Urmston Musical Theatre (UMT) is an amateur theatre

Amateur theatre

Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...

 company based in Urmston

Urmston

Urmston is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 41,000. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is marked by the River Mersey and the...

, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, UK.

History

The organisation was formed in 1911 as the Urmston and District Operatic Society, and produced H.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...

at the Urmston Public Hall. In 1947, the name was changed to the Urmston Amateur Operatic Society which remained until it assumed the current name.

Several well-known personalities have been connected with the society, notably the current President, Matthew Kelly

Matthew Kelly

Matthew Kelly is an English television presenter and Olivier-award winning actor. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes...

, who appeared in the society's 1963 production of The King and I

The King and I

The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...

along with Peter Pennington, who became a featured soloist with the Black and White Minstrels. Others include Brian Trueman

Brian Trueman

Brian Trueman is a British writer and broadcaster known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall...

 who appeared in the group's production of Merrie England

Merrie England

Merrie England may also refer to:*Merry England, an idealised conception pastoral English life*Merrie England , a book of essays on socialism by Robert Blatchford* Merrie England , a comic opera by Edward German...

in 1951, the late Lord Winstanley and Winston Churchill MP, grandson of the wartime leader and son of Randolph Churchill

Randolph Churchill

Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill, MBE was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston from 1940 to 1945....

 MBE.

In 1958, 1959 and 1960, the society won the Manchester Evening News

Manchester Evening News

The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...

 Prompter's Palm award for their productions of Carousel

Carousel (musical)

Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...

, Oklahoma!

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...

and Magyar Melody respectively. The society has also been nominated in the Manchester Musical Awards on a number of occasions for both overall and individual performances. In 1995, they won the "Best Musical" award for their production of Camelot

Camelot (musical)

Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....

.

Junior members aged between 8 years and 18 years, in addition to being involved in some of the main shows and pantomimes, have presented a variety of musicals in their own right since 1993 including The Wizard of Oz, Bugsy Malone

Bugsy Malone

Bugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...

, Andy Capp, Copperfield

Copperfield (musical)

Copperfield is a 1981 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, who were nominated for the 1981 Tony Award for Best Original Score. It is based on the classic 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens....

, and Dazzle.

In the early 1930s, the theatre almost closed when reserves fell to £3, but for the enthusiasm and dedication of its members and patrons.

Past presidents and shows

Year	President	UMT Society Shows
1994 to present	Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly is an English television presenter and Olivier-award winning actor. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes...	2008 Snow White, Fiddler on the Roof Fiddler on the Roof Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem... ; 2007 Aladdin, Calamity Jane; 2006 Babes in the Wood, The King and I The King and I The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in... ; 2005 Jack and the Beanstalk, Annie; 2004 Ali Baba, Magic Musicals; 2003 Dick Whittington, Viva Mexico; 2002 Mother Goose, Pickwick; 2001 Cinderella, Oklahoma; 2000 Snow White, Oliver!; 1999 Jack and the Beanstalk, Me and My Girl; 1998 Puss in Boots, Carousel; 1997 Aladdin, South Pacific; 1996 Goldilocks, Kiss Me Kate; 1995 Dick Whittington, Call Me Madam
1991 to 1993	The Lord Winstanley	1993 Babes in the Wood, Hello, Dolly! Hello, Dolly! (musical) Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955.... ; 1992 My Fair Lady My Fair Lady My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
1987 to 1991	W S Churchill Esq	1991 The Arcadians; 1990 Half a Sixpence; 1989 The Merry Widow; 1988 Annie Get Your Gun Annie Get Your Gun (musical) Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production... ; 1987 The Sound of Music The Sound of Music The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
1965 to 1986	Mrs R V Royle-Higginson MBE JP	1986 Annie; 1985 Guys & Dolls; 1984 Pickwick; 1983 Brigadoon; 1982 The Pajama Game; 1981 The Quaker Girl; 1980 South Pacific South Pacific (musical) South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its... ; 1979 Cinderella, No, No, Nanette No, No, Nanette No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends... ; 1978 Dick Whittington; 1977 Aladdin, Oklahoma! Oklahoma! Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance... ; 1976 Mame Mame Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and a 1956 Broadway play, by Lawrence and Lee, that had starred Rosalind Russell... ; 1975 My Fair Lady; 1974 Finian's Rainbow; 1973 The Boyfriend; 1972 The Mikado The Mikado The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations... ; 1971 Summer Song; 1970 Hello Dolly; 1969 Desert Song; 1968 Oliver!; 1967 Kaleidoscope, Carousel; 1966 Student Prince; 1965 White Horse Inn
1954 to 1964	H Bond Esq	1964 The Merry Widow; 1963 The King and I; 1962 Most Happy Fella; 1961 South Pacific; 1960 Magyar Melody; 1959 Oklahoma!; 1958 Carousel; 1957 Annie Get Your Gun; 1956 Zip Goes A Million; 1955 Bless the Bride; 1954 Goodnight Vienna
1930 to 1953	Sir T Robinson KBE JP	1953 The Geisha; 1952 The Three Graces; 1951 Merrie England; 1950 The Count of Luxembourg; 1949 Les Cloches de Conville; 1948 The Arcadians; 1947 The Vagabond King; 1946 A Country Girl; 1939 No, No, Nanette; 1938 Good Night Vienna; 1937 The Mikado; 1936 The Vagabond King; 1935 Trial by Jury, Pirates of Penzance; 1934 Princess Aida; 1933 The Yeomen of the Guard; 1932 The Gondoliers; 1931 The Mikado; 1930 Primrose
1929	Lady Robinson	1929 The Merchant Prince
1926 to 1928	Councillor S Penlington	1928 La Poupee, Snaporatics Revue; 1927 A Country Girl; 1926 Florodora Florodora Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...
1922 to 1925	R L Hattersley Esq JP	1925 Marriage Market; 1924 Iolanthe; 1923 Rebel Maid; 1922 Tom Jones
1921	H C D Scott Esq JP	1921 The Geisha; 1920 The Gondoliers
1920	H Standring Esq	1920 The Mikado
1919	J H Ashton Esq	1919 HMS Pinafore HMS Pinafore H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
1911 to 1918	F W Millington Esq	1918 to 1918 Masked Singer, Miscellaneous, Orchestral Concerts and Garden Fetes at "Wibbersley" in conjunction with the local British Red Cross, in aid of the local Auxiliary Military Hospital; 1915 Iolanthe; 1914 The Gondoliers; 1913 The Yeomen of the Guard; 1911 HMS Pinafore