‘Way Out West’, a new musical for Waterfront by Fred Owen, tells the imaginative story of a group of random Italian Comedia delle Arte performers travelling to ‘Dead Horse Gulch’, deep in the American West, writes Lynn Pearson.

They aim to reclaim a gold mine bought by their employer, Pantalona, a wealthy but miserly Venetian merchant. Suspecting mismanagement, Pantalona discovers the mine was lost in a card game and then taken illegally by the mayor. The action of the musical highlights the group's antics to try and recover it.

The cast had plenty of interesting characters to portray. Jackie Stagg played Pantalona, looking resplendent in a striking red dress, with Richard Banner and Christine Peters as her lively servants Arlecchino and Columbina.

Young Harri Banner played Pedrolino, another stock character from the Comedia tradition and portrayed traditionally as a stupid boy. For this role Harri displayed delightful facial expressions and impish actions, along with impressive tap-dancing when ably joined by Chloe Nimmo during Fred’s classy rendition of ‘Sleight of Hand’.

Some of the American characters were equally colourful. Mike Fuller played the part of the Mayor as if the role had been written for him (it probably had!), with Penny Brown turning out a nice performance as his tight-lipped sister.

Colin Tennant did a good job as the rather dull farmhand Slovenly Bob, and the love interest was provided by Adam Brand (trainee sheriff Rusty) and his crush: the school teacher Maria, played by Mireya Grande.

The music was not original, but Fred had chosen a dozen mostly well-known songs from famous American musicals and skillfully integrated them into the plot. These musical numbers significantly enhanced the narrative and provided the actors with opportunities to excel and enjoy themselves. The performance of "Tap Your Troubles Away," which concluded the first act, included a tap-dancing segment that involved the entire cast and was delivered with great enthusiasm. Another notable number was "What Comes Naturally" from "Annie Get Your Gun," performed by Colin Tennant as Slovenly Bob.

Fred’s writing was clever as always; I enjoyed the way he leant into the Commedia dell ‘Arte tradition, attempting to give the show an improvised feel, with the characters directly addressing the audience, commenting on the script and storyline and even including the prompt (Anthony Williams). Unfortunately, the audience didn’t respond in quite the way intended I think, which was a shame, although we did all loosen up a bit in the second act and were very happy to boo and hiss at the villain when we got the hang of it!

One thing is aways evident in Waterfront’s shows: the cast have a great time, and Fred works hard to involve them all in a way that showcases their particular talents. He was supported by a great production and design team, with Barry West designing a simple but effective set, Guy Morgan and Brett Penrose taking care of the lighting, with Barry Scott and Malcolm Oyston and others working hard, no doubt, behind the scenes.