Vintage

Director Michael Huntington
Production Assistant Lorraine Stiller
Musical Director Louise Langley
Choreographer Emma Taylor
Stage Manager Wendy Bowsher

in 2002 HAODS celebrated 80 years of producing musicals and play in Henley. The year 2002 started with Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and now we are proud and privileged to bring you, The Merry Widow, which is without doubt one of the best loved and well known of all operettas. The Merry Widow was first staged in Vienna in 1905 and was an immediate success, taking the whole of Europe by storm within a few years. 1906 saw the first London production  

It tells the story of political manoeuvrings at the Pontevedrian Embassy. The newly widowed Ann Glavari has been left 20 million by her late husband. This constitutes almost the total assets of the Pontevedrian Bank! If she marries a foreigner the money will leave the bank and the State will be bankrupt. Charged with preventing this catastrophe is the worthy Count Danilo. Danilo and Anna are former lovers but they were forbidden to marry by his aristocratic uncle when she was poor. Now he is too proud to marry her because she is rich! Such a stubborn man! Danilo has never married because he stills loves Anna desperately, spending his time amongst the ladies of Maxim's. There is much conniving by the Baron Zeta and his flirtatious wife Valencienne who strangely proffers her lover Camille as a suitor. Anna is caught in a compromising situation in a summerhouse with Camille, which causes Danilo to be profoundly jealous, much to Anna's delight A charming tale of intrigue and mistaken identity unfolds, however love triumphs in the end and they all live happily ever after. Come along and enjoy an evening of glamour and romance, listen to the enrapturing music of Lehár with such melodies as the Merry Widow Waltz, Vilia, A Highly Respectable Wife, Summer Romanza and see the Grisettes, the luscious ladies of Paris's most famous nightspot, Maxim's.

Cast

Baron Zeta Clive Berry
Valencienne Liz Wells
Anna Julie Huntington
Count Danilo Michael Rice
Camille Mark Williams
Cascada Alex Andrade
St Brioche Steve Corless
Bogdanovitch Alan Rothery
Sylvia Jane Taylor
Pritsch John Reeves
Praskovia Melba Pitt
Kromov Bill Port
Olga Jan Beyts
Njegus Terry Rymer
Blasitoff Neil Allan
Countess La Scala Sabrina Amato
Daphne d'Waltz Lynn Clarkson
Magda Moskovia Madeline Dowden
Lady Mohair Jo Farr
Mme Sapphire Jacqui Haigh
Kruger John Horsburgh
Senorina Sucre Hazel Robinson
Mme Mercure Cherry Tyler
Blondostivaych Jeni Wood
Sabu Alice Bowen
Servant Laura Snellgrove
Maitre d'Hotel David Parsonson

Dancers

Sarah Greenwood
Wendy Bowsher
Ann Burley
Kathryn Buchard
Jackie Snellgrove
Hannah Snellgrove
Anna Carter-Windle
Lynn Clarkson

Lighting

Derek Gilbert

Lighting Assistants

Sam Scottorn, Simon Petch

Sound

Bruce Smith

Costumes

Jane Shaw,
Julie Huntington

Wardrobe Assistants

Penny Lindley, Rachel Barnett, Jenny Haywood, Jan Massey. Kate Massey, Beryl Vaux, Sarah Lloyd, Gill Coe, Kay Macara,+ many more who helped each night with 'the quick change!'

Make-up

Kate Carter-Windle

Properties

Pauline Smith, Sue Brosnan

Hair

Hazel West-Manning

Prompt

Pat Dixon

Set Design

Mike Huntington

Assistant Stage Manager

Jackie Haigh

Crew

Piers Carey, Louisa Shearer, Chris Tapp, Tom Campbell, Barrie Scott, Peter Comer, Ioan Havard

Orchestra

The Pontevedrian Players

Conductor Louise Langley
First Volin Giles Wade
Second Violin Jenny Barnes
Cello Gillian Wilmhurst
Flute Pauline Griffiths
Clarinet Martin Hayward
Trumpet Clive King
Trumpet Kevin Ransom
Trombone David Steptoe
Keyboard & Oboe Toby Cruse
Bass June Holt
Percussion Paul Craggs

Show Review

THE MERRY WIDOW produced by HAODS at The Kenton Theatre

19th-27th April 2002

Review from Henley Standard 26th April 2002

HAODS produced a glittering show for the Midnight Matinee Charity performance of The Merry Widow, in their 80th anniversary year.

The show opened at the Pontevedrian Embassy as the guests celebrated the Duke's birthday. Consternation was caused by the arrival of the Merry Widow; would she marry an outsider and bankrupt the State? The answer lay with an old love of her life the Count Danilo. Would they eventually marry? The result was of course only settled in the last act in true operetta style.

This is a well-known and loved musical and HAODS played and sang it to perfection. The principals were all well cast and sang in the best traditions of operettas. The music of Franz Lehar makes the show, and the orchestra, conducted by Louise Langley, was one of the finest I have heard at the Kenton.

The two main leads, Anna Glavari, played by HAODS stalwart Julie Huntington and Count Danilo Danilovitch, played by new-comer to the Kenton, Michael Rice, were excellent. Julie's voice and range as ever was of the highest quality. Michael Rice is a true find for HAODS; his voice has a lilting quality, which totally caught the mood of the show. Their singing of the Merry Widow Waltz was for me one of the highlights. Mark Williams played Camille, who is in love with the Baron's wife Valencienne, played by another newcomer Liz Wells. These two have first-rate operatic voices and both used them to perfection, especially in the haunting Romance.

Clive Berry, as Baron Zeta and Terry Rymer as Njegus provided some fine humour in their roles, Clive's singing as always was excellent. Alex Andrade as Cascada and Steve Corless as St. Brioche were great fun as they vied for the Widow's hand. Jan Beyts, Jane Taylor, and Melba Pitts as Olga, Sylvia, and Praskovia provided some excellent middle European accents — Bill Port's was a delight! But did I detect a little Scottish thrown in for good measure?

The chorus all performed well, with some lovely cameo roles, especially David Parsonson, the camp waiter and a delightful Alice Bowen as Sabu.

There were several very good dancing routines, especially the Grisettes can-can, well done Emma Taylor. This was very colourful and a lot of fun. The set was made up of Art Nouveau motifs, with a simple white background, the colour being provided by Derek Gilbert with some very imaginative lighting.

Special mention must be made of the performance of Vilia, the song all Merry Widow devotees go to hear —this was a showstopper. The lighting effects painted an emotive scene, with Anna and the chorus combining to give us a glorious performance of this true classic.

To sum up the stunning show, I congratulate Michael Huntington and the HAODS team for a delightful evening.