Seven Brides For Seven Brother a musical of which I had no knowledge whatsoever no idea what the plot, songs, or anything to do with the show were but the name rang a bell. Therefore I went to this production expecting to be entertained and should you be in the same boat as me....the good news is that you will be!

 The Wild West - full of American accents, cowboy hats and wood huts for houses. Also home to a family of 7 rather rough, un-polite, brothers. One of which wants a wife, and quite simply in typical musical fashion goes to find one, and does within the first song! She then, as all musical women would do, goes back to his house in the mountains and finds out he has 6 brothers. She then attempt to train them in some etiquette, so that they can go to the town social to find wives, not exactly rocket science is this plot!

 The extremely large cast seem to bond as the families in question, the acting style was certainly melodramatic with over excadurated movements and facial expressions which at times made it seem rather amateur. You certainly felt that the cast were having fun on stage, dancing and running, in the usual energetic performance you would expect from such a young team of performers. There were some lines lost through the American accents especially in the opening sequence when the characters where husky voiced mountain men. However this didn’t effect the plot being conveyed to the audience…but then its not the most difficult one to follow! The music was varied and had a nice feeling of fun within every song, unfortunately it didn’t seem to hold the classic the number that find yourself singing on the way home. The harmonies worked extremely well, and in most cases solos well projected and clear.  Shona Lindsay playing Milly was very strong in both vocal and stage presence, the sort of person who always made interesting watching, even if they were not the center of attention. Although the play was reliant on her role, she didn’t fail and defiantly helped to carry the show. The whole cast performed brilliantly in the long and varied dance routines with Joe Smith as Gideon standing out with his gymnastic abilities. Dave Willetts, a seasoned pro in theatre having played leads in both Les Miserables and Phantom Of The Opera was commendable, he had a strong voice, a good grasp of his character and seemed to enjoy every second on the stage, which defiantly made you as an audience member enjoy his performance.

 The story made the costumes and set limited, but they achieved some good overall effects within these limitations. The set was ever changing from different varieties of wooden shabby buildings all reliant on central buildings making different forms, although there was the slight trouble of very wobbly walls! The costumes were colourful and gave the show a more fairy tale feel, that every musical needs. The costumes certainly made it easier to tell the 7 brides and the 7 brothers apart which was vital during the big dance numbers when they are a collective.

 The production did though have the feel of an amateur performance, not to say it wasn’t professional, there was obvious money there being used in set and design that an amateur group wouldn’t have. What I am saying is that there were little things that made you feel you could be watching this at your local village hall. There was a case of a very wobbly set, you noticed members of the cast signaling of stage, and at one point one of the dancers was on the opposite foot to all the others. 

Overall this show certainly fulfilled the objective of a fun musical that all ages will enjoy. If you are looking for an action packed, fun, colourful, basically a old fashioned enjoyable musical, then I suggest you give ‘7 Brides for 7 Brothers’ a chance.

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