FROM first note to last this cast doesn’t miss a beat. It’s an ambitious show for an amateur group but Bath Light Operatic Group tackled it with verve and spirit backed by an impressive reservoir of talent.

The pace never flagged and the comic timing was on the button. 25 scene changes, major and minor, slid seamlessly into place.

Aimi Kuhlke set the standard from the off as gangster’s moll and would-be singing star Deloris. She attacked the role with a raunchy enthusiasm and a voice equal to the task. Deloris is about to split from gangster Curtis (Geoff White) after he refuses to employ her in his nightclub but when she inadvertently sees him kill a man, he suspects she'll ‘squeal’ to the police, and so she goes on the run.

Policeman Eddie (Tristan Carter), who has held a torch for Deloris since high school, decides to hide her in a convent, where she at first causes mayhem, but her musical talents bring them all unexpected benefits. Geoff White, with sidekicks Joseph Hollingworth as TJ, Nick Feierabend as Joey and George Miles as Pablo, delivered some well worked comedy as the hapless villains.

Tristan Carter, with the aid of other cast members, effected three of the slickest on-stage costume changes I have seen and all in the course of one song. Jacquie Buck provided some moments of calm and sanity and more subtle musicality in the midst of the chaos, as Mother Superior.

There were excellent cameo performances from within the nuns’ chorus and again some uncannily swift costume changes involving the entire holy choir.

The 12-piece orchestra under the direction of Matthew Finch complemented the voices and never overwhelmed them. Director David Tucker and choreographer Alison Pritchard deserve a standing ovation for this superb production. The show runs until Saturday.

JO BAYNE