"Utopanella"—The monicker of Extravaganza 1947—and such a brisk, crisp and risque 120 minutes of mudley saturated with songs and dripping with puns the maligned public of Wellington have not yet suffered. And as if the punishment were not to fit the crime, there is the possibility that the inhabitants of Napier—Proud City of Hawke's Bay—will be likewise inflicted.

Descending late from their daily terrors, the weary and the bleary have of late oft detected something of a minor seismological disturbance epicentred near the Gym. Closer investigations have revealed that once sombre edifice in the apparent throes of chronic diarrhoea, pulsating violently to the rhythm of varied and eerie sounds emitted at intervals through shattered windows and splintered weatherboards. But only the men of steel who have penetrated the fog and the grog, the mist and the schist of the upper floor will realise the brutal truth—rehearsals have begun.

Veteran of Extravaganzas and Producer of two former shows, John McCreary, foaming at the larynx, and blasting from the lungs uses his physical endowments to advantage. Interviewed he said "Quiet Please!"

And not insignificant beside him Musical Director Jeff Stewart—an Honest Guy, but still an adept at the shrewd and the lewd in song and lyric; he is conducting some of the most brilliant of Extrav Musical scores yet realised.

The stage is set—the producer lilting in the gallery, the audience goggling in the pit, and Stage Manager Huddy Williamson jiving in the wings—Let the curtain rise on "Utopanella," Extravaganza 1947.