Calendar Girls sparked a global phenomenon: over a million copycat calendars, a record-breaking movie, a stage play, and a musical written by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow. This week it plays at the Milton Keynes Theatre.
The cast of this new production of Calendar Girls the Musical includes recent stars from Coronation Street and EastEnders (Amy Robbins and Tanya Franks), three recording stars whose hit records have approached nearly 70 million in sales (Lyn Paul with The New Seekers, Maureen Nolan with The Nolans and musical theatre star Marti Webb), the co-star of one of TV’s most popular series of the last twenty years (Honeysuckle Weeks of Foyles War), and Paula Tappenden star of Blood Brothers.
The musical, based on a true story, revolves around a group of ordinary women from a small Women's Institute in Yorkshire, known as the Calendar Girls. They gather regularly to engage in activities such as making jam, baking cakes, arranging flowers, listening to guest speakers, and singing the hymn Jerusalem. However, following the loss of one of their beloved husbands, they decide to support a charitable cause by creating an artistic nude calendar to raise funds. Their efforts break through social restraints, inspire many, and prove to be successful.
After being impressed by the intriguing storyline and star-studded cast (John Alderton, Julie Walters and Helen Mirren) of the film, I had high expectations for the musical but sadly I ultimately left disappointed.
The set of a community hall of the Women's Institute transforms into a hospital waiting room at various points and eventually becomes the conference hall for the Women's Institute.
The photo shoot should have been a crucial part of the story, where I anticipated feeling a strong sense of female empowerment and a celebration of beauty, regardless of one’s age or body shape.. The use of iced buns, flowers, and knitting needles with balls of wool was strategic in avoiding any explicit exposure. However, despite this, the overall effect was underwhelming and lacked the desired impact.
It's often the music that really lifts a show and with such a name behind it (one I particularly admire) I expected to leave singing the songs, but they were unremarkable.
I heard through the grapevine that the cast weren’t particularly well and maybe this explains why although this was an inspiring story, the cast struggled with their songs, the characters' friendships lacked depth, and the plot was slow without clear direction.
This wasn’t the worst night ever, but it wasn’t the best for me either, and there were a lot of people in the audience who did enjoy the evening.
Shahnaz (Shiny) Hussain - Arts Reviewer
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