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Cowboys - and girls - down the social
Home on the . . . working mens' club: Carol (Ally Holmes) and Annie (Faye Tozer) dance into line. Rhinestone Mondays
Wolverhampton Grand ****
JOE Graham's Rhinestone Mondays opens with a ‘wow' and never
drops the
pace from that
moment
on. This
is a show about ‘love, life … and line
dancing' and is laced with great
country and western hits, some with unexpected comic interpretations.
We get to
know, and become fond of, the eight well-defined characters very
quickly. Anthony
Topham as
Tom opens with
Dance the Night Away
and shows us he has a few delectable moves.
Shaun Williamson is Brian, the owner of the Warbleswick Working Men's
Club, whose business is drying up due to local competition from the
Munching Mule. He hopes things will improve when the line dancing
group start meeting at WWMC on Monday nights, but sadly no-one's
drinking. Williamson is not only a good character player but a
damned good songster to boot. He also provides one of the finest
comedy moments with Stand By Your Man. This is also a tale of two lonely hearts brought together through the under-subscribed line-dancing club. Dance teacher and single mum Annie (Faye Towser) has been around a bit (Guys Do It All The Time).
Divorced-but-settled, karaoke king, Tom is Brian's friend and most
faithful (perhaps only) customer. Tom and Annie hit if off but
there are awkward misunderstandings along the way. For anyone
who has frequented an old-fashioned working men's club, Sara Perks' set
captures the very essence of a run-down example, a crumbling bastion of
the Club & Institute Union, the CIU.
You
can almost smell the beer-stained tables, and the stair carpet hasn't
seen a vacuum for many a month. She also manages to capture an
element of romance with the starlit balcony (It's
Four in the Morning). Ally
Holmes who plays the dipsy Carol choreographed the show. The
dancing is understated and very well executed by everyone; including the
audience for Achy Breaky Heart.
Lyn
Paul, with her model girl figure and great voice plays vamp Sophie.
Phil Pritchard is the suitably, geeky and uptight Ronald (It's
Monday, call me Clint”).
Ian H Watkins plays Duncan, the only gay in the club with great fun and
conviction and Pauline Fleming is unrecognisable as flatulent Mary with
sets of false teeth for all occasions. Overall,
everyone is in good voice with great country songs, an uncomplicated
story line, authentic set, understated line-dancing and a giant cactus.
There is much amusement and laughter along the way and a happy ending. I am sworn
to secrecy but, even my die-hard rocker husband was cajoled into a few
little line dancing steps for the finale. This, by the way, is a
cheeky way of ensuring a standing ovation; having your audience already
on its feet for the finale. Nevertheless, audience appreciation
confirmed the show was a huge success. To 17-09-11. Lynda Ford Now hold on there, pardner . . . . *** EVEN with a guy in the cast who thinks
he's Clint Eastwood, this musical comedy couldn't make my day. The story about a line dancing club meeting
on Monday nights in the rundown Warbleswick Social Club trots along
rather than gallops, despite having former Steps stars Faye Tozer and
Ian H. Watkins in the posse. It was surprising, because with tracks from
classic country music hits like Stand By Your Man, Rhinestone Cowboy
and These Boots Were Made for Walking on the programme the show
looked promising. Only when Lyn Paul, playing club member
Sophie, sang Willie Nelson's Crazy in the second act, did the
pace start to increase, but it was far too late. Shaun Williamson, of Eastenders fame, makes
a plausible Brian the barman who, with not enough pints to pull,
attempts to teach shy, divorced-after-ten-years Tom (Anthony Topham) how
to pull attractive blonde Annie (Faye Tozer). And Pauline Fleming is
amusing as veteran linedancer Mary who suffers from flatulence. Written by Joe Graham and directed by Phil Willmott, Rhinestone Mondays yee-ha's on till Saturday night 17-09-11 Paul Marston
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