A sunflower is used as the motif of Calendar Girls The Musical; so, slogging to The Lowry, where the show is staged, through the first heavy snowfall of the year does not really suit the mood.
Marie (Liz Carney) runs the Knapely Women's Institute (WI) along traditional lines to the extent members wonder if the institute is being favoured over the women. Annie (Laurie Brett) has other concerns: the health of her husband John (Colin R Campbell) is declining rapidly.
Following John’s passing, the free-spirited Chris (Samantha Seager) has an audacious idea for raising funds to purchase a comfortable sofa for the relatives’ room at the hospital where he was treated. She proposes a calendar featuring photographs of WI members posing while undertaking traditional pursuits (making jam, selling cakes) but with the added attraction of them being nude. The idea is not popular.
Director Jonathan O'Boyle treats the concept with dignity, not allowing the audience to overlook the comedic idea was born out of tragedy. O'Boyle continues pushing emotional buttons to the very end—Annie poses for her nude photoshoot behind her late husband’s wheelbarrow.
There is an understated Northern tone throughout the musical, a sense the characters know better than expect too much. John may joke about climbing in Tibet when recovered, but his wife will settle for a holiday in Scarborough or just completing the weekly big shop. There is a distinct gallows humour with John marking his chemotherapy appointments on a WI calendar featuring graveyards.
But for a musical, Calendar Girls is one-note. The score by Gary Barlow rarely moves beyond up-tempo piano ballads and there is a marked absence of a showstopper. With such a low-key score, the over-amplification of the vocals seems unnecessary, especially as it brings an artificial edge.
Although there is a movement director, there is no choreographer, so the cast tend to just stand still and belt out the songs, which makes for a static presentation. A spritely song like “So I’ve Had a Little Work Done” positively begs to be accompanied by a tap dance or a chorus line but no such luck. Gary McCann’s wood-themed set is not really shabby enough to suggest the wear and tear endured by a well-used community centre.
In the original movie, the mundane lifestyles and ages of the characters made the central idea both comedic and daring. In the current production of the musical, however, the characters are younger. Lyn Paul as Jessie performs the rueful “What Age Expects” on the condescending attitudes expressed towards people as they age, but it still feels like a significant comic opportunity has not been exploited.
The static production requires tremendous efforts from the cast to keep the show moving. The Yorkshire accents come and go, but the cast are uniformly excellent vocalists.
The second act builds towards the photoshoot of the nude pictures, and director O'Boyle finally seems comfortable cutting loose and allowing some sweetly exaggerated comedy. A series of increasingly unlikely ways of concealing naked flesh climaxes in a gorgeously silly appearance of the full cast covered by a strategically placed Christmas cracker which rightly brings the house down.
Despite the efforts of a fine cast, Calendar Girls The Musical is starting to show its age.