FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS – Chichester Cast recording (SimG Records – SimGR-CD038)
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I have loved the story of Mrs Ada Harris and her adventure to save up for a new Dior dress ever since I read the book many, many years ago. An old-fashioned story that you think is going to end one way but takes you on a tear-jerking detour.
I saw the Chichester production of this musical when it was made available online and I have to say that I did find it hard going during the first half but all that was forgotten by the time we got to the end and a marvellous cast managed to have this old hard-nosed codger in tears.
For those who don’t know the story: The year is 1947, Ada Harris is a cleaner who has had a wonderful marriage to her husband Albert, who is now deceased. She steps in for a friend of hers to clean a titled lady’s house and she comes across the most marvellous thing she has ever seen – a Dior ballgown. She can’t get the vision of the dress out of her mind and she determines to save up and buy herself one. Between having a bit of luck on the football pools and working all hours, she finally has enough to make the trip to Paris to buy her dress. Of course, life doesn’t run smoothly and – well, you are going to have to buy the album to find out what happens next.
The cast includes: Clare Burt (as Ada Harris), Mark Meadows, Joanna Riding, Gary Wilmot and Laura Pitt-Pulford, amongst others. There is no chorus, no huge title number, the production is sung-through, accompanied by a superb 10-piece orchestra conducted by Tom Brady.
Tracks include: ‘All I Ever Needed’, ‘There Is More To Life’, ‘The Pools Win’, ‘Albert’s Watch’, ‘The Girl In the Magazine’, ‘Dressmaking’ and ‘Flowers’, among 23 tracks altogether.
I have to admit I enjoyed listening to this cast recording and I didn’t think the first half dragged as much as when I saw it on stage. A wonderful cast album that will be in many collections by the end of the year, I have no doubt.
Nick Wakeham
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