This was a great show, a children's series that celebrated musical theatre (mostly comedies). Each of the six episodes featured the one and only Roy Castle and famous guests performing songs and scenes from a popular musical of the past (and one hoped-for hit-to-be), interspersed with Mr. Castle telling us its story. Afterwards, he wrapped up each episode with a history of the musical in question, the impact it made at the time, and so on.
Each episode was presented in a minimalist
"Oratorio" style (no sets, no costumes) and the "orchestra" was renowned composer and musical director Johnny Pearson and his Grand Piano! Yet, for all that, there was no loss of impact or power: the songs still had bite. That this hit home with me at my young age even then is testament to its excellence.
My young age...ha! I'm ashamed to say I never saw it in on original broadcast in 1977, doing so a couple years later when the BBC repeated it on weekday mornings during school summer holidays, thus joining an unfortunate list of children's programmes I wish I'd appreciated back then (WORDS ON WAR, CHILDREN OF DESTINY). Who knows, they might have lasted a little longer. Pity.
Intelligent, informative AND entertaining - not often you hear that about children's television, certainly not in this day and age. But there was a time it once was all that. LET'S MAKE A MUSICAL was living proof.
