging me, so you know it was intense (I have it set to a 90dB threshold, for any tech nerds out there)!
It feels cruel of me to pick which solos to write about, because each and every soloist was phenomenal, without exception. I would like to shout out all of our newest soloists for knocking it out of the park with your vocals - congratulations to all of you! We were awestruck right from the first Hamilton solos, to the classics from My Fair Lady, the heart-wrenching Dear Evan Hansen numbers, the powerful vocals from Frozen 2, Jekyll and Hyde, and Wicked, to our Dolly Parton tribute from 9 to 5, and all the way through to the end.
"Suddenly Seymour" (Little Shop of Horrors) saw two of our super-talented chorus members tackling Audrey's role across the two nights - our Saturday night Audrey landed at the airport with just enough time to join us (that's the kind of commitment that shows how much we love doing this)! The Spamalot section was a real treat, with our soloists really letting their acting skills shine through alongside their powerful voices and hilarious comedic timing. We got to hear that well-known, super-long note in "Gethsemane" (Jesus Christ Superstar) performed to perfection, and an extra-special rendition of "Bring Him Home" (Les Misérables) in French, sung with a classical-style twist.
We got all the way through "What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?" (Fisherman's Friend) without cracking up at the... extremely enthusiastic... cueing from our MD. One amazing a capella wall of sound coming right up, and by the end of it the audience were on their feet and we were collapsing with laughter (us) and exhaustion (Katy). It's a good thing that number was deliberately placed at the end of Act One. We needed various forms of liquid revival after that workout.
Our "Time Warp" (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) had the audience joining in across both nights, because you absolutely cannot have a tribute to Tim Curry without waving your hands in the air! I can't think of a better way to end a concert like this than to have an audience really connect with us and feel able to have a good seat-dance.
I am not about to wrap up the recap section of this blog without giving a special mention to our very own Katy Bradley, who surprised us all with her solo slots and (as she usually does when this happens) broke all of our hearts and made us cry. In the best way possible.
There were lots of tears in general, to be honest with you! I won't name names of which chorus members are known criers... but trust us, even if the tears didn't escape our eyes, we felt those emotional songs in our bones. We had quite a lot of emotionally heavy moments in this set list, and so it feels very fitting that our concerts were also raising money for the mental health charity, Mind.
Mind offers mental health advice and support through its network of helplines, online support, and local Mind associations. Their help and information empowers people to understand mental health, access vital services, and aims to help people feel less alone in their journey. Mind is also a driving force behind many major campaigns to raise awareness of issues surrounding mental health, and calls for greater support for those affected by mental health struggles. We are so grateful to everyone who donated at our concerts - it is so important to keep these life-changing, life-saving services funded and available to those who may need them.
Thank you, from all of us, to our wonderful audiences across both nights, and to everyone involved behind the scenes at our venues and at KTB Music for making it all happen. This whole music thing is made so much better by being able to share it.
Written by Aeryn Isherwood