DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS to 12th September 2009
DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS
book by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
Savoy Theatre, The Strand, London, WC2R 0ET to 12 September 2009.
Mon – Fri 7.30pm, Sat 8:00pm, Matinee Thu 3:00 and Sat 4:00pm.
Runs 2hr 30mins One interval.
TICKETS: 0870 164 8787.
www.kenwright.com
Review: Geoff Ambler 4 August 2009.
A light-hearted twist through 1961.
In the crowded genre of Juke Box musicals, that generally includes more entertainments than musicals, Dreamboats and Petticoats stands out by not drawing its music from a single popular group but instead is fashioned from the music of a period. Fortunately it is 1961 and the music that has lasted nearly fifty years is really rather good.
Unencumbered by a limiting back catalogue Petticoats writers should have had a free reign to create a story with drama and comedy all wrapped in subtle tensions and shifting group dynamics however back in ’61 it seems that all the music that wasn’t about dancing was about finding love, being in love, losing love, then repeating the process; this is basically the plot Dreamboats and Petticoats ended up with however this is in no way a bad thing. The music and comedy is very well done, the characters well sketched and delivered with appropriate energy and as a light hearted vehicle for having a good time it had attracted theatregoers of all ages, many of whom would have bought the music the first time it was released and certainly were having a good time.
The programme includes a whopping forty three songs, although some of these are just a few lines long so it still manages to finish well before midnight, in fact before ten, including time to bop in the aisles.
Daisy Wood-Davis as Laura, on the verge of becoming Only Sixteen, is incredibly sweet, a delight vocally and ultimately destined to achieve a Sandy like transformation from plaited, bespectacled geeky schoolgirl into dreamboat with petticoat. Scott Brunton as nice guy Bobby, although all the characters are almost too nice, displays a voracious talent when singing. Emma Hatton’s Donna is one of the casting highlights, with a smattering of lines that she makes the most of with a lively and effervescent performance.
Maturing on its UK tour, Petticoats has benefitted by arriving in the West End with a perky, tight music fuelled event energising its audience and while solidly in the light-weight entertainment bracket it solidly entertains.
Older Bobby/Phil: David Cardy.
Daisy: Sophie Byrne.
Andy: Adam Welsh.
Richard: Sam Palladio.
Colin: Michael Kantola.
Barry: Robin Johnson.
Derek: Patrick Burbridge.
Bobby: Scott Bruton.
Ray: AJ Dean.
Laura: Daisy Wood-Davis.
Sue: Jennifer Biddall.
Donna: Emma Hatton.
Norman: Ben Freeman.
Frank: Mike Lloyd.
Eric: Stuart Ward.
Jeremy: Andrew Venning.
Babs: Wendy Paver.
Helen: Deborah Hewitt.
Directors: Bob Tomson, Keith Strachan.
Designer: Sean Cavanagh.
Lighting: Mark Howett.
Sound: Ben Harrison.
Choreographer: Carole Todd.
2009-08-10 09:51:05