IF you're looking for a show that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, look no further than Trafford Margaretians production of 'The Merry Widow', writes Rick Bowen.

You can leave your brain at home and immerse yourself in a world of flowing ball gowns, flawless etiquette and fluttering fans.

We're back in an age where women were happy to be swept off their feet and a few carefully chosen words were enough to send them swooning.

It was great to see a local company doing something that wasn't 'South Pacific' or 'Fiddler On The Roof'.

No disrespect to these great shows, but we've seen them and musicals of their ilk many times and doing something different benefits performers and audiences alike. A change is as good as a rest, as they say.

Franz Lehar's tale of love and money boasts a sumptuous score that will leave you glowing with pleasure and there are some amusing lines of dialogue too. Most of them come courtesy of the plain speaking Baron Zeta, played with customary aplomb by Trafford's resident Mr Jolly, John Walker.

While some non-professionals sound like amateurs there are others who leave you scratching your head as to why they never turned a hobby into a career.

One such performer is Deborah Nelson, who plays the show's leading lady, Madame Glavari. Not only does Ms Nelson possess one of the sweetest voices you're every likely to hear, she also has a terrific stage presence and lights up the Altrincham Garrick stage whenever she appears on it.

Carmel Price (Valencienne) comes a very close second in the best female singer category and John Grainger, as Danilo, Count Danilovitsch is everything an eligible bachelor should be - masculine, a hit with the ladies and with a vice or two.

It's encouraging that our amateur operatic societies can attract singers of this standard and professional theatre's loss is definitely our gain.

Another impressive feature of this production are the dance routines and I don't know about anybody else, but I felt exhausted after watching the high kicking, high energy can can routine. It can't be easy maintaining such a frantic momentum and the dancers rose to the challenge admirably.

Rita Taylor-Bentley has good reason to feel very proud of her production which demonstrates once again that, when it's done well, home grown musical theatre is impossible to beat.

Until Saturday, May 3.