A musical production showcasing the Carib�bean's melting pot of cultures and ethnicities brought thunderous applause from an appreciative audience last Friday during a stellar performance by students of the University of T&T.
Taken from several operas and musicals, the production titled Neighbour Neighbour featured life in the Caribbean Village of Atole where a group of eclectic neighbours lived.
Held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain, the production gave UTT students the opportunity to develop and implement a production from inception to completion.
Artistic director Leah Brown said students enrolled in the Artist Diploma programme's musical production, designed by the late Dr Vertrelle Mickens, were given the opportunity to showcase their talent.
Leandra Head kicked off the two-hour production with Summertime taken from Porgy and Bess, an English-language opera composed in 1934 by George Gershwin.
Dressed demurely, and gliding gracefully through the audience, Head's captivating soprano pitch resonated hauntingly around the Little Theatre and drew thunderous applause.
Narrator Samuel Jones had the crowd rolling with laughter as he told the story of a Russian Jewish family, preoccupied with marrying off their two daughters to eligible bachelors. Their father Tevye, played by Malik Shalto, performed If I were a Rich Man, taken from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof.
The serenity left in the wake of Shalto's song was quickly shattered when Arthur Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance ran on stage.
Wielding their cutlasses, they too broke out in song much to the delight of their audience. Josie Ann Richards performed When Frederick was a Lad, a comical ballad about a nursery maid, hard of hearing, who was supposed to raise Frederick to be a pilot but ended up raising him as a pirate.
Poor Wand'ring One and I am the Pirate King, came next, played by Mark Anthony Pierre and his cast. The narrator then swept the audience from piracy into tales of romance and seduction with West Side Story, featuring Jovon Browne, Helon Francis and Tylah Head.
The love story of Maria and Tony from rival gangs drew chuckles of laughter from the audience as Head belted out the tune I am Pretty. Her giggles, graceful waltz and innocent demeanour caused the audience to erupt in applause as she caved in to Browne's courtship, accepting his red rose.
Next came the Puerto Rican girls played by Ariel Thomas, Zayna Mc Donald, Allyssa Joseph, Shelby Burke, Jeulle Archer, Alesha Alleng and Tehilla Jones, who wanted to live in America but had problems getting visas for the United States.
This was followed by a performance from Wolfgang Mozart's Don Giovanni as well as George Bizet's Carmen, known as the village seducer and fortune teller. The Gypsy girls, dressed in traditional garb, sang Quintet and Card Trio, complete with classical dances.
The production took on an exciting twist with the arrival of Giovanni, played by Hashim Lewis who was known as the "village ram." The audience sat at the edge of their seats when Giovanni decided to dishonour a young girl whose father Don Gonzalo, played by Michael Mortley, challenged him to a stick fight.
Taken from Derek Walcott's Joker of Seville, the stick fight ended with the shocking double deaths of Giovanni and Carmen. Giovanni's wife Serena, played by Alesha Alleng, mourned his passing with a soulful rendition of Porgy and bess's My Man's Gone Now.
The show came to a dramatic close with the resurrection of Giovanni and Carmen. Baptist Mother Ma Roper, played by Celeste Fortune, closed the show with Edric Connor Collection Bam Bye Me Lord.
Complete with the sound of bongo drums, the stellar performance gained thunderous applause from the appreciative audience. Many said the performance showcased traditional classical musicals coupled with the local flavours of Walcott's musicals.
Brown said Neighbour Neighbour is the first of its kind to be staged at the Academy.