STAGE LIGHTS: Drury Lane tuning up for 42nd annual Music Hall

Drury Lane, Burlington’s own community musical theatre, is presenting their 42nd version of Music Hall this March.

Every year, Drury Lane (formerly known as the Burlington Light Opera Society) presents three musicals – traditional or new musicals in
the fall and spring, and Music Hall every winter.

This past November, they performed She Loves Me and in May, they will feature Norm Foster’s The Last Resort.

Music Hall is a fan favourite, as evidenced by the regulars who come from far and wide to see it. And no wonder – from the outset of the show, it’s got dancing and singing and plenty of laughs!

Music Hall is certainly a Burlington tradition thanks to Drury Lane, but the tradition goes back to London taverns over 200 years ago, where entertainers of all sorts regaled crowds while they ate and drank. It was the place where an average bloke and his gal could enjoy affordable entertainment.

One element that was needed in those days was a Chairman who wielded a gavel to smack his podium to keep crowds under control, and who told jokes while the stage was cleared of props (and possibly audience-thrown food).

The Chairperson is a regular element of Drury Lane’s Music Hall as well, and while he probably doesn’t need to remind audiences not to
throw food, Michael Belton – new to the role this year – is sure to provide some good, sometimes off-colour jokes to keep the ball rolling
between skits and musical numbers.

And, by the way, Drury Lane has an excellent bar where refreshments can be purchased and consumed at the tables where seating is located. Drury Lane has successfully used this cabaret-style of seating for a couple of decades now.

And speaking of cabaret, this year’s Music Hall, as compiled by Rick MacKenzie who co-produces the show along with his wife Carol,
takes a unique turn with an international flair.

Drury Lane’s Music Hall has two acts, each book-ended by two major medleys. This year’s version begins with a take on American vaudeville, and Act One ends with a version of Paris’s Moulin Rouge. If you're imagining a skit like "Who’s on First?" or the French can-can, you won’t be disappointed, I hear.

Act Two will open with a medley that is reminiscent of the German cabaret. And every year, the last medley is Drury Lane’s signature piece, the Pearly Kings and Queens, modelled after the poor man’s fancy suits of London music halls where the entertainers wore outfits bejewelled with hundreds of white buttons.

And between Acts One and Two, numerous skits and musical numbers will be featured, including a patron favourite, "If I Were Mot Upon the Stage." Fair warning: while tossing your beer at entertainers is now strictly verboten, patrons in front row tables may have, at times,  felt the spray from bottles or hoses used by actors in this particular skit.

It's all good, mostly clean fun.

If you haven’t made yourself a part of the Music Hall tradition as an active audience member, it’s time you gave it a try. This year’s rendition sounds quite provocative. And at $29 dollars per ticket, Music Hall is worth every penny.

Music Hall is directed by Danny Harvey, with musical direction by Donna Dunn-Albert and Choreography by Lauren Shepherd. Co-producers are Rick and Carol MacKenzie.

Tickets are available at drurylane.ca or by phoning 905-637-3979. Shows, including the very popular Sunday matinees, run every weekend in March. Check online for specific days. Senior and youth pricing available.

Stage Lights is a regular column submitted by Burlington's musical theatre, Drury Lane Theatrical Productions, which stages four shows per year at The Loft, 2269 New St. For  more information, visit them online at https://www.drurylane.ca.