Guns and Hoses Benefit - A Review

Thursday night is the only performance of the "Guns and Hoses" Benefit Concert, so for this review I sat in on tonight's dress rehearsal at the Huntington City Hall Auditorium.

And let me just say: what a terrific show!

You can never go wrong by casting some of the area's top talent, and here we have an All-Star lineup of singers, including Marina Jurica, Ryan Hardiman, Danny Ray, Mary Olson, Linda Reynolds, Jennifer Scott, Paul Neace, Ron Short, Nancy Jackson and Zach Davis.

The show is hosted by Debbie Wolfe and features just over two hours of terrific songs and performances.

And director Eddie Harbert and choreographer Coni Anthony have assembled a terrific lineup of songs, with a great mix of heartfelt songs, dramatic numbers, humorous songs and some real show-stoppers. Kudos also to my pal Mike Campbell, who provides the accompaniment for the show.

The tendency on these types of shows is to lean on the hoary show tunes, and they avoid that here, using a great mix of fresh, funny and often surprising songs. Some are beloved songs from Broadway shows, but you'll also hear some pop songs mixed in there. You may be shocked, you'll enjoy some laughs, and you'll be moved to tears - it's a great showcase for some of our top performers.

It's great to see so much talent on the stage like this, and hopefully this will become an annual tradition for Fifth Avenue Theatre and the City of Huntington.

You can see the show for yourself Thursday night, and it's for a great cause! All proceeds go to the Huntington Police Department, the Huntington Fire Department and the City of Huntington Foundation.

Dinner is served at 6:00 p.m. and the performance follows at 8:00 p.m.

The cost is $100 per person for dinner and the show, or $40 each to just see the performance. Yes, the price is a little steep, but it's a great cause to support our local heroes.

The event is being sponsored by Kindred Communications and the Herald-Dispatch.

Tickets are now on sale - for more information, call Maxine Loudermilk at City Hall at 304-696-5522, or you can buy tickets at the door Thursday evening.

Highly, highly recommended!