Llangollen Operatic Society's current production of The Great British Bake Off Musical deserves no less than a Hollywood handshake for its sheer tastiness.
The long hours spent in rehearsals and the effort which went into creating some of those very edible looking "prop" cakes is amazing, with not a soggy bottom in sight anywhere on the Town Hall Stage, which this joyous show will occupy from tmorrw (Wednesday) until Saturday, April 22-24 at 7.30pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday.
The musical version of the smash-hit TV show, created by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, follows eight amateur bakers over a season as they compete for the title of Star Baker.
The plot focuses on contestants' personal stories, including Gemma, a hesitant carer, and Ben, a widowed police officer who fall in love.
The show follows a traditional, light-hearted, and heart-warming structure, culminating in the traditional garden party final.
The simple yet absorbing plot highlights the friendship and competition between contestants, with judges Phil Hollinghurst (based on Paul Hollywood) and Pam Lee (based on Prue Leith) providing critiques.
Some attractive songs include "The Perfect Petit Fours" and "Rise," which highlight the emotional journeys of the characters.
The whole thing concludes with a final winner being announced at a celebratory gathering. And, of course, I'm not going to reveal who that is.
Lead parts in the 19-strong cast are taken by David Lyne and his wife Louise as Phil Hollinghurst and presenter Kim. Louisa Jones is Pam Lee, the celebrity judge. and funnyman of the presentation team is Graham Bannister-Kelly as Jim.
All four are well suited to their respective roles and entirely believable. In fact, I loved Pam's iridescent jackets and Phil's rather decent Scouse accent.
The back-stories of the eight hopeful bakers are introduced with the help of some neat little musical numbers, which move along the action perfectly.
A real star-in-the-making is young Emmie Davis as Lily, the nine-year-old girl who promotes the love affair between two of the bakers, her widowed dad Ben and Gemma.
A six-strong ensemble perfectly augment the main cast and generally dash around making sure everything runs smoothly as members of the Bake Off crew. They include Sean Ruane-Brown, Glenn Fletcher, Biba Baksh, Jan Bellis, Jeanette Robinson and Sue O'Neill.
The famous big tent has been skilfully squeezed into the compact dimensions of the Town Hall stage complete with work stations and a characteristic big pink fridge-freezer.
Those prop cakes are brilliantly done and have been prepared by a behind-the-scenes team over many weeks. The first half closes with an immaculate interpretation of Blackpool Tower.
The near-constant musical numbers, superbly backed by a six-strong orchestra, are nicely handled as is the choreography masterminded by Rob Stevens, Pamela Williams and Belinda Hill.
The bakers, played by Belinda Hill as Babs, Ross Burgon as Ben, Kevin Williams as Dezza, Carly Casterton as Francesca, Stephanie Williams as Gemma, Cadan Thomas as Hassan, Rory Henderson as Izzy and Neil Barratt as Russell, are all believably presented and make you really care which one of them is to become the eventual winner.
Tracey Kempster Jones and Caroline Anthonisz are joint producers, Chrissie Ashworth is director, Elen M Roberts is music director and staging and design duo are Mike Jones and Niamh Connaught, all of whom have done a marvellous job of mixing all these ingredients together.
Next time I watch the TV version I'll be expecting everyone to burst into song. And if they could do it as well as this lot they'd all deserve that famous handshake.
Scenes from the show:
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