Offaly school reaches great heights with Christmas musical

CISTERCIAN College Roscrea chose the musical “Elf” for its 101st Christmas show this year and everyone rose to the challenge, achieving an impressively high standard.
The general standard of the singing and acting was noticeably up a notch or two. The dance choreographs were intelligently done and the sets were simple but strong. The orchestra, as ever, performed excellently.
Elf is a heart-warming musical and a fantastic choice for a school show. It's full of energy and great tunes. It also possesses a strong moral heart which resonates with the state of our contemporary mercantile, materialist society. Elf's story also couldn't be more Christmassy, which makes another good reason for choosing it during this time of the year.
The story opens in the North Pole with Santa Claus asking the audience to switch off their mobile phones before proceeding to tell the tale of Buddy, an apparently oversized elf who has been raised in the North Pole.
Buddy overhears the other elves discussing how he is really a human being but hasn't realised. He is devastated and Santa must reveal to him that many years ago baby Buddy mistakenly crawled into Santa's bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and was transported to the North Pole on Santa's return home. On hearing this, Buddy decides to travel to New York to find his real father (who, Santa tells him, is on “the naughty list”!)
Shocked that his own father could be on the naughty list, he is further astounded that his half-brother doesn't believe in Santa. How can this be? Buddy decides to change the outlook and behaviour of this new family and bring the true meaning of Christmas back into New York city. Along the way, he discovers friendship, romance, and his true identity. In Act 2 Santa turns up in New York city. His sleigh has been powered by Christmas Spirit ever since he got a letter from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that it's wrong to use reindeer to pull the sleigh. However in New York the sleigh runs out of Christmas Spirit because of a lack of this miraculous quality in the general vicinity. This situation is remedied when the people of New York respond with a huge outpouring of Christmas Spirit in the form of singing and dancing.
Quan Morgan O'Brien played the role of Buddy the Elf and did a fine job, bringing some of Buddy's anarchic glee to his performance. Quan is a good actor with a pleasant singing voice.
Laura O'Hara performed Buddy's girlfriend Jovie Carrie. Buddy and Jovie are chalk and cheese, with Buddy being ebullient, over the top and resolutely optimistic, whereas Jovie is gloomy, taciturn and obviously scorched by life's difficulties. Their relationship doesn't begin well, with Buddy sounding like someone who is not the full shilling. “You are very pretty,” he tells her. “Like a glittering angel. I would like to put you on a Christmas tree.” Some time later she says to Buddy, “I find that if you lower your expectations in life, then you don't get hit by so many disappointments.” As the musical proceeds, Jovie warms up. Like Quan, Laura acted strongly and sang sweetly.
Dan O'Brien firmly grasped his role as Walter Hobbs, Buddy's father. Dan didn't shy away from the darkness in his character, who works in a book publishing firm and has a boss putting terrible pressure on him to find a novel which will become a bestseller. Walter is domineering and bullying. He's a workaholic who doesn't spend enough time with his family. Amy O'Brien had the role of Walter's long-suffering wife, Emily. Amy's acting ability and singing were also impressive. Despite her husband's over-wrought nature, Emily remains convinced that deep down he remains “a caring man” who loves his children. Eventually she's proven right in this. Initially Walter responds very negatively to Buddy (whose mother Susan Wells died in childbirth. Susan was Walter's girlfriend in college.) Coming home from work in the evening Walter is dismayed to find Buddy still in his home: “The lunatic is still here,” he remarks. Later he says to Emily, about Buddy: “He is an idiot.” Emily asks if his mother Susan Wells “was a bright girl?” Walter: “Yes, she was.” Emily: “Then we know where Buddy got his idiot gene from!”
James Hyland gave a humorous, accomplished turn as Santa; David Hyland captured Mr Greenway's intimidating, scary nature well; and Conor McManus leapt into his role as store manager of Macy's Department Store in New York City with gusto.
Another member of the cast who put in an eye-catching performance was Saoirse Jane Egan, who played Deb, Walter Hobbs' secretary. Like Emily Hobbs, Deb is somewhat long-suffering. Secretly, she disapproves of Walter's character: “The iceman cometh!” she remarks. Saoirse acted and sang impressively throughout.
There were several nicely choreographed big numbers during the show. One of these is a toe-tapping song and dance routine performed by many members of the cast, in Macy's Department Store. “Decorating isn't work,” Buddy proclaims beforehand. “It's fun. You just have to get into the Christmas spirit.”
Big numbers like the Macy one received a big appreciation from the audience on the evening I attended. Well done to Director and Choreographer Kirsty Ryan for her excellent work; as well as to Assistant Director Cuan Culliton, and Producer Margaret McGee. Well done also to Ms Francesca Hutchinson, Transition Year and Fifth Year students, Rody Spillane and Alan Corboy for their fine work on the Design and Construction of the various Sets. These sets included the very colourful Macy's set, with its red and white stripes, the North Pole set with the Northern Lights as a backdrop, and the Hobbs home set with the New York skyline and the Empire State Building as a backdrop.
Mention also has to be made of the Musical Director William Cullagh and his 11-piece orchestra. Year after year the orchestra does a fine job. I doubt you'd find a better orchestra in any school show throughout Ireland.

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