A new musical with a definite Rye input has its premier at the Kino-Teatr in St Leonards this coming week and is on for six performances (including a Sunday matinee) March 8-12.
With Rye-based actress Hayley-Marie Axe in one of the leading roles, Helen Ridout as musical director and graduate and current students Charlotte Tingley and Andras Jacobs as PR and assistant costumier respectively, Rye is well represented.
Andras has said “It has been such a privilege to work with such an great team of actors and production staff. We have an amazing script with loads of really strong characters and finding these people has been a joy. As a costume worker it has been brilliant to work in the world of ’60s Paris which was a hive of fashion and the epitome of chic.”
The plot follows the adventures of a group of young Americans – members of a gospel choir – who are brought to Paris as part of a prize. They’re up all night as romantic entanglements, dramas and family secrets emerge.
Presiding over the events are the Three Maries – a comic trio of Goddesses who represent the spirit of the city.
While conceived as a delightful entertainment and ‘a love letter to Paris’, the piece has some interesting things to say about finding true love and the dangers of trying to hold on to the past.
The music and score is a wonderful melodic and lyrical mix of stirring gospel-style anthems, musical-comedy numbers, dramatic love ballads and traditional French chansons. It’s guaranteed to move an audience with memorable tunes and a captivating love story to chase away the blues on a cold winter’s night.
Hayley-Marie (whose theatre credits include, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, Two noble kinsmen, Sense and Sensibility, Talking Heads and Ladies Day – for which she received Broadway Baby’s best Supporting Actress award) says “This is a really big deal for arts in the Rother area because this musical is the first to be funded by the Arts Council and is the starting point for a future filled with high quality professional work locally.”
This is not Hayley-Marie’s first local appearance. As well as organising the 2015 Rye Film Festival she produced and starred in The Gun Man, a short film that has been selected to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Music for the film was by Rye resident, composer and musician Michel Duvoisin.
If you want a sneak preview of the show, some of the music as well as promotional videos (not the stage performance) can be accessed from the show’s website which also has performance and booking details. It could well be worth a trip to St Leonards.
Photos courtesy Paris Snow