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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Some of the most famous scenes from Broadway graced the R.H. Channing Auditorium stage as the Flin Flon Community Choir pulled off yet another first-rate production. Broadway Musicals New York Won't Let Us Do, Yet! delighted a sellout crowd last Saturday, Jan. 21, with select pieces from nine renowned musicals. 'We always agonize over the musicals that we want to do that we can't do, and make calls to New York and make calls to England and try to get permission to do these musicals,' said Crystal Kolt, who served as director, producer and conductor. 'So we thought it would be really fun to do parts of medleys.' And what fun it was as the audience of nearly 400 took in vignettes from the likes of Mamma Mia!, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Thrown in for good measure were memorable bits from Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Company, Rock of Ages and the Monty Python-inspired comedy Spamalot. 'Awesome' 'I thought it was awesome,' said Harry Hobbs, who took in the performance. 'I liked the excellent music, I liked how they dramatized parts of the stories.' As with other Community Choir efforts, the show was as much a treat for the ears as it was for the eyes. In a piece from Company, young vocalists Kevin Imrie and Julian Kolt looked positively charming _ no pun intended _ in their old-style prince garb. And the bright pink bell bottoms of Kim Jones, Kristen Imrie and Anna Jardine brought the '70s back to life during their excerpt from Mamma Mia!. For Kolt, whose body was one with the music as she conducted, there was no single highlight. 'The truth of the matter is that there was such variety that I think it moved nicely from beginning to end,' she said. 'I don't think there was one particular favourite, and I think that's the truth by the reaction of the community, because people have been telling me what their favourite parts are (and each has been different).' The rights to many of these famed musicals are restricted, not approved for a Flin Flon performance. Kolt has spent over a decade, for instance, trying to secure Les Miserables. But fortunately for Saturday's audience, there are no limits on performing only choice scenes. 'I thought it was a really fun selection of material to show the community,' Kolt said. Kolt took particular delight in seeing younger members of the local music scene get another chance to shine under the spotlight. 'And they're so talented,' she said. 'These people who are joining (the choir), like Katrina (Windjack), Julian (Kolt) and Kevin (Imrie), the 30 Below (singing group). It's just uplifting for the whole Community Choir.' The culmination of nearly four months of rehearsals, the show reinforced Flin Flon's reputation as the Broadway of northern Manitoba. And judging by the level of talent and interest in the show, it won't be _ or certainly should not be _ long before the full versions of these musicals hit the R.H. Channing Auditorium.
