The Boyfriend - A Review By Rebecca Stirling | Henley Operatic Society - HAODS - Drama at its very best | Played, His, Show, Were, Her - Henley Operatic Society - HAODS

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The Boyfriend - A Review By Rebecca Stirling

Written by Rebecca Stirling

I scheme about, I dream about and I've been known to scream about ' that certain thing called The Boyfriend! And that is exactly what I was doing when I left the Kenton theatre last Thursday after watching a production of Sandy Wilson's The Boyfriend, performed by that talented bunch in Henley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society. I was supposed to attend the ever-popular Sunday matinee but got my dates wrong! However, judging by the audience, the word about how good the show was had got about as I was lucky to get a seat.

The Boyfriend was originally written in 1952 as a pastiche of musical shows of the 1920's and only lasted an hour and a half. But when author Sandy Wilson realised he had a hit on his hands, he expanded it to a full length show and it has been delighting audiences since 1954.

The story is the simplest ' and probably the silliest as the action takes place over the course of one day and culminates in the return of the prodigal son, the reunion of long lost lovers and no less than five proposals of marriage! It revolves around Polly Browne, the original "poor little rich girl", played by Helen Eastwood, with a divine voice, and her school chums, Maisie, the incorrigible flirt, played by Samantha Horsfield, (and at last a sexy Maisie, so we believe that all the boys are in love with her!) Dulcie, played by the delightful Emma Powell, Fay, played by the elegant Ruth Jones and deliciously dippy Nancy played to perfection by Daisy O'Halloran. These girls were obviously having a great time together and were so together as a cast, I instantly believed in them all. (Silly me!) The girls are attending The Villa Caprice, a

finishing school in the South of France run by Madame Dubonnet, the reformed good time girl who has buried her seething passion under an austere black skirt and up to the neck white blouse, but is secretly still dedicated to having a good time. This character was played faultlessly by Julie Huntington and for me, was the definitive Madame Dubonnet. Mme D's love interest, Percival Browne was played with suitable stiff upper lip by Gareth Saunders and again I believed in these two characters at once, he being the perfect foil to her advances.

Then ' along comes 'The Boyfriend' and what a delightful character he was. So obviously different from the brash French jeune hommes. Edward Henderson playing Tony, captured the hearts of the audience as well as Polly, with his gentle manner and balletic skills. It was a shame he was not allowed to let rip with his tap dancing as I would have loved to have seen more.

It is a marvel to me that even with the casting difficulties that this show has encountered ' the usual story of no young men, that the love interests for the girls ' three of whom were late-comers to the show, all fitted in seamlessly, so they must have worked very hard indeed, all had great French accents, which was countered excellently by the brash Bobby Van Husen, played by John Ralls, with his faultless American accent. Congratulations to David Holmes, Kevin Goodfellow, Pete Bridekirk and Tom O'Halloran.

However, there is always someone who steals the show, and for me it was the licentious Lord Brockhurst, played with great intent by Basil Evans. It is his first time in the South of France, rather than Bognore and let loose with all the young ladies was just too much for him. His antics at trying to ditch his battleaxe wife Hilda, played terrifyingly by Annette Bowden were hilarious! His duet 'Never too late to Fall in Love' with Dulcie still makes me giggle even now. Other highlights of the show were the tango performed by Pepe, and Lolita ' who also doubled as Maisie and Marcel and the show-stopping 'Poor Little Pierette', a difficult duet executed to perfection by Mdme D and Polly, with the voices blending and soaring perfectly.

The costumes were excellent especially the wonderful array of fancy dress at the Carnival Ball. The music and choreography were top notch, so congratulations to Marc Pizer the Musical Director and David Parsonson for the choreography, but full marks have to go to director Raymond Burton, who squeezed every ounce of humour out of very little dialogue. Well done, HAODS, for once more putting on a show to be proud of.

Rebecca Stirling

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