Claremorris Musical Society worked 9 to 5 and shone like the sun!

'AN absolute explosion of talent, energy and fun from start to finish' is how one happy audience member described his experience at award-winning Claremorris Musical Society’s most recent production, 9 to 5 The Musical.

Claremorris Musical Society, a most enthusiastic, musical loving bunch, took to the stage of Claremorris Town Hall Theatre once again with their 16th full scale production. This was the first year the society extended from a four night to a five night run and they were absolutely over the moon to see packed houses beyond the footlights on all five nights.

The increase this year in both the number of shows performed and in attendance figures speaks volumes as to how this group, formed in 2007 by June Allison Keane, has continued to grow from strength to strength and is now considered to be one of the very finest in the region.

Audiences were thrilled night after night with the fabulous 9 to 5 and five standing ovations spoke volumes for the reception the cast received every night. The cast were also delighted to welcome fellow musical society members from societies in, amongst others places, Sligo, Galway, Tuam, Ballinrobe, Castlebar, Claregalway, Castlerea, Athlone, Boyle and Coolmine.

The very talented front line featured some well-known, long standing CMS members and also some new arrivals. Principal roles were played by Vivienne Lee (Violet), Nicole Scott (Judy), Lizabeth Murphy (Doralee), David Alexander (Franklin Hart) and Maria McNulty (Roz). The production team comprised of director Donna Ruane, musical director Deirdre Lee and choreographer Claudia O’Sullivan.

The show featured the music and lyrics of the infamously talented Dolly Parton and audiences were blown away by the high standard of individual singing and choral harmonies.

The storyline of the three strong, independent ladies, determined to rid the workplace of a misogynistic, hypocrite, was brought to life by the powerful acting and character interpretation of the performers on stage.

A cast of almost 40 members took to the stage but behind the scenes and front of house saw a whole other team of people making sure that everything ran smoothly.

This community based group cannot thank the people in the locality and beyond enough for going out of their way to help source props, move sets, sell programmes, raffle tickets, sort hair and make-up and support the group in every way. It is the essence of a community group and the members will all agree that the spirit of CMS is one of its greatest talents of all.

The business community and local groups continue to support the group financially year after year and without this support, CMS would not be in a position to entertain the area year after year with such a high standard production and they are extremely grateful and appreciative.

The society were delighted to welcome Association of Irish Musical Society (AIMS) adjudicator Peter Kennedy to their Friday show. The adjudication process will take in to account the overall show as well as individual actors/actresses, full ensemble, singing, choreography, musical direction, direction, visuals, sound, lighting, sets, costumes and staging.

Over the years, CMS has been awarded several nominations and several wins, including, most recently, Best Singer (Marilyn Bane), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Vivienne Lee) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Joff Manning) for their production of Sister Act in 2022. Nominations for this year’s awards ceremony will be announced on May 21.

AIMS provides support to over 130 musical societies, throughout the whole of Ireland, which relates to around 14,000 people directly involved with musical theatre and an audience base of around 1.2 million.

CMS was proud to welcome newly appointed AIMS president Feargal Kavanagh to their Saturday night performance. Feargal has been chairperson of AIMS western region and AIMS vice-president for the last couple of years so it was a great honour for CMS to have him present in his first official role as president.

Both AIMS representatives commentated on how much they enjoyed the show.

As always, the exciting task of selecting another show now begins and no stone will be left unturned by this enthusiastic group as it strives to find another top drawer, high class and thoroughly entertaining show choice to make CMS’s 17th production as enjoyable as the last in February 2024.

Details of its AGM will be posted shortly and all past, present (and future) members are welcome to attend.