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The Bohemians are a local musical theatre group that have been in existence for over a hundred years. There show was a mix of over 20 items split into two halves separated by an interval. Around 20 singers took to the stage under the leadership of musical director and piano accompanist Peter Robinson.

The selection came from a wide range of musicals. They were performed individually, as duets or collectively. A number of the individual singers in the first half did struggle to meet the demands of the songs particularly in the higher register. Nevertheless, contributions from Peter Tomassi in a Broadway Melody and Alison Wood in ‘Leave You’ from Follies (Sondheim) were performed with flair and good humour as was ‘Alto’s Lament’ (Goldrich). This last piece involved six of the female singers and presented convincingly.

The collective medleys in the second half were performed with a rich full sound including ‘ A New Tomorrow’ composed by Peter Robinson, ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story (Bernstein) and their rousing finale ‘Rhythm of Life’ from Sweet Charity (Coleman).

The company have a production of ‘Singing in the Rain’ planned for late March 2010 in the King’s Theatre which would be worth a visit.

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Musical Magic

Company: -  Bohemian Light Opera Company

Venue: -      St Andrew's & St George's Church V 111

Dates: - 26 & 27 August 2009 

Times: - 19.30 to 21.30

Fringe Programme Page:  p 173