2011 ~ Me & My Girl
Thurles Musical Society brought the curtain down on a fantastic production of Me and My Girl having played to great houses for the five night run in The Premier Hall.
The show had been an absolute success from opening night to the final night, with Thurles Lions Club linking with Thurles Musical Society to help raise funds for the Order of Malta Ambulance Fund. The show itself was a delight and helped raise the spirits of everyone who attended. With such familiar numbers as The Lambeth Walk, Leaning on a Lamppost, The Sun has Got His Hat On, Me and My Girl and Once You Lose Your Heart, the audiences were highly entertained and drawn into the antic of Bill Snibson, his girlfriend Sally, and all at the Hareford mansion.
Humour is indeed a great tonic for the current economic blues, and there was buckets loads of humour in this show from start to finish – most of it surrounding the central character Bill, played by the excellent Jonathan Gleeson. Michelle O'Connell as Sally was equally as central to the plot while the experience of Maria McElgunn, John Butler and Cathy Keane shone through all the way. Brendan Bailey – a relative newcomer to Thurles although hugely experienced - Geraint Fyler, Pat Hayes, Brian Gleeson and Breda Byrne all had key roles too and were excellent in their portrayal of life in Hareford. Throw in Barry Derby, Barry Cagney, Joan Farrell, Katie Lawless, Gary Dempsey and Finbarr Shelly and it is quite clear to see that Thurles Musical Societies front line is very strong, very flexible and very capable.
Of course the very fine chorus added hugely to the success of this show while the magnificent stage crew once again out-did themselves with their creativity and flair. Lighting and sound too was top quality while the costuming of such a show represented a major challenge – a challenge which was met head on with great aplomb. Hair and make-up too had to be of the era and was.
Thurles Musical Society has been doing this business for sixty years. They have managed to mix the serious with the humorous; the dark with the colourful; the old with the new. They have maintained the enhanced their standards and continue to bring top class musical theatre to the people of Thurles and surrounding areas. However, as has been acknowledged in the Premier Hall by Chairman Mary Butler, the Society could not survive without the support of the general public. Shows need an audience, patrons, advertisers, sponsors etc in order to exist – Thurles people have never been slow to support, even in difficult times. Last week, they received full bang for their bucks with a truly uplifting, colourful, comical and highly entertaining show. Here's to the next 60 years.
Chorus Members:
Michelle O’ Connell, Maria McElgunn, Trisha Corrigan, Breda Byrne, Joan Farrell, Patricia McElgunn, Deirdre Lanigan, Ciara Lanigan, Marcella Maher, Danielle Martin, Veronica Dunne, Ber Ryan, Nina Scott, Michelle Flanagan, Tara Gallagher, Laura Ryan, Katherine Flanagan, Margaret O’Dwyer, Katie Lawless, Cathy Keane, Anne Heffernan, Mary Long, Mary Callanan, Sinead Tierney, Siobhan King, Philomena McNamara, Edel Hickey, Sarah Feehan, Edel Ryan,
Eilish Ryan, Elaine McGrath, Emma Lyons, Kate Ryan, Niamh Irwin, Margaret Long, Krystle Colleton, Kate Dwyer, Anne Gleeson, Carol Ryan, Siobhan Carew, Catriona O’Mahony.
Geraint Fyler, Philip Egan, Barry Cagney, Pat Hayes, John Hayes, Jonathan Gleeson, Barry Derby, Michael McLoughlin, Brendan Bailey, John Butler, PJ Maher, Gerard O’Hagan, Noel Dundon, Jim Kennedy, Finbarr Shelly, Brian Gleeson, Paul Stapleton, Frank Macken, Mick O’Brein, Fr Tom Lanigan-Ryan, Gary Dempsey, David Byrne.