Woo hoo, Christmas with the Variety Girls has a second showing, now re-issued as Hopes and Dreams for the Variety Girls by my friend and yours Tracy Baines..
It is Cleethorpes and World War 2 has been declared but what does this mean for The Empire Theatre? What will happen to our lovely girls, Frances, Jessie, Ginny and Dolly if all the theatres close across Britain?
They will face it together, of course, in spite of the creeping shadows that are intruding into their lives, and threatening their wellbeing. But it’snot just the threats attendant on the looming war they have to fear – there are others coming ever closer to home …
What about Johnny Randolph and his sister Ruby, newly returned from the States for a start? And is Imogen really Frances’s niece? If not, will this lead to trouble?
But you can’t keep good girls down, and these know how important it is to keep the show going, so when Jack Holland steps in and takes hold of The Empire Theatre the girls determine that this will be a Christmas to be remembered, no matter how hard they have to work, whilst all the time putting on a brave face.
So, they band together, support one another and provide a Christmas to warm even the hardest heart.
This was the 2nd of the Variety Girls series, and Tracy Baines has exceeded the promise of the first, and brought a flurry of fluency, immediacy, empathy and a whole heap of fun into Christmas with the Variety Girls (in Cleethorpes), but never forget the accompanying angst which these well developed characters bring to the party. Oh yes they do – overcoming the difficulties with courage and humour.
A heartwarming novel of triumph over adversity, of hoofing the boards, of brave faces and sore feet.
Cue applause, a standing ovation, bring on Christmas in Cleethorpes. It makes me want to book a whole row at the Empire, and take a coachload to clap and clap the girls, and author Tracy Baines, for it is a cracking read for those who read it the first time, and for those new to the Variety Girls.
Bravo bravo, encore maestro.
