You walked with Eliza Dolittle when Chloe Chelli hit the highest note of ‘Wouldn’t it be Loverly’ from ‘My Fair Lady’ or saw yourself in a cramped orphanage, when kids in blue uniforms and empty steel bowls asked for more gruel, tapping to ‘Food Glorious Food’ from ‘Oliver!’.
Deep blue skies, pretty fairy lights and bustling parents beckoned camaraderie lovers to Jyothi Nivas College to savour spectacular tunes from a few top-notch musicals across the globe. A whiff of Christmas wafted through the air when about 150 children from Harmony International Music Foundation and Preeta Dance Academy presented ‘Cadence 2014’, one of the first Broadway-themed concert of the Season, which featured fabulous songs and chirpy dances from Broadway and West End.
The yore was brought to life with an opening by Neha Jacob and Shreya Krishnaswamy who explained their sisterly bond through ‘She’s my sister’ from ‘The In-Between’. Priya Radhakrishna and Anezka Kurein stunned the audience with ‘Popular’ from ‘Wicked’ and when the audience wanted more, Shubhangi Das appeared like Christine and dreamily presented ‘Think of Me’ from ‘Phantom of the Opera’.
Power-packed entertainment was provided by the tiny tots too, who looked like colours from the rainbow, as they twirled to ‘Singing in the Rain’, led by Benny Godwin. ‘Seasons of Love’ from ‘Rent’, led by Sandra Uberoi and Paul Silas, was another song which the audience will not forget anytime soon as the harmonies effortlessly merged into a happy melody.
When the troupe wanted evergreen hits, Tiara Oberoi’s anachronistic costume, superb voice and flawless accent brought out the ‘Mary Poppins’ in her when she sang ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocus!’.
It was probably the first time melancholy glittered as the song ‘Tomorrow’ was presented by Nadia Ann Thomas from ‘Annie the Musical’, loaded with hope, and Rena Abraham weaved out powerful aspirations through ‘When I grow Up’ from ‘Matilda the Musical’.
A dreamy song from ‘Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ by Joel Vasanth and a spellbound soprano by Sandra of ‘Memory’ from ‘Cats: The musical’ were the perfect closures to the event.
As ‘Cadence’ was an amalgamation of songs and not a complete musical, despite the occasional voids and backstage voices, the audience was hooked on to the performance throughout. Even though the final song was a bit too far-fetched as the children tried too hard to imitate the original ‘Von Trapps family’ when they sang ‘So Long, Farewell’ from ‘Sound of Music’, the din was deafening in the auditorium.
The concerto clearly brought back pages from the past with Sandra Uberoi’s impeccable direction and Janice Caroline and Preeta Pereira’s choreography.
As colours danced and emotions melted, ‘Cadence 2014’’ was a reflection of different facets of life itself, with enlightening yet woebegone tunes. A wistful memory was revived through erstwhile songs, Victorian costumes and doric sets and ‘Cadence 2014’ was a standing testament that Bengaluru still has a robust audience for musical theatre.
The proceeds of the musical went in support of two non profit educational organisations - Parikrama Foundation and EDUCATE (Empowering Deserving Children Actively Through Education).