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Edinburgh Evening News, Friday 28th September:

Singalong evening hits a high note

Showcase 2007 ***
Church Hill Theatre

SOME things in life are bad, they can really make you mad, other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble give a whistle and this'll help things turn out for the best. And it really isn't difficult to look on the bright side of life after last night's Showcase 2007 at the Church Hill theatre.

The company, Showcase Musical Productions, performs each year to raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Support. This year's show, entitled Something Completely Different, certainly lived up to its name, and featured songs by artists and acts ranging from Monty Python to Take That.

The show opened with toe-tapping numbers from the Blues Brothers complete with black suits and shades. Classic hits such as Shake a Tail Feather, Everybody Needs Somebody and the ever-popular song made even more so by the recent Halifax advert, Think, were belted out, setting the mood for an energetic and entertaining night.

After a speedy costume change some fabulous showtunes were unveiled, including strong performances in the Les Miserables Medley. Other musical sections explored in act one included hits from great British groups, such as Oasis with an all-singing, all-dancing version of Wonderwall that neither of the Gallagher brothers could compete with.

Showcase worked so that most of the cast members had their moment in the spotlight, but the chorus as a whole performed superbly as they slipped easily from poor street urchins to medieval townsfolk.

Act two began brilliantly, and opened with the comic genius that is Monty Python. After the orchestra flawlessly performed the infamous Liberty Bell, actor Keith Hendrie took to the stage to discuss the show so far. In the middle of his dialogue he suddenly exclaimed, 'Oh sod it. I never wanted to do this - I wanted to be a lumberjack,' before ripping off his suit to reveal a check shirt and jeans. Along with his mountaineer chorus members he broke into his own rendition of everyone's favourite Python sketch, the Lumberjack Song.

The Monty Python section continued with comedy classics such as, The Song That Goes Like This, a very upbeat version of Knights of the Round Table, The Brian Song and a enthusiastic, colourful and hilarious performance of 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life which would have been much better suited at the very end of the show as the finale.

The evening continued with a section dedicated to songs by composer Lionel Bart and a tribute to Take That, which, after the fantastic Monty Python homage, could only be described as mediocre.

But with a vibrant finale of Imagine and That's What Friends Are For, the show proved that really did have a song for everyone.

If you're looking for a singalong evening with a wide variety of your favourite tunes head along to Church Hill theatre for something completely different.