The Churnet Valley Railway is delighted to have recently been utilised for a promotional shoot, ahead of a Dramatic Group’s return to the stage this summer.
Walsall Operatic Society has a history of producing outstanding musical theatre, having been founded back in 1955. Their membership covers a diverse range of backgrounds and age, yet each individual shares the same passion that is brought through into their stage shows. In 2018 they ran a triumphant production of Sweeney Todd, and for one week only in 2019 they return to the stage for their own production of "Hello, Dolly!".
This is one of the most enduring musical hits, having had four revivals on Broadway along with international success. It follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi (a strong-willed matchmaker), as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly “well-known, yet unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. In doing so she persuades his niece, his niece’s intended, and Horace’s two clerks to travel to join them in New York. Dolly’s scheming soon involves Horace’s employees as well as a New York hatmaker, all as she tries to cover up her own secret romantic designs.
And so from 18th-22nd June, the WOS will be performing at the intimate three-tiered Victorian auditorium of Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, itself celebrating it’s own 125th Anniversary in 2019. Ahead of the formal shows, members of the cast descended upon Cheddleton Station to pose around our own piece of Victorian magnificence for publicity material in the build up to June. Everyone seemed to enjoy their day visiting us, and we look forward to hearing of the continued success of the Society in the coming months.