THE Wellesley Theatre rocked to the musical Happy Days on May 9-12 when Wellington Operatic Society staged its latest musical.

Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the 1950s the production is based on the popular TV series featuring the Fonz. The action is set in Arnold’s Diner which is under threat of closure and demolition to be replaced by a shopping mall. A plan to save the diner is formulated by the Cunninghams, Richie, his parents and pals including the Fonz. The plan involves a televised wrestling match with the Malachi Brothers and, of course, the Fonz, the hero, saves the day and is reunited with his old flame Pinky Tuscadero.

It is unusual for an amateur performance of a musical to be strong in all aspects of its production. This one is. The principal characters are superb, the rest of the cast strong, the band excellent and the choreography professional, as was the sound and lighting and the set design exceptional. This transformed time and again from Arnold’s Diner to Cunningham’s kitchen, Bronko’s Garage and Pfister Park. Over the years we have come to expect high standards of Wellington Operatic Society and we were not disappointed.

When writing a review it is expected that strengths and weaknesses of a performance be highlighted. However, in this Op Soc production there genuinely are no weaknesses and it would be wrong to pick out particular cast members for special praise. Every one of them, including Harry Caldicott as Richie Cunningham, Alice Luke, his girlfriend, Stephanie Colman and Duncan Hughes his parents, Georgia Channon his sister, Rob Spurway as Arnold and Shane Mace, Harry Caldicott, Frank Zhang and Kit Sells as the Dial Tones, along with the comic Malachi brothers, Kirk Shepherd and Henry Wright-Fox, all played parts in an evening much enjoyed by a near capacity audience.

Having said that, it would also be wrong not to make particular mention of the seemingly effortless singing talents of Oli Redstone, the unforgettably cool Fonz and his feisty girlfriend, Pinky Truscadero, played by Keira Lissaman. Their voices were exceptional but well supported by so many others in the cast. Twenty-one lively songs suggested that any weaknesses in the band would be revealed at some time during the show. There were no weaknesses and musical director Richard Lennox deserves congratulations.

Two aspects of many amateur productions that often are not professionally thought through are the choreography and scene changes. In this production both are difficult to fault. Cheryl Keith Hill’s choreography, which included roller skating, obviously fraught with risks, had the potential to add something excitingly different. The night scene with the skaters wearing head lights moving effortlessly about the stage added a new dimension, much enjoyed by the audience. The scene changes, not hidden behind a curtain, became part of the production, accompanied, as they were, by musical interludes and overhead spotlights moving around the stage.

Happy Days as a musical is never going to set the world on fire. Unlike Grease it does not have well known and memorable songs, but what it does have is a feelgood factor which was not lost on the Wellesley audience who enjoyed the first half, judging by their interval reactions, but then didn’t want the performance to end an hour later, so much had they loved the second half. If anything, they were disappointed that the Happy Days song we all remember from the 70s, if we are old enough, didn’t continue for longer so that we could all sing and clap along.

Wellington is very lucky to have such a thriving arts association and such a wealth of young talent. This augurs well for future productions. The excellence of the annual operatic society shows is obviously appreciated by the Wellington public as they continue each year with their support. What would other towns of Wellington’s size give to have such professional home grown productions? Of course, none of this happens without months and many hours of hard work and rehearsal and excellent direction by Colin Marshall and production co-ordination by Monica Spalding.

When the end result is such an exceptional show the effort must seem well worthwhile. The audience certainly appreciated it and will be looking forward to next year’s delights.

TONY DEAHL