Review of An Officer And A Gentleman - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

I had an advantage of coming to An Officer and a Gentleman unburdened by a knowledge of the film, having somehow inexplicably avoided seeing the iconic eighties Richard Gere and Debra Winger original. However, on the evidence of The Musical version, it's a heavy popcorn movie, with the emphasis on the corn(y) variety. Writers Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen have taken the original screenplay, and shoehorned, some more successfully than others, a bagful of eighties classics to create what just about amounts to a successful musical.

The story, such as it is, revolves around a bunch of US Navy recruits attempting to survive the pipeline and get their chance at the big flying game. Under the eye of Sgt Emil Foley (played with a heavily characterised approach by Ray Shell), a few survive the training, and also get up close and personal with the young ladies of Pensacola, Florida.

Leading the story are two romantic couples, Paula (Emma Williams) and Zack (Jonny Fines), and Sid (Ian McIntosh) and Lynette (Jessica Daley). The former are the characters portrayed by Gere and Winger in the film, but it has to be said that often the relationship, more broken, between Sid and Lynette often forms the most interesting aspect, and certainly has the more compelling story arc. All performers are great in the leads, with Williams, in particular, bringing an extremely strong and tough creation to the stage, against Fines often slightly one-dimensional character. Both McIntosh and Daley spark off one another in their intense relationship. Elsewhere there is very strong support from Rachel Stanley as Paula's mother Esther, and they have a brilliantly funny scene in the Pokrifki household, offering one of the few truly comic moments of the show.

The musical numbers are a mixed collection of those that work, and those that simply don't (Material Girl for one), when it does work though, it forms some tremendous moments. The showstopper without any doubt is Emma Williams skin-tingling solo performance of Heart's Alone, when she very finally, in the second half, gets to show truly why she is a multi-Olivier nominee.

Elsewhere in the musical moments, there is a brilliant reworking of Kim Wilde's Kids In America, given a brilliantly intense and sweaty performance by Darren Bennett, as Zach's father Byron. They get the openings and closing rights, opening with a very slight reworking of Status Quo's In The Army Now becoming the Navy and creating an effective opening alongside Kate Prince's lively, and suitably regimented choreography. There is also nothing wrong with closing one act with John Parr's classic St Elmo's Fire, and going all karaoke in the bar with a meaty version of Jon Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer. Added to this, a stirring version of Martika's Toy Soldiers, and it all finally ends, as expected with both the iconic moment and song Up Where We Belong, making it as much an eighties feast of musical, as much a musical.

There is a tough ruggedness to Michael Taylor's set which sits very well within the story, and there is some challenging lighting from Ben Cracknell, which mostly works extremely well, despite a couple of moments missed, and an occasionally wayward spotlight. The use of video from Douglas O'Connell, doesn't always please, as it can be a lazy staging option, however, for the best part, in this, it works.

An Officer And A Gentleman - The Musical is a tremendous distance from being the best that jukebox musicals have to offer, but despite only three rounds of applause between songs during the entire show, including one very much deserved for Alone, the audience suddenly comes alive at that final moment and it becomes clear they were almost there for just that one moment.

An Officer and a Gentleman is a by the numbers show, nothing special, but always entertaining and well performed. Feelgood entertainment at it's most simplistic, and at the end of the day, there is nothing at all wrong with that.

Just about gets off the runway.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Monday 9th July 2018 at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.

An Officer And A Gentleman - The Musical runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 14th July 2018 before continuing its tour. Details at http://officerandagentlemanmusical.com/

For further details about Milton Keynes Theatre can be found at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Photos: Manuel Harlan

Review of National Theatre Connections 2017 (16 Shows) at Royal & Derngate (Royal & Underground), Northampton

Alongside the University of Northampton BA Actors Flash Festival, the Connections festival at Royal & Derngate is now my joint favourite week of theatre each year. This is my fourth year at the festival and each time I have tried my very best (and succeeded) in seeing more and more of those on offer (four in 2014, ten in 2015 and twelve last year). This year I cracked sixteen shows, including the most interesting, a chance to see two of the plays by three different groups. I was able to see nine of this year's ten plays (a single nagging one, Musical Differences by Robin French was missing from the R&D line-up), and most I either enjoyed or finally understood their merits or reasons for inclusion. The writing of sixteen reviews is a little bit of an daunting prospect, however, I will do my best to review each of the plays and those I saw more than once, and pick around the comparisons. Extremism by Anders Lustgarten Performed by Bedford College Extremism was perfo...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though, Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...

Review of Breaking the Code at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Breaking The Code , the opening play in the new Made in Northampton season at Royal & Derngate, is a surprisingly old and rarely seen play. Written in 1986 by Hugh Whitemore, it tells the story of legendary codebreaker Alan Turing, a man who, in the 1980s, when this play first appeared, was relatively unknown. The years since the origin of this play have been good for Turing, with his life's work finally getting the recognition it deserves, and also, very much what this play centres on, a recognition of the horrific life and end that Turing had as a result of dealing with the laws of the day. Breaking the Code has seen life before on the stage of the Royal, as back in 2003, Philip Franks took to the role of Turing in a very well-received production. So, what of this brand new version directed by the Royal & Derngate's artistic director Jesse Jones? Does it live up to Turing's legend? That is an unquestionable yes with no machines needed to crack the class behind thi...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog