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THE MERRY WIDOW
Wimborne Musical Theatre Society
Tivoli Theatre
Wimborne
May 2002

TO give the title role in your annual production to someone who has never before taken part in a show, let alone had a principal part, might be considered foolhardy. Nonetheless, WMTS took that risk with Heather Pretlove and she repaid them handsomely with a performance that was nothing short of magnificent, blending a superb voice with perfect diction, masses of charm and warmth and an excellent characterisation.
Roy Joseph’s well-paced production excelled in other ways too, with beautiful sets and costumes, good chorus work and plenty of attention to detail. The orchestra (musical director David East) played well and Suzi Mollet’s choreography worked a treat. There were lots of innovative touches, and I particularly liked the dancing ‘nymph of the night’ during the Vilia number.
In a strong principal line-up there was a palpable chemistry between the Widow and Danilo, a fine, sincere performance by Brian Oliver. Sharron Pearcy was a bubbly Valencienne and Richard Quain made an impressive debut as her toyboy lover, Camille, while Michael Lofthouse showed just the right amount of gravitas as Baron Zeta, contrasting well with Phil Evans’ delighfully camp Njegus, his aide. There were lovely cameos too in smaller roles.
A production to be proud of.

Linda Kirkman
Courtesy of the Bournemouth Daily Echo
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