Q&As // Joe Phelps
Joe Phelps of the Norfolk & Norwich Operatic Society talks to us about his role in Hello Dolly!
The Norfolk & Norwich Operatic Society returns to Norwich Theatre Royal from 23 January – 28 January following their outstanding successes with Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic The Musical and West Side Story. We caught up with Hello Dolly! cast member Joe Phelps, who plays Cornelius, to find out more about the show.
Tell us a little bit about Cornelius…He’s a 23 year old clerk in Mr Vandergelder's Hay and Feed store and like every 23 years old, he wants adventure and he wants fun. He’s been working there from a young age and just wants to go out and experience life. I think that’s something I identify with, being a similar age myself. It’s something lots of young people want to do; they want to go to New York and have fun and adventure. It’s a great part to play, especially when Cornelius’ acts on impulse!
There are some great numbers in the show as well.Definitely, playing Cornelius, you get to do so many different numbers; you get the big chorus numbers like Sunday Clothes and then It Only Takes a Moment in the second act which is a beautiful song; it’s summarising what the characters are about, the moment Cornelius meets Miss Molloy and when he decides he’s in love with her. Then there’s doing fun songs like Motherhood March and rushing about the stage- it’s brilliant!
What attracted you to the society in the first place?Last year I performed with Threshold Theatre which is another Norwich based company; it’s a sister company to Norwich and Norfolk, a lot of the same people do the shows and someone said to me you should go to N&N. I had always heard about they’re reputation for producing excellent shows and having a great cast, great direction and Ray Jeffery himself and I thought yeah, I’ll go for it, on a whim, thinking, not a chance! Then, getting the part was just… wow!
What do you enjoy about being in the show and a society like this?I think as much as there is hard work, I do come to rehearsals and I do sweat and I do leave shattered, at the end of the day, there is such a sense of satisfaction when you do a number brilliantly. There are also so many great people; we’re all like-minded, we all enjoy shows and we all enjoy performing; so you get to meet a lot of great people and make a lot of great friends. I think it’s going home at the end of the day and knowing you’ve worked really hard towards something and that show week is going to be something great on that stage.
Finally, to those who are still wavering about coming along and seeing the show, what would you say to them?Definitely come - straight off! Mainly because if you’re wavering, give it a chance! If you’re sitting in that auditorium at the beginning of the show thinking I’m not sure about this, you will leave thinking I’m so glad I came and saw this show. It is, from start to finish, brilliant and we work really hard to give a great performance and I think there will be exactly that at the end of the day.
Hello Dolly! runs from Monday January 23 to Saturday January 28 with shows at 7.30pm, and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. For more info or to BOOK ONLINE www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
