It was a busy Theatrical week for me last week. I went to three different shows on successive evenings. I’d never seen any of them before, which made it even more exciting.
First up was an Officer and a Gentleman, the Musical, at Manchester’s Opera House. I’d heard it was a juke box musical, meaning that well known songs that had been independent hits, would be sprinkled throughout the show.
There are many successful musicals that have used this format with Mamma Mia! being the standout example, but this one isn’t up to that standard, in my opinion. When I saw the song list included Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi), Heart of Glass (Blondie), Alone (Heart) and Material Girl (Madonna) I was really looking forward to it.
The show is based on the blockbuster 1982 film starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger and the audience was largely made up of the age group that would have been big fans of the film. The lady sat in front of me told me, at the interval, that it was her favourite film and the jiggling of her shoulders during the songs in the show, showed me she was loving the Musical. Who am I to criticise the show, when clearly there was so much joy in the room? All I can say is that the show didn’t do the songs, I’d looked forward to hearing, any justice.
The following night I was at the Palace Theatre to watch the Wizard of Oz. Tickets had been hard to come by, but we managed to get two single seats in the stalls for just £21 each and we absolutely loved the show. The wonderful Jason Manford was the cowardly Lion, with Aviva Tulley as Dorothy, the Vivienne as the Wicked Witch and Benjamin Yates as Scarecrow. Those four were outstanding.
Benjamin was a guest on my radio show, a couple of weeks ago and his comic timing was a key part of the way the show worked. It felt like we were watching the very best of the West End, right here in Manchester. The whole show was faultless, uplifting and mesmerising to watch. I’d go and see that show again in a heartbeat.
The third of my successive trips to theatre was at the Lowry in Salford to see 42 Balloons, a brand-new musical, written by Jack Godfrey. It tells the story of Larry Walters, a Californian Vietnam vet, who gets rejected by the US Airforce, so decides he’ll fly into the sky in a lawn chair carried by 42 Helium Balloons instead. It’s a true story, you can look it up (as they repeatedly remind us in the show).
The songs are all original, unlike the jukebox musical I’d seen two days earlier or the mixture of songs from the Wizard of Oz film and new music by Andrew Lloyd Webber I’d seen the day before. I hadn’t been aware that 42 Balloons would be entirely sung for the two hours of the show. If I’d known I might have been a little anxious because it needs to be something special to carry an entire show, without any spoken dialogue.
This show is something special, though, so I needn’t have worried. The story is not corny, it’s actually quite thought provoking. I’d advise that if you go and watch it before it finishes it’s run at the Lowry on May 19th, don’t read the story in advance. It’s better to see the story unfold naturally, as I did. I reckon it will end up in the West End, so well done to all involved.
On my radio show this week you’ll meet comedian Kiri Pritchard-McClean, who’s show All Killa, No Filla is at the Opera House on Sunday 24th May, Lucy Donohue, who’s playing Maria in Ashton Operatic’s last ever show, West Side Story, at the George Lawton Hall from 21st to 25th May and more from Ashton’s Jonathan Sayer on Mind Mangler, at the Palace Theatre from 15th to 18th May. That’s Break-a-Leg every Sunday from 7pm and Wednesday’s from 9pm – see you then!
