Ghoulish laughs and Mr Blue Sky at Milton Rooms this April

Ryedale Youth Theatre present their 30th annual Easter show The Addams Family from April 5 to 8, and the mighty ELO Encounter lands on stage on the 15th.

The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre.

And ELO Encounter - The Blue Sky Tour is a tribute to Jeff Lynne’s iconic Electric Light Orchestra, an all-live show featuring soaring strings, striking vocal harmonies and playing all the much loved songs from the band’s hit-filled library including Evil Woman, Telephone Line and Don’t Bring Me Down.

Also blowing in on April 21 are Gaelforce, an excellent Celtic folk-rock band from Yorkshire who love rocked-up traditional folk songs and won the introducing stage at the Great British Folk Festival in January at Butlins in Skegness by public vote from of an audience of more than 2,000.

The lively April line-up also includes the return of The James Oliver Band at Ryedale Blues Club on the 27th and the following night brings the Hilarity Bites Comedy Club featuring host Pete Selwood, Tom Taylor and Harriet Dyer.

A peek at May reveals Both Sides Now – A Joni Mitchell Celebration Concert on the 13th and A HEAD full of COLDPLAY on the 20th, so there’s really something for everybody.

There are many more events, with new ones being added all the time, so head over to www.themiltonrooms.com for the latest information and to book tickets. The upcoming shows include:

March

Thursday, March 30: Ryedale Blues Club presents The Mark Pontin Group, Since releasing his debut album ‘Days of Destiny’ in 2013, Mark Pontin has firmly established himself in the UK Blues/Rock scene as an artist to take notice of. ‘Textures’ came next in 2015 to huge critical acclaim. 8pm. Tickets £10.

April

Wednesday, April 5 – Saturday, April 8: Ryedale Youth Theatre presents The Addams Family. More than 50 local young people will be performing in Ryedale Youth Theatre’s 30th annual Easter show. The performance times are evenings at 7.15 pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2pm. Tickets are adults from £12, concessions from £10 and family bundles from £40, available from www.yourboxoffice.co.uk

Saturday, April 15: ELO Encounter – Blue Sky Tour. A tribute to Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra, featuring all the much-loved songs from ELO’s hit-filled library including Evil Woman, Telephone Line and Don’t Bring Me Down. Not only recreating the wonderful music of ELO, it’s a spectacular live show with stunning lights and special effects. 8pm. Tickets £15.

Thursday, April 21: Gaelforce are a superb Celtic folk-rock band from Yorkshire, playing a variety of rocked-up traditional folk songs and jigs’n’reels, mainly from Ireland. The band was successful in the 1990s and has now reformed with ex-members of the Duncan McFarlane Band and the Mike Harding Band. 8pm. Tickets £10.

Thursday, April 27: Ryedale Blues Club welcomes back The James Oliver Band, whose last performance at The Milton Rooms was nothing short of spectacular. 8pm. Tickets £10.

Friday, April 28: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club featuring Tom Taylor, Harriet Dyer and host Pete Selwood. Tom Taylor is a multi-award winning comedian with a unique brand of musical comedy. Harriet Dyer weaves surreal and hilarious tales of a mis-spent youth and bewildering personal tales that are so ridiculous, they must be true. Pete Selwood is a hotly-tipped up and upcoming comedian on the circuit. 8pm. Tickets £10.

May

Saturday, May 13: Both Sides Now - The Joni Mitchell Celebration Concert. Both Sides Now are the UK’s only regular touring tribute to the songs of Joni Mitchell. The five-piece live band is led by the amazing voice of Sarah. The Joni Mitchell songbook draws on a three-decade journey of incredible creativity, from folk singer to mainstream rock artist, as well as an abiding love affair with jazz. 8pm. Tickets £16.

Saturday, May 20: A HEAD full of COLDPLAY. A tribute to the music and recreating the sound of Coldplay, without being an impersonation of the band. A HEAD full of COLDPLAY capture the feel, energy and themes with a setlist spanning all nine studio albums. 8pm. Tickets £15.

July

Saturday, July 1: An evening of Ballroom, Latin American and sequence dancing to concert and dance organists Howard Beaumont and Andrew Nix. 7.30pm. Tickets £15. For further details and to book, call 07508 876049

September

Friday, September 1: Priscilla Queen of the Disaster. Join Susie, a mother of two boys, as she shares her hilarious story of becoming a mum, not knowing what she is doing and how she makes it through each day of parenting two boys with no instructions. Laugh along as Susie realises that parenting is nothing like she expected, highly unpredictable and nobody is getting it right, despite what social media might portray. 7.30pm. Tickets £10.

Saturday, September 9: Mandy Muden – An evening of magic and comedy. Mandy returns to The Milton Rooms with her hilarious comedy magic show. Her sensational appearances on Britain’s Got Talent and the 2022 Britain’s Got Talent Ultimate Magician won critical acclaim from both judges and public alike for a show packed with her razor-sharp wit, magic tricks and plenty of mind-reading. 8pm. Tickets £15.

October

Saturday, October 7: Marblehead Johnson - The Original Britpop Experience. The five-piece band, named after the classic Bluetones Britpop anthem, pay tribute to the British Britpop music scene. Marblehead Johnson bring the recreated hits up to date in a combination of passion and quality. 8pm. Tickets £15.

Sunday, October 8: An afternoon with Charles Hanson. Back by popular demand, one of the UK’s best known auctioneers. His charismatic personality coupled with his stories from the sales room and his antics on Bargain Hunt, Flog It and Antiques Road Trip will have the audience in stitches. Charles will be talking about his career, valuing audience items and auctioning some great tickets. 3pm. Tickets £10.

* The Milton Rooms is a beautiful, Grade Il listed building and has gone through some huge changes in the past few years. Before the trustees and volunteers start the next phase, they would like to hear what people would like to see at the venue. Head over to www.themiltonrooms.com and fill in the questionnaire. It will only take a few minutes and will help to shape an exciting future for the community, arts and entertainment hub.

*The Milton Rooms needs volunteers to help to keep things running smoothly. We need help with office administration and ticket sales, event management (front of house/bar), technical support (sound and light), marketing and promotion, venue maintenance and DIY.

If you can spare some time to help, email info@themiltonrooms.com for more information.