Rosebowl Review : Friday 12 December 2003

It was lovely to see something new in the musical field, here we had a cleverly designed composite set, which with fine work by the stage crew and lighting team, provided a variety of different sets swiftly and smoothly. The chorus slipped in completely unobtrusively and they in turn dressed the set very effectively. Throughout the evening in fact, the way in which characters, whether they were individuals or the full chorus, came in and out of the stage, was a credit to the director who had obviously organised them on what is not the easiest of acting areas to manage. The simple but very effective way in which the prow of the ship was depicted underlined the quality of the set design. A well staged finale with once again fine part harmonies brought this thoughtful production to a close in the same well organised manner that the entire production had shown throughout the evening. There was little doubt that the director had great faith in this show and passed this love of the material on to the company. The musical director, whose work throughout was a joy, must have been of tremendous assistance to all concerned whether they were singing or dancing.

Karl Stossel (9)

Young Karl was a young man who know exactly the sort of character that he was going to depict, and having set off on that course was not going to be deviated by anyone else around him. There was a very realistic feel to the relationship between yourself and Father and a rather more friendly open relationship between yourself and his crew. Those final moments of Act One along with Mother summed up very much your ambitions and in Act Two the duet between yourself and Alma was first class.

Karl Stossel (15)

When you had an opportunity to burst into song, you took it extremely well, you had just the right amount of cockiness in your attitude to your Father's crew that a 15 year old would have

Gustav Stossel

There was always the feeling that you belonged to an older generation than Peter and Alma and this was skilfully done. You had just the right amount of aches and pains. Two things seemed to exude from your character, that of the wisdom that comes with experience and age, and your great sympathy towards other people's problems. The "except our pleasures and pain" speech also underlined the sincerity of this character. A well rounded, completely believable character strongly and sincerely played

Alma Stossel

There was a warmth about your Alma that made her the sort of person that you would feel that you could go to with any troubles or problems that you had in life. With your neat appearance, all your wardrobe suited you extremely well and I loved those sensible black shoes and just slightly severe hairstyle. It really did look like a partnership of the husband and wife between yourself and Peter, and the relationship with Gustav and with Karl was also equally well drawn. A performance of considerable quality.

Peter Stossel

You have to play the character as it fits in with the other characters within the storyline, and this you did very well indeed. I really did get the feeling every time you and Karl came together that you were that partnership, Father and Son. You were given a splendid opportunity to show off your vocal prowess with the song about the Christmas Tress ("When I look at You") and you took the opportunity readily. The partnership with Alma, both vocally and dramatically, also came to fruition early on in the piece and was sustained throughout. The character you created made Peter into the sort of person that all those who worked for him, or loved him, would have trusted completely.

Martha

There may be fewer opportunities to create a strong character with Martha compared to Alma, but this didn't prevent you from making a very distinct impression upon us as to what sort of lady we were dealing with. What was so good about this performance was the fact that whether you were part of a large scene or whether you had individual dialogue, here was a character that never faded from view. There was an honesty about the way in which you created the character of Martha and there was great skill in the way in which you sustained it throughout the evening.

Schooner's Crew

Between your dress and the way in which you moved, I really did get the feeling that here were four men who were used to being on board ship and could have handled themselves in all wind and weathers. When the opportunity came for you to show off your prowess, either vocally or in movement, then you certainly were not backward in coming forward. There were some lovely bits of bi-play between the four of you and also, of course, once you got into Chicago, with the inhabitants of the town. The "Hardwater Sailors" number with Karl was excellent. Individually and as a quartet, here were four people who can only be described as a great asset to the production.

Storytellers

I described the four members of the crew as being a great asset to the production and you can say that the storytellers, and the vast majority of the other characters that appeared in this production, were also a tremendous asset. Throughout the production there were interesting and entertaining cameos being produced time after time. When you have a great many people on stage like this it can begin to look very messy, but it didn't on this occasion. Everyone looked as if they knew exactly where they were going and the sort of pattern they were hoping to create. Perhaps the easiest way to underline how good the contribution was from all the other characters what were brought into play, would be to mention the little girl with her bonnet, cape and gloves. Her few moments with Alma were an absolute delight.