MELKSHAM Music and Drama is celebrating its 50th anniversary next week with a show-stopping performance of Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical, ‘Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition’.
The group, who were originally called the Melksham Comedy Club when they first launched in 1969, are also throwing a party for past and presents members to mark the golden anniversary.
For five decades the group has thrilled and entertained the community with a variety of shows including pantomimes such as ‘Puss in Boots’, ‘Robinson Crusoe’, and ‘Snow White’. Other shows have include the musicals ‘Grease’, ‘Oklahoma!’; and musical farce ‘Act Your Age’, which won the National Operatic and Drama Association award for ‘Best Comedy Production’ in the South West in 2017.
Their 50th anniversary show, ‘Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition’, whose cast includes Charlotte Brixton as the shoe-losing Cinderella and Justin Haggett as her charming Prince Christopher, will be performed at the Assembly Hall next week on Friday 6th September and Saturday 7th September.
Director Ali Turrell says, “With its beloved and soaring musical trappings, the classic story of Cinderella is delivered with enormous magic – the kind you can only find with a fairy godmother of your very own.
“And we are beyond excited to be able to perform this fantastic musical with live music! Playing with a live band is something we have been aspiring to do for many years. It seems fitting that we make our 50th anniversary show our biggest and best challenge yet by playing with a live band, led by a past cast member, Hannah Drury, who is our musical director. Producer Kevin Hodges and I are excited to bring the show to life with the return of this long standing Melksham Music and Drama talent.”
The 50th anniversary celebration for past and present members will be held prior to the opening night performance on the Friday.
At the anniversary party for members, the group is inviting ex-members to reconnect with the group, to help them compile a comprehensive history of past shows and share experiences of being involved in the group.
Ali explains, “We want to give everyone the opportunity to celebrate the club’s history and we’ve been lucky enough so far to have been lent some original programmes from some of the earliest performances when we were Melksham Comedy Club.
“We’d like to bring everyone together to share in the history of a club that has been life changing for some members by holding a pre-show celebration that will be held at the Assembly Hall before opening night.
“We are holding this event where present and previous members will be treated to canapés and a glass of bubbles to celebrate the club’s illustrious history within Melksham and performing arts before which the current cast perform the 50th Anniversary performance.
“If you or someone you know has been involved with Melksham Music and Drama, previously Melksham Comedy Club, please contact me by email: Alison.turrell@hotmail.com or contact any current member of Melksham Music and Drama.”
Performances of ‘Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition’ will be at the Assembly Hall on Friday 6th September at 7.30pm, and Saturday 7th September at 2pm and again at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from The Melksham Tourist Information Office, online via the Melksham Music and Drama Facebook page or www.ticketsource.co.uk/mmad. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £7 for children/concessions.
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=aLBu4qWxSc8Q7kNvwHaVKlW&_nc_oc=AdlPbhxQewT_cSiTru31F-5KIjiDsVWMpCZRRI9rD6F5r9thoch559YVoStjbAgUtcg&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=LXEyVdf4JnNeYoQ52WXzVA&oh=00_AfNKFktSzThG--xszpxiOTO4LXiH0FfuQLjmBatZSq5t_A&oe=68586A4A "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
