THE WITCHES of Eastwick, running at the Webster Memorial Theatre until tomorrow (Saturday), ticked all the boxes for me.
It was also gratifying to see many of the tremendous new facilities at the theatre being put to good use.

Some great songs, much great singing, a plot that even I could follow, moments of great hilarity, and quite unexpected special effects.
Arbroath Musical Society and producer James Hutcheson are to be congratulated in choosing this adaptation of a John Updyke novel.

Eastwick is a small American town of 7,680 souls, most of whom are under the moral thumb of Mrs Felicia Gabriel, wife of the newspaper proprietor, Clyde Gabriel, who hangs on her every word. Felicia is shrill, aggressively bespectacled, demanding and leader of the community.

And so to the witches: Alexandra Spofford; Jane Smart; and Sukie Rougemont.
Three characters, diverse and divorced, and wishing for a perfect man. Before going on to how their wish comes true, let me say that as soon as these three, either collective or singly, start to sing, magic fills the air. They are brilliant. It is marvellous to be at a show and relax in the certain knowledge that what is about to follow will be brilliant.

Magic of a blacker nature suddenly appears in town, in the perfectly cast shape Darryl Van Horne, who has just moved in from New York with seduction on his mind. The ladies fall, one by one, as he sings the same song to each.
There is a sub-plot, as Alex’s son, Michael falls for the Gabriels’ daughter, Jennifer. Their romance blossoms, fades, dies – and gets involved in the happy ending.

There is one other principal – Fidel, Van Horne’s faithful, but entirely gormless servant. He knows how to avoid overplaying a part that is getting laughs, and congratulations to him for that, and the fact that the audience loved him!
But do the ‘witches’ really have magical powers? Well … it really appears that they do, prompted by Van Horne, and able to make Felicia produce all sorts of bizarre things from her mouth
.
Mention should also be made of the youngest character, who sang beautifully about Chicken Licken as a moral prologue before some of the scenes. She ended her appearances in a way that echoed Monty Python. I won’t tell you – go and see it!

This is a moral play about some very immoral goings-on. The immoral bits were hilarious, and the moral bits left you feeling good.

There is a wedding at the end, but whose will it be? Well ... again good triumphs over evil and the witches are free of Van Horne … or are they? The unanimous opinion in the car on the way home was that the troubles of the three witches are far from over!

Among the best songs included ‘Make Him Mine’, by the witches; and ‘Dirty Laundry’ by the wee wifies of the town. Sukie’s ‘Words, Words, Words’ is also well worth paying attention to.

We must not forget the excellent orchestra, under the baton of Richard Allan.

Written by: Gordon W Cook

 

Kindly Reproduced in an abridged format by permission of Arbroath Herald
Original Article: Arbroath Herald Friday 14th February 2009. Arbroath Herald