The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The R.H. Channing Auditorium was packed over the weekend for the Flin Flon Community Choir's latest production, Follies. Performed Friday, Saturday, and yesterday afternoon, the musical told the story of a reunion of the "Ziegfeld" Follies girls at their old theatre on the eve of its demolition. The theatre is slated to become a parking lot. The production showed how talent in this town is unlimited. We, the people of the Flin Flon area, do not have to look far to find talented entertainment second to none. Just take Michelle Belfry, who was outstanding as Phyllis Rogers Stone, a woman going through a mid-life crisis and "looking for love in all the wrong places." Not only was Michelle's acting believable, her singing was superb as well. Then take Cindy Fahie, who has appeared in numerous shows but truly seemed in her element in this show. Her singing ability is well known, but her acting as Sally Durant Plummer was played so well, you'd have thought the part had been written just for Cindy. And then there was Tom Heine. His versatility and talent never cease to amaze the audiences he performs for. Tom played Sally's husband, Buddy Plummer, and he played the part so well, the audience couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He is no slouch as a singer either. And then we have Tim Spencer, who played Phyllis' husband, Benjamin Stone. I am certain many men in the audience could relate to his character, never quite being able to please his wife. Tim's performance was superb and enjoyed by everyone who saw it. Not to be outdone however were the young people who played these major characters as they were in their early careers. Stefanie Mitchell did a fantastic job playing young Sally, while Julian Kolt played the young Ben, Megan Lewis played young Phyllis, and Andrew Taylor played the young Buddy. These young people had such great stage presence and seemed to fit into the show so well. See 'Performances' P.# Con't from P.# They had obviously rehearsed a lot because they all had flawless performances. The cameo appearances of former Flin Flon Glee Club members Dorothy Liss (as Carlotta Campion) and Joyce Bongfeldt (Heidi Schiller) did not disappoint either. As usual these ladies were great and it was a real treat to see them back on stage. Penny Grove as Solange Lafitte, Mary Lou Spooner as Stella Deems, Lori Suss as Meredith Lane, and Susan Lethbridge as Hattie Walker, also put on incredible performances. Brad McDougall and Cheryl Anderson definitely deserve some kind of award for their choreography in this show. They had the dancers performing like they had danced all their lives. The Hapnot students who danced were so good that they looked like professional dancers. Hats off to Heather Bergin, Alec Davis, Rachelle Davis, Meagan Hall, Paige Harper, Jelissa Kerfont, Katryn Kolt, Sara Lawrence, Megan Lewis, Stefanie Mitchell, Marianne Pettersen, Andrea Stelnicki, and Vanessa Wintoneak. The word on the street after the production was very positive, especially regarding the addition of the music students from the University of Brandon. The students joined Mark Kolt, Paul Bergman, Dave Gunn, Eric Bergman, Cheryl Allen, Lisa Aune and Kyle Whitehead to give the production a symphonic sound. We also can't forget a group who spends most of the production in the shadows, but who also practice many hours to fill in, in the background, and that is the rest of the members of the community choir. Hats of to you as well as you sounded great. To the costuming, stage design, hair and makeup people, your time spent was very obvious and certainly had a major affect on the whole production. Some of the comments on the street included "awesome," "fantastic," and "such talent." It would be mind boggling to consider how much this production would have cost if the cast directors, musicians and choir had been paid for their time for rehearsals not to mention the performances! One thing is for sure, choir directors Crystal and Mark Kolt would be spending their winters on the Riviera or some such exotic place! All in all, the general consensus was fantastic. Bravo.
