Stepping Out

Curtain Call Awards 2000/2001

Tuesday October 31st 2000

REVIEW

Well worth stepping out for laughs

Stepping Out Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society Ringwood School Theatre

RICHARD Harris' beautifully constructed comedy, with its excellently drawn characters and hilarious lines, is a gem for any society with the talent to do it justice.    RMDS certainly has that talent, and this play about the misfortunes of a group of would-be tap dancers trying to brush up their skills for a charity show brought long and loud laughter from an appreciative audience on the first night    In fact at times there was so much laughter the the next few lines were drowned out, although, ironically, on other occasions wods were left hanging in mid-air.    But those were minor flaws, and this was an enjoyable, well-costumed production which was a credit to director Annette Arnold, choreographers Suzi Mollet and Jane Howell and the cast.    Personalities were all well-rounded, not least Chris Grant, - extremely natural as class leader Mavis - Poppy Garvey as insufferably snobbish Vera and Anne Maynard as her social opposite, Sylvia.    The company proved that they were well up to the challenge with a stunning finale

Linda Kirkman

Thursday November 2nd 2000

I WAS lucky to get a ticket. Within a few hours of the box office opening all tickets for each of thr three nights had been sold. I hadn't seen the Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society before. Did the people of Ringwood know something I didn't?    Richard Harris' "Stepping Out" centres on characters in a tapdancing class who are asked to take part in a charity show. As the plot unfolds, the audience is able to piece together the complicated and sometimes sad lives of the characters outside the classes    The comedy roles were well played, notably Val Garner as the delightfully naive Dorothy whose facial expressions, reminiscent of a young Dora Bryan, were prompting giggles from the audience before she even spoke.    Poppy Garvey as Vera had a gem of a part with some show-stopping one-liners. Obviously an experienced board-treader, Poppy projected well and developed the character skilfully. Claire Freemna played the troubled Andi with sensitivity and Chris Grant as the teacher, Mavis, gave a natural and convincing performance, silencing the audience in a particularly tense moment when she lost her temper. Sophie Burghart's character, Lynne, didn't

Stepping Out sold out Stepping Out Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society Ringwood School Theatre offer a great deal for Sophie to get her teeth into, but from her performance on the opening night, I feel her stage style would be well-suited to musicals and I could imagine her as Liesl Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. It takes a good dancer to be able to pretend to be bad and this was proved in the fabulous final scene at the charity show with well synchronised dancing in stunning costumes that was a joy to watch. It pleased the audience to see the transformation of Mrs Fraser, the frumpy cantankerous pianist with a variety of horrendous hats, into a smiling, attractive and capable tapper played by the talented Sonya Foulds. On that opening night, I learnt why tickets sold out so quickly and I will make sure I'm in the box office queue early for their production of Oklahoma! next Easter. Sally Meineck

The Salisbury Journal
Thursday November 2nd 2000

Toe-tapping Triumph

Stepping Out Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society Ringwood School Theatre    IN a rundown church hall, interfering Vera, loud-mouthed Maxine, dippy Dorothy and their friends meet once a week to tap their troubles away at Mavis Turner's dancing class    The ladies (and token bloke) start out a bunch of no-hopers and end up as a razzle-dazzle chorus line of accomplished hoofers.    It's the transition from flat feet to twinkle-toed tappers that presents the greatest challenge to any drama company - even one with the musical pedigree of Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society.    So it is to the credit of choreographers Suzi Mollet and Jane Howell that the

cast who tackled Richard Harris's toe-tapping comedy, Stepping Out, last week didn't put a foot wrong and that their final top-hatted and tailed routine was a triumph.    But the good work was not confined to fancy footwork.    Director Annette Arnold's entertaining production was strong on detail, clearly defining each character but keeping the show very much a team effort where everyone shone - Sophie Burghart, Val Garner, Chris Grant, Poppy Garvey and Sonya Foulds most brightly of all.    More speed on cues would have been welcome, but that's a minor niggle    Full marks to designer Simon Sketchley for the shabby church hall set and to wardrobe mistress Tessa Casalis de Pury and her costume team. Lesley Bates

Stepping Out