Stepping Out’ a musical performed by Southport Spotlights Musical Theatre Society on Thursday 23rd February, 2023 at The Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport.

According to Richard Harris who wrote the book, his inspiration came from his wife, the actress Hilary Crane. ‘My wife started her career as a dancer and she liked to keep her foot in, as it were, so she went down to the church hall and joined a class, when she came back, she suggested that I should go and have a look, as she felt there might be a book or play in it for me’. Taking his wife’s advice, Harris visited the local church hall, where a tap class was being held (his wife hadn’t been to the tap class, she’d attended a modern dance class) ... ‘It was by pure luck that I happened to go there and look through the window when the tap class was going on. It struck me that they all seemed to be enjoying themselves and I thought if I could capture that, the pleasure they were getting out of the class, I could be on a winner’!

Based on Richard Harris’s book and the play of the same name, this boisterous comedy musical, with lyrics by Mary Stewart-David and music by Denis King, opened at the Theatre Royal Plymouth on the 7th November 1996 and then, following a tour, opened up at the Albany Theatre in London in October 1997. The musical is about some working-class amateurs attempting to overcome their inhibitions and two left feet in a dance class. Mavis the dance teacher, a former professional chorus girl tries her hardest to teach the bumbling amateurs some ‘tapping’ skills for an upcoming recital!

Production Team… Tracey Batchelor (Director), Adam Dutch (Musical Director) and Pippa Morris (Choreographer) had gathered together a great cast and it was obvious from the off that they all knew exactly what they wanted from this musical. Tracey in her programme notes tells us that a few years ago, she was lucky enough to be cast in a production of the play ‘Stepping Out’ with Pippa, who had been cast as Mavis the Dance Teacher and they both realised the potential for the play to become a musical… and here we are! There is little or no doubt that the success of this musical is more to do with the characters than the actual musicality and the dancing, get the characterisations right and you’re defiantly onto a winner as was the case with this production... well done folks… great job!

The Cast…thirteen ladies and one gent made up the cast … and what a cast it was! As is the norm at this point in my reviews, this is where I ‘stick the old neck out’ and start suggesting favourites… MY favourites… but this was a tricky one because of what I suggested above… “get the characterisations right and your defiantly onto a winner” and I do believe there were fourteen amazing characters who graced the stage that night! But never one to ‘sit on the fence’ and without hopefully doing injustice to some… I’d like to share MY ‘fab five’ with you.. MY five personal favourites and I have ‘cheated’ just a little along with the way… ‘Show Stealer’ for me was Laura-Jane Palmer-Farrar and her portrayal of the sassy, loveable ‘Sylvia’! It really was a laugh a minute whenever Laura-Jane was centre stage and sometimes, even when she was stood at the back! Loud, outrages, quick witted… a dance student with a heart of gold but who’s prone to naughty jokes and regular trips to the local wine bar… loved the line… ‘I’ve tried to keep my knees together all my life’ and there were so many more… great characterisation, great stage presence, worked ever so well with the entire cast… be proud Laura-Jane great job! Anna Dunnett did a great job with ‘Mavis’ the dance teacher. Mavis had been a ‘pro dancer’ who gave up the fame and fortune when the parts began to dry up! Burdened with a troubled personal life and a deep secret… she’s trying to ‘make ends meet’ by teaching tap dance! Again, another great character created, Anna made this part her own, oozed confidence.. sang and danced really well … be proud Anna, great job! Two for the price of one… (cheating just a tad!) Toni Spofforth and Dom Tolley took on the roles of ‘Andy’ and ‘Geoffrey’ respectively. Andy was seeking solace from her home life where she was being abused by her husband and joined the group forming a close friendship with Geoffrey along the way. Andy created another believable character, great stage presence, a great singing voice and was without doubt a perfect fit for this role! ‘Geoffrey’… the bashful, shy, bumbling Insurance man and the sole male at the dancing class. Dom made this part look far easier that it undoubtably was! Stage presence aplenty, great mannerisms and great comedic timing… another with a good singing voice… loved Andy’s and Geoffrey’s rendition of ‘Never Feel the Same Again’… well done you two… individually great, together in friendship... amazing!

Lauren Tolley took on the role of ‘Maxine’ a ‘Del Boy’ type character…” whatever you need Maxine can get” … but struggles most the time to keep her promises! Lauren made this part her own, confident, as the role demands, some great one liners... well done, Lauren, be proud! Final choice of my ‘Fab Five’ is Deborah Bloom who took on the role of the ‘very neat’ ‘very snooty’ ‘Vera’, who was ‘into everybody’s business - in a friendly sort of way’. Married to Lionel, who it seems may well be having a ‘fling’ with Vera’s daughter from another marriage! Deborah was the perfect fit for this role… great diction, good stage presence and again, good comic timing, be proud Deborah! Please, please, please… don’t get me wrong… there were some other fabulous characters created… Gaynor Hale gave us an amazing ‘Mrs Fraser’, the class pianist… who should have ‘BEEN CONSULTED’ over most things! Katie Palfrey who took on the role of ‘Dorothy’ the naive Social Security worker… who repeats peoples last words… another perfect pick for the role! Corinna Davies who took on the role of the Lynne, a student nurse with the bubbly character, always eager to please and who delivers one of the more poignant moments in the production with the news of the loss of a patient. Gill Harris was great in the role of the flamboyant yet dim ‘Rose’. Rose is a bit scatty, but just loves attending the classes! Another with problems at home and another who likes a drink after class! Making up the ‘dance class’ we had Elaine Cox, Denise Marsters, Chloe Morris and Ceri Watkins. Be very proud each and all… great casting, greats characters created!

Stage/Set/Tech a simple set was used throughout which provided the cast the ideal platform to perform. In charge back stage we had Andrea Shacksmyth-Clare (Stage Manager) and Radley Haynes (Assistant SM) with Christopher Morris (Stage Crew) and Ed McKillop (Fly Man). Sound Design and Operation was carried out efficiently by Matt Hughes. Lighting Design and Operation was carried out by Simon Grainger who had Alex McKillop (Follow Spot) and Paul Shacksmyth-Clare as (Tech Co-ordinator) and (Follow Spot Operator) … well done one and all… great job!

Much of the comedy, of which there was plenty and apart from the deliberately bad dancing – comes from personality clashes among the tappers! There were so many great one liners… some I can remember … Vera carelessly says to Sylvia… ‘I USED TO BE FAT YOU KNOW’ and Maxine, has a great one liner to Geoffrey… something like ‘I hope your sex life is as busy as that pullover’….

Loved the production, loved the characters… thank you so much for inviting Susan and I… and so sorry that once again your production clashed with the District Awards Dinner… lets try and get some dates sorted for 2023 so we can see ‘Spotlights’ with Elizabeth and John at the Awards Evening, you were missed! Thanks again… see you in July for Calendar Girls… can’t wait!

Stay safe and keep well.

Reviewed by:  Jim Briscoe on Saturday 4 March 2023
Venue: Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport
Type of Production:  Musical

Director:  Tracey Batchelor
Musical Director: Adam Dutch
Choreographer: Pippa Morris