Show: An Officer and a Gentleman
Society: New Wimbledon Theatre (professional)
Venue: New Wimbledon Theatre
Credits: Madonna, Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, and many more...
Type: Sardines
Author: Frank Kaye
Performance Date: 09/04/2024
An Officer and a Gentleman
Frank Kaye | 13 Apr 2024 09:55am
Photo: Courtesy of An Officer and a Gentleman production
As a reviewer for Sardines, one has no idea what the venue or the show will be like. It is sometimes a thirty-person audience in the corner of an office block, sometimes a play surrounded on four sides by two rows of audience – but in this case it is over fifteen hundred people on three floors of one of the largest theatres in the UK! The show is on tour and playing over nine months (from February to November) all over the country. This was the first night of a seven-night run in South London.
It is the sixth week of the run and so there are many reviews already on-line, and the track record so far is not great. That said I think some of the reviews are taking a kind of “absolutist” view and missing the point that this is an evening’s entertainment where a thoroughly enjoyable musical evening is woven around an excellent story line.
An Officer and a Gentleman was a very popular film starring Richard Gere over forty years ago and this production sticks fairly faithfully to the original script. A fabulous lighting representation of an aircraft on the back of the set ensures we never forget the context of the show, and indeed a moving image and engine noise adds to the effect a couple of times. To reduce the script to its simplest form, a bunch of guys are trying to become officers for which there are five places, but only two of them will make it as pilots. Meanwhile the local girls know that getting married to one of these guys is a ticket to a comfortable life. The show takes us on the journey to the successes of the candidates.
The show is billed as a musical, but it has a very strong storyline which the show rather dwells on in the latter part of the first act. This begins to detract from the musical positioning but once the second act gets going there is a nice blend of story and musical. The play is progressed through a variety of scene changes (Michael Taylor, the set and costume designer, deserves a mention) using a tall set of stairs which both acts as a brilliant place to position the actors but also allows entrances and exits from an upper door in the backdrop. This is used brilliantly when the candidates have to go underwater which freaks out one of the cast, who quits and who subsequently commits suicide because his girl only wanted him if he became an officer. This is the strongest bit of the story line and is delivered with real acting skill by Paul French and Sinead Long.
The other significant piece of scenery is a small frame which comes on and off front left and provides a test for the candidates to climb over. Whilst simple it carries the weight of the show for the female candidate, played by Olivier Foster-Brown, who can’t climb it (because she is too short) but at the end is lifted up to it by the rest of the cast. This brings a huge cheer from the audience and the route to a final standing ovation is now clear!
The two main protagonists, Zack, and Paula are well played by Luke Baker and Georgia Lennon. They carry the story effortlessly (though earlier reviews indicate that this has had to be worked on). However their really significant contribution is their singing, which in Luke’s case is excellent, but in Georgia’s case, is out of this world. She has a couple of solo numbers which are delivered with incredible power.
Another significant part is that of Byron Mayo, Zack’s father played by Tim Rogers. He brings a certain gravitas to Zack’s story and keeps the show connected to the fundamental storyline. In the same way Melanie Masson has a similar role with that of Paula’s mother and in her case she has a number of great songs. The remaining officer candidates are well played by Lucas Piquero, Chris Breistein, James Wilkinson-Jones, and Danny Whelan.
An important piece of staging and punctuation of the story is the factory which is simply achieved using a couple of tables with boxes on. It is used in both acts and provides a vehicle for a couple of powerful songs and, indeed for a number of other cast members to gain attention – Julia Jones, Etisyae Philip and Mia Harrison.
The show has an extra dimension through the array of ‘80s music that provides the backbone to the production. It works very well and the guys and gals down in the orchestra pit deserve a serious mention. George Dyer and Christopher Duffy, the Musical Supervisor and Director, must have had a major role in putting this part of the production together. This also highlights the huge role that Joanna Goodwin had in choreographing the twenty-two numbers in the show.
This show being a blend of music and story is a real challenge for the Director, Nikolai Foster. Some reviewers have said that the show did not hang together but I do not agree. The story was very clear, and the music blended effortlessly with the action. As mentioned earlier the show began to pall towards the end of the first act but it picked up nicely in the second and the director must have played a key role in making this work.
As mentioned earlier, towards the end of the show, the audience is brought into reacting to everything on stage and thus there is an inevitable standing ovation at the end. As the show is going all around the country over the rest of the year there is ample opportunity for all those wanting a very good night out to get involved – thoroughly recommended!