CLOSER THAN EVER

Having expected a medley of all those old Broadway classics like New York New York, I was pleasantly surprised by the originality of the songs in this production. They combine the showy Broadway style with insightful, and often comic, lyrics.
Staging this kind of production at The Old Fire Station cannot have been an easy task. Somehow the venue just does not have the size and atmosphere to grasp that ‘showbiz’ feel that needs to accompany a musical. However, despite the limitations, Sound Of Muzak Productions presents an engaging, if not faultless performance.
There is no continuous story to Closer than Ever. Rather, it is a collection of songs which each tell their own short story. As a result we get a succession of brief glimpses into mundane, bizarre, traumatised, always quirky, human lives. We realise that the only thing that links these existences is that they are human, and thus these songs are imbued with those fundamental themes that run through all human lives - love, sex, life, death...
The cast sing together, as well as performing a mixture of duets and solos. The real star of the show is Charli Hendley, who has a fantastic voice and acts with real flair. She clearly enjoyed every minute of her solo as Miss Byrd, and made the song a highlight of the whole show. Teaming up with Olivia Tebbutt and Abigail Charters, the three girls perform a great Three Friends with some very skilled choreography (the choreography was excellent throughout). The entertaining There’s Nothing Like it, an amusing and rather bizarre song about the rigours of exercise, is flamboyantly performed by the whole cast who attempt aerobics with towels around their shoulders. Phil Gault too, has a powerful voice, although his only other male counterpart, Stephen Willey, is a disappointingly weak voice within an otherwise talented group. Finally, of course, the musicians; a laid-back, late-night-bar style pianist fitted appropriately with the style of music, and a cool double bass.
For light entertainment, this is certainly watchable.

Jane L.