Skip to main content

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

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Legally Blonde - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

It is now a quarter of a century since Legally Blonde first hit the screens, featuring Reese Witherspoon in the iconic role of Elle Woods, and now 19 years since the film became a Broadway musical. Legally Blonde is back on tour and now at Milton Keynes for a fresh take on the show. So, in the hands of director Nikolai Foster, who often likes to shake things up, is this pink spectacle as relevant and enjoyable as it has been in the past? Legally Blonde tells the story of Elle Woods, a UCLA sorority sister who tries to get into Harvard Law School to win back her boyfriend, Warner. During her time at Harvard, Elle begins to realise that things beyond Warner are becoming increasingly more relevant to her progress in life. The role of Elle Woods is in the hands of Amber Davies, a now very big name beyond theatre, thanks to her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing . However, more significantly here, is being fresh from victory at the WhatsOnStage Awards for her performance in The Great Ga...
Read more

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...
Read more

Review of The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

For theatres across the land, it's that time of year again. The time when the theatres fill with screaming children and a ridiculous amount of sugar intake and trips to the toilet. Yes, it is panto time, and before you say it, oh yes it is. This year, for the Royal & Derngate, it is time for a trip to Neverland (or Forever Land, that is, but more on that later) and a magical adventure with Peter Pan and the dastardly Captain Hook. Once again, following hugely successful previous runs, Evolution Productions brings this tale to the stage in 2025. And it has to be said, once again, they strike panto gold with The All New Adventures of Peter Pan , with a constantly lively, brilliantly colourful and awkwardly funny production that, as always with Evolution, is totally family friendly. Over the years here, Evolution and writer Paul Hendy have created the essence of pantomime (which just so happens to link to the tale within this story). Keeping all the traditions intact, a ghostly be...
Read more