‘It’s all about having a good time’
Mary Anne David is rather tired of sitting at a concert, surrounded by a sea of people distracted by their tech toys. “Why bother coming if you’re going to have your eyes glued to the phone,” she asks, more than a little exasperated. This is why Mary Anne hopes that when she holds her sing-along and concert ‘I Wanna ‘Sing Most All the Time’ next week on September 20 and 21 , there will only be those who can bear to part with their diversions for the course of the show. “I just want it to be the audience, my singers and great music,” she smiles.
Mary Anne needs little introduction. Over a career spanning some 40 plus years she has moulded and trained almost all of the country’s biggest names in music, following a stage career of her own. Her school, the Mary Anne School of Vocal Music, and choir, the Merry-An Singers have time and again brought honour to Sri Lanka at international events, and earned a reputation for producing some stellar musicians.
Mary Anne David: Confident of getting the audience going. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
This show follows her own foray into the audience of a much anticipated concert by a well-known international band. “The audience was having an absolute blast,” remembers Mary Anne. “All these older people coming out of the woodwork, and just singing along and dancing-it was great fun!” It took her back to a time when sing-alongs were all the rage-not just at shows, but at parties and gatherings as well. “All you needed was a piano and someone to start the session.”
She adds that her High Flyers, a group of older singers who meet at her home once a fortnight to sing and dance, are also a reason behind wanting to cater to an older audience. “My chairs go out, and they jive and rock n’ roll and have the best time. I always say they should be on stage!” she laughs.
Growing up, very much part of what she calls “the Lylie Godridge generation”, these sing-alongs complemented her love for singing perfectly. The Merry-An Singers were in fact one of the first to introduce the concept to live shows in the early 80s, and the sing-along segments were wildly popular with their audiences. “The trick is to know which songs to pick, and how to weave your numbers,” she shares. By weaving she means that as director, she’ll ensure her set list starts strong and builds up from there, so her audience won’t be left out in the cold halfway through the show. Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, interspersed with war time hits and selected tunes from everyone’s best memories are on the set list, we’re told by the show’s producer Andrew David.
Her students are all set to take on their first official sing-along concert with gusto. Mary Anne, who says that she doesn’t “mould choirs, but individual singers,” is confident that they’ll have the audience tapping their feet and singing along in no time. Old favourites Christopher Godridge and Sri Senanayake will also return to the stage for this show-a rare treat-and Mary Anne’s students will perform some solo numbers of their own.
For a closer, more intimate show her singers will take on the mini-amphitheatre of the Tourist Board Auditorium in Colombo 3; the seating capacity for 250, coupled with the hall’s intimacy promises to be the perfect setting for the show’s premise. “I also want to be able to see my audience,” she smiles. “My singers don’t want to sing to a black space! After all, it’s about having a good time, so the audience are as much a part of the show as the Merry-An Singers are.”
I Wanna Sing ‘Most All the Time’ happens on September 20 and 21 from 7.30 pm at the Tourist Board Auditorium in Colombo 3. Tickets and programmes for the show will be made available at the entrance from 6 p.m. onwards.