Music creates magic
It wasn't Abu Dhabi; it was Siam, pre-war Germany, Fifties America, revolutionary France... as show group Smackee enacted the musicals of Broadway and London's West End in a night of magical, melodious splendour.
Show group Smackee presents musicals at a night of splendour
It wasn't Abu Dhabi; it was Siam, pre-war Germany, Fifties America, revolutionary France... as show group Smackee enacted the musicals of Broadway and London's West End in a night of magical, melodious splendour.
From the moment Barry Walker, Dawn Glenville and Margaret Barnes stepped onto the stage, they held the audience spellbound. Commencing with Cabaret the group proceeded to Razzle Dazzle 'Em for over two hours, encouraging them to join in. Tentatively at first, they did so, although the singers' superb voices needed no help from anyone.
Walker, Glenville, Barnes and their backing group stood clothed in black against a black backdrop. Only their faces, hair and the multi-coloured waistcoat worn by Walker to represent the Dreamcoat were visible.
Then, in a medley from Evita, Glenville in a white satin ball gown, long white gloves and glittering jewels stood ethereally in a single spotlight. Silence descended. Abu Dhabi vanished and the audience was in South America, listening to Eva Peron, singing Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.
The first half drew to a close with a selection from everyone's favourite show: Les Miserables, where Walker and Glenville donned hideous clothes and wigs and blacked out their teeth to become the sans culottes landlords, Monsieur and Madame Thenardier, singing Master of the House.
In the second half Walker held the audience captivated as he sang Nessun Dorma using an English language version, instead of the original. A mixture of style and tempo followed, including The King and I, Mama Mia and Grease, during which the audience rocked, too.
A sigh of anticipation went round the hall as the group announced Phantom of the Opera and it was rewarded with a splendid performance of All I Ask of You with Walker as the Phantom and Barnes, whose voice as Christine, soared through the scale. Soon the show ended and received a standing ovation.
Although Smackee has been on the road for more than 25 years, this was their first visit to Abu Dhabi.
