Desperadoes Theatre Restaurant

OH WHAT A BUZZ!!!

Around the towns of Esk/Toogoolawah/Gatton there's been a noticeable buzz in the air and no.. it's not the sounds of bush flies rearing their sticky heads amid this sudden onslaught of a premature Summer!! They're all abuzz with talk of the "DESPERADOES"... the Theatre Restaurant performances by the Esk Community Choir over the last two weekends. On both Saturday nights and a Sunday afternoon, the doors were opened, stage lights went on and boy, did they put on a Show!

The first hint of something wacky, western and wonderful was the transformation of the Venue Halls into the Somerset Pot Hole Saloon and from the moment its Proprietor, Dolorus welcomed a stampede of Customers both on and off stage, it was a jocular journey that had audiences laughing as well as stomping and romping to the music while Rose, Lily, Clarabel, Dipso, Lucky, Hank, Ma and Pa Skittle and a chorusof Pot Hole "regulars" managed to manoeuvre their way around the three dysfunctional Desperadoes, each of whom were eager to make a quick buck along with a quick get-away. Well, you can lead a Desperado to money, but you can't make him think and by the time the audiences were mopping up the last of their delicious three course "gourmet" grub, provided by and delivered to each setting by the oh so talented and capable hands of the Ladies ( and gentlemen) from the Esk Show Society and in Gatton, the Ladies of the Lutheran Church, Pa's Chicken Farm was an Oil Well, the furious and fuzzy courtship of Adam and Laura saw them all but walking down the aisle and the bad guys, turned not only good, but good for something!!

Even great mistakes have a half-way moment, and during the Opening Night performance, if it hadn't been for the quick thinking and dexterity of the Sound engineer, Harry FitzGerald, the music for one of the final songs would have had to have been left to a bit of some stand-alone imagination!! However, problem quickly remedied and so to the finalé.

If one wants to dance, all one needs is a beat and to the strains of Hank belting out few verses of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" the rousing final numbers saw the cast doing just that followed by an all- in rendition of "Cigareets, Whusky and Wild, Wild Women".... and, by golly, if audience reaction is anything to go by and if the wonderfully talented Director , Kathleen Watts is willing, they're getting ready to see what intarnation might be happenin' next!!

People made their way home following those performances saying "best ever","brilliant" and more than a few actually rolled up to more than one of the shows!! So keep the buzz going folks 'cause as sure as Jacarandas will bloom at exam time, the Esk Community Choir, spurred on and inspired by Alexis FitzGerald, Choir Director, Musical Director, Accompanist and Producer extraordinaire, will have something just as wonderful in store for your total entertainment in the days, months and years to come.

By: Susan Walker