Members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, several (but not all) of whom contributed to last night’s performance (photograph by Stefan Mager, courtesy of San Francisco Performances)
Last night the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returned to Herbst Theatre for their second San Francisco Performances (SFP) concert. (The first took place in March of 2022, having been preceded by a PIVOT Online appearance during the pandemic in April of 2021.) The group is still directed by George Hinchliffe; but, as in the past, he did not appear along with the performers. The offering is best described as an evening of sheer entertainment.
The repertoire was diverse unto an extreme. There were old favorites, such as “Limehouse Blues,” selections from both musicals (Sweet Charity) and the movies (Thunderball), classical ballet (the “mirliton players” from The Nutcracker), rock (ZZ Top), and, lest it be forgotten, the opening song for The Muppet Show. While the real impact of the group comes from its ensemble work, Ben Rouse took the spotlight more often than not with his mind-boggling virtuoso work. Similarly, Leisa Rea tended to serve as the “tour guide” for the evening, leading the audience down all of those many paths of repertoire with a confident hand.
All of this clearly registered more than favorably with the audience. Indeed, the group played to a full house; and it was more than refreshing to see all those seats filled. Frivolity may have been the order of the evening, but this is an ensemble that works hard to make sure that listeners enjoy all that frivolity. Last night they could not have been more successful in achieving their goal.
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