“THAT’S SHOWBIZ” A HUGE HIT in the Clarke Memorial Hall Borrisokane
Packed houses and standing ovations were the order of the day in the Clarke Memorial Hall last weekend for the very first presentation from the newly-formed Kidz Onstage. Entitled “That’s Showbiz” it was a fast-moving and hugely entertaining variety show with music, song, comedy and dance of many different styles, in the true variety tradition. Opening with the senior group’s “Another Opening, Another Show” from Kiss Me Kate, the show got off to a very lively start with lovely dancing, singing and colourful costumes, with a solo by Michael Carroll. Next we had a female trio with Ronan Keating’s “When You Say Nothing At All” which was very well performed. After this we had a hilarious comedy sketch entitled the “Blarney Stone” which brought great laughter from the audience.
The middle group presented a beautiful scene from Oliver, with suitable costumes and great singing, especially from Fagin and Oliver. They were joined by the senior group for a colourful “Who Will Buy?”. Next was a very funny recitation by Laura McCarthy of the Percy French classic “Och I Dunno”, followed by one of the highlights of the night “The End Of A Lollipop” performed brilliantly by Gillian Craig, Katie Foley and Rachel Finn. This was well costumed and the facial expressions from the girls were hilarious! Next another sketch, the Borrisokane Fashion Show, where all the participants had to obtain at least one item of clothing free. All of them happened to get that item from a certain John Smith….much to the amusement of the audience a young boy made his way up the hall at the end wearing only a bucket, and declaring that he was “John Smith”!
Another highlight was the Infants group who brought the first half to a close with a scene entitled And So To Bed. Dressed in bedtime clothes and holding their favourite cuddly toy, these kids really endeared themselves to the audience, and probably brought many people back in time with such favourites as “Half Way Up The Stairs”, “Morningtown”, “The Grand Old Duke Of York” and “At The End Of The Day”. They performed fearlessly and with great confidence for children so young and got a huge ovation from the audience.
The 2nd half commenced with an atmospheric scene from the hit musical “Cats”. As the cats crept through the audience in excellent costumes and moody lighting the scene developed with “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats”, Bustopher Jones (Ciara Brannigan) and a heart-felt rendition of Memory by Sarah Ryan. This scene was followed by a song from the turn of the last century (composed in 1894 !) called I Don’t Want To Play In Your Yard (Two Little Maids) and was beautifully sung by Kila Howe and Ava Brophy. Next Maeve Hogan gave a humorous rendition of Pam Ayre’s poem “I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth” and following this we had an “Irish Corner” where a lovely slow air was played by Aisling Vaughan-Witts on the violin and she was then joined by Roisin Kirwin (violin) for a toe-tapping reel. Tegan Craig told us a little bit about the tragic story of Jack Doyle (The Gorgeous Gael) and a song in his honour, The Contender, was then sensitively performed by a singing group.
Beautiful dancing by Ashleigh Donnelly and Michelle Carroll told the story of The Shoemaker’s Shop, with John Lennon mending the shoes! Then the last comedy of the night which once again was hilarious, as Tegan Craig as an American tourist met her match in Paddy (Michael Carroll) fishing by the river! All the senior group got the finale off to a rousing start with There’s No Business Like Showbusiness and they were joined for a roof-lifting curtain call by the middle and infants group, who altogether presented a rousing and colourful finale to a super night’s entertainment.
This first production of Kids Onstage augers well for the future of live performances and live entertainment in Borrisokane. We have the splendid hall and stage, and now it seems we have a group of kids who hopefully will be encouraged and fostered for future years. This production was entertaining, professional, lively and colourful. It moved at a cracking pace, and was greatly enhanced by the work of all the people behind the scenes, not least the lighting team. It was obvious that many long hours of rehearsal had gone into this and Phil Quigley and her team can be very proud of the end product. Well done to the wonderful children in particular. DVDs of the show (€10) may be ordered from Robert Carroll (086-8152325).
CAST: Shane Dunne, Amy Dunne, Amy Sullivan, Joshua Chadwick, Keelan Ducie, Ben Lewis, Ella Quinlan, Olivia Moroney, Aoibhinn Kirwin, Hayley Comerford, Saidhbh Brannigan, Katie Foley, Orla Fogarty, Gillian Craig, Leah Madden, Darragh Hough, Nathan Moroney, Sinead O’Dwyer, Kila Howe, Ava Brophy, Rachel Finn, Tara Lillis, Ciara Brannigan, Laura McCarthy, Roisin Kirwin, Tegan Craig, Audrey Donnelly, Aoife Crowe, Sarah Ryan, Ciara McKenna, John Lennon, Aisling Vaughan-Witts, Michael Carroll, Maeve Hogan, Ashleigh Donnelly, Michelle Carroll.
Producer: Phil Quigley, Musical Director: Kevin Carroll Stage: Michael Slevin, Pat Fox, Gay Hackett, Tony Brehon Lighting: Tony Brehon Stage Manager: Antoinette Lillis Backstage: Miriam Lewis, Maria Hogan, Danielle Lewis, Sharon Dunne, Laura McKenna, Erin McLoughlin, Declan Dunne, Aisling McKenna, Julie Brennan, Microphones: Maria Hogan, Costumes: Gerardine Wisdom, Percussion: P.J. Power, Backing Vocals: Gillian McKenna, Maggie Sullivan, Leanne Tooher, Aoife Vaughan-Witts, P.R.O.: Nicola McKenna, Front of House: Nicola McKenna, Tara Quigley, MC: Darragh McKenna, Dermot McDermott.
