The joint is jumping at the New Victoria, Woking, this week. This celebration of the collaboration of songwriters Doc Pomus and Mart Shuman had Janice Windle hooked in this 4 STAR review
As a vehicle for classic songs from the years just after WWII the rather thin story-line is perfect: a holiday romance – boy meets girl and it’s love at first sight. The boy’s a black American airman based temporarily in Lowestoft and the girl a very young innocent seventeen-year-old from Luton. There are complications, but this is the optimistic world of the 1950’s. Songs like “A Teenager in Love”, “Be my Baby”, “I Count the Tears”, “Please Mr Postman” and a couple of dozen equally memorable hits from the middle of the last century are hung on this framework to enchanting effect.
This is the simple world of 1955, where mothers rule the family but do all the housework, while Dads are always right and earn all the money. Marie can tell Curtis that he should stay in Britain “where you can walk into a Wimpy Bar with whoever you like” (unlike the segregated south of the USA) and foresees no racial prejudice from outside if they’re together, despite her own family’s reservations and prejudice. She even suggests that one day there might be a black president of the USA!
These glances at the social context are only glances. The meat of this production is the music, which sweeps the audience along with it. By the second half we were singing along. The musical settings are varied and rich, from rock and roll to Phil Spectre productions to àcapella harmonies. (I particularly loved “Sweets for my Sweet” sung àcapella.) “She’s Not You” was sung by Wayne Robinson in a heartbreaking Presley style: he has a truly wonderful voice and a huge range of expression. “A Mess of the Blues” was another great song by Curtis.
There’s not a weak link among the cast, ensemble or band musicians. Lola Saunders’ powerful voice, reined in to tenderness or expanded to rich blues, Elizabeth Carter’s pure soprano for songs like “I count the Tears” and “This Magic Moment”, Antony Costa’s flair for comic timing and great Brooklyn accent, and Kieran Kuypers’ transition from figure of fun to powerful tenor in “Be my Baby” and “Hushabye” – all this adds up to a brilliant evening’s entertainment. By the end of the show the audience were on their feet, singing, dancing and cheering for more.
Save the Last Dance for Me is showing until September 24, to book tickets visit atgtickets.com
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