Take a trip back to the swinging 60s to relive the jukebox era at its finest. Dreamboats and Petticoats perfectly encapsulates the innocence and joy that was heavily prominent up and down the country’s youth clubs during the 1960s.
Legendary writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran script teamed with Bill Kenwright’s dynamic production and direction allowed for a strong production of the 10 year old story.
Each song throughout the production was cherished through a live on stage band giving the cast the energy they needed to keep twisting till the very end. From Runaround Sue,
to Let’s Twist again, the evening was jam packed with classic hits to keep you itching with rhythm until the final curtain.
The company was bursting with not only talented actors but multifaceted performers who excelled in every area. Almost every member was an outstanding musician, actor, and singer. Some incredible voices from Laura Darton as Sue, and Gracie Johnson as Donna, my only criticism is that we didn’t hear more of them.
The classic story of dorky Bobby and sweet little Laura becoming lost in the world of innocence flirtation that encapsulating the 1960s was loveable and made accessible and relatable for the reminiscing audience.
The slightly empty stage went unnoticed due to the larger than life characters and full sounding songs. The richness of each cast member’s voice resonated around the auditorium beautifully, it is rare to find a cast without a weak link.
This production is all about casting the audience back to the times they remember so fondly and allowing them to relive their carefree teenage years through the music they loved. Being a teenager myself I thought this show may be lost on me. It turns out the only criteria to get sucked into this world was to love the music, which thankfully I am a big fan of the 60s music. Back to back sing along hits kept the show fast paced and entertaining and the cast did well to keep up.
Crammed full of references and songs you can’t help but toe-tap to, the performance is wonderfully uplifting and a joyous start to my week.