The Producers take to Shannon stage

SHANNON Musical Society brings Broadway to a local audience this month as they stage their 35th annual musical, The Producers.

 

The show tells the story of two producers eager to turn over a quick buck. Their get-rich-quick scheme sees them oversell interests in their Broadway musical and endeavour to ensure it is a flop in the hopes they can jet off to Rio with the proceeds.

The producers’ plan includes finding the worst play ever written, hiring the worst director in town, raising two million dollars, hiring the worst actors in New York, opening on Broadway and quickly closing production, so they can high-tail it to Rio with the cash.
Shannon Musical Society’s The Producers will run at St Patrick’s Comprehensive School from Sunday, February 10 to Saturday, February 16.

Dara Gough, chairperson of the society, explained why they chose to put on The Producers this year. “We put a lot of thought each year into picking a show. There are a lot of factors that we have to consider. We need to know it will be an audience pleaser, that we will be able to cast it and that there are a variety of parts, both male and female and that the members will enjoy the rehearsals.

“Once we pick our show, we then look for a director and musical director. We chose The Producers because of its entertainment qualities for our audience. The storyline is absolutely hilarious and we knew we would be able to cast it,” he said.

For this hilarious show, Shannon Musical Society welcomes back Oliver Hurley as director and choreographer, following a short break from the society. Oliver hails from Tralee and is an award-winning director and choreographer, renowned for his work with Siamsa Tire and the Rose of Tralee Festival. He is a familiar face to Shannon Musical Society, having directed many previous shows, his most recent one being Beauty and the Beast in 2010.

Resident musical director Carmel Griffin from Ennis is also behind this production, as is rehearsal and show pianist Rosemary Walsh.

“Aodán Fox, who plays Max, is an award-winning comedian, as is his side-kick Chris Willets, who plays Leo and is also a very accomplished actor and well known for his comedic roles. There are some great music and chorus numbers in this show, like I wanna be a Producer, Springtime for Hitler and Along Came Bialy, which is a chorus of little old ladies with zimmer frames. Another great number is Keep it Gay with Roger, played by Pa Hayes and his team. It will have the audience in hysterics,” Dara said.
Shannon Musical Society welcomes a new face to their leading line-up and Dara has described Pamela McGlynn as “absolutely perfect for the part of Ulla”.

“Pam comes from a family of entertainers with her sister, Jean, having starred in the West End in a number of productions and her brother is one of the famous Rubberbandits,” he said.
Other cast members include Eoin Sheedy in the role of Franz, while the role of Carmen will be played by Eoghan Rice, who joined Shannon Musical Society in 2011.

This show marks the 35th production for the society and Dara said it is a milestone for all those who have been involved over the years.
“We have been providing entertainment in Shannon for 35 years, which is a fantastic achievement and a milestone for the society and we pride ourselves in the calibre of show we put on year after year. We get great support and we can only hope that moving forward, we will still get the support of Shannon and the surrounding area,” he said.

As Shannon Musical Society looks to the future, Dara said it would be “a dream come true” to have a multipurpose venue in Shannon that would provide proper theatre facilities for all the different groups in Shannon that are involved in the arts.
Booking information for The Producers is available at Skycourt from next Monday.