Dreamboats and Petticoats
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Tue 29 Aug – Sat 2 Sept 2017
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Tue 29 Aug – Sat 2 Sept 2017
If you love rock n roll and the music of the fifties/sixties era then Dreamboats and Petticoats is definitely for you. Set in 1961 we are introduced to the London teenagers who's lives revolve around school and the local youth club, where music is the main feature. Bobby is auditioning to be in the band but is usurped when Norman, taller, better looking and full of his own self importance joins the scene.
Phil, the youth club leader, who also happens to be Bobby's dad, announces a regional youth club song writing competition and Laura who has already written half a song asks Bobby, who's also written half a song, if he'd like to write a song for the competition together. Laura, who is still only 15 has a huge crush on Bobby, but of course he doesn't realise. Sue, the youth club vamp has a huge crush on Norman, along with all the other girls, but he's playing hard to get.
Cue one of the most cheesiest and blatantly obvious storylines as the teens sing and dance their way through no less than 44 songs each one of them punctuating what seems like every single significant moment in the show. Sue flirts outrageously, her friend Donna sings 'Jezebel' and later the boys sing 'Runaround Sue'; Bobby's upset, he sings 'You Won't Catch Me Crying'; it's coming up to Laura's 16th birthday party, they sing 'Only Sixteen' and then 'Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen'........you catch my drift. There was a lovely moment, however, when Bobby and Laura sang 'Runaway/Who's Sorry Now' on the pier.
That's not to say that these songs aren't good; they've certainly picked some of the greatest songs to come out of that era and it's perfectly obvious that each one of them are real crowd pleasers. Considering that the Cliffs Pavilion wasn't at full audience capacity on the opening night in Southend, the loud cheers and claps from the audience more than endorsed what a fabulous time they were having. It would be unfair not to point out that the majority of the audience were in the sixty years old and upwards age bracket but were clearly loving every second of these moments of nostalgia played out before them. There were lots of nods of recognition towards certain parts of the show with audience members no doubt remembering their own teenage japes; and there were quite a few funny one liners which drew some retrospective chuckles.
Despite the storyline being rather weak and plodding, you couldn't fault the enthusiasm of the cast, who also played the instruments on stage too. Alistair Higgins as Bobby has a lovely voice and vocal range although looked at little vacant at times possibly due to lack of direction and Alastair Hill as the cocky Norman proved that he has what it takes to belt out some great tunes. Elizabeth Carter played the blossoming Laura sweetly and did a wonderful job of endearing herself to the audience. I did enjoy watching David Luke as Laura's brother Ray in a nice comedic role.
The whole cast did a fantastic job of portraying the teens whose lives were so different from their parents' post war worries. This was a time where to be a teen was exciting and the world was full of promise with every song becoming a soundtrack to their lives. Dreamcoats and Petticoats shows the promise the teenagers of that time dreamed of and will, I am sure, bring a lot of joy to audiences. The Cliffs Pavilion audience certainly didn't hold back and were all up on their feet at the end of the evening, twisting and jiving away - it's amazing how good hip replacements are these days!!
With the show featuring classic tracks from Roy Orbison, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, and many more including Let’s Dance, To Know Him Is To Love Him, Shaking All Over, Bobby’s Girl, Little Town Flirt, Only Sixteen, Runaround Sue, Happy Birthday Sweet 16, Let It Be Me, Great Pretender, C’Mon Everybody, Let’s Twist Again and many more hits from music’s golden era, music fans are definitely in for a treat. Get yourselves along to the Cliffs Pavilion this week for over 2 and a half hours of rock n roll nostalgia.
Tickets are available at www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Phil, the youth club leader, who also happens to be Bobby's dad, announces a regional youth club song writing competition and Laura who has already written half a song asks Bobby, who's also written half a song, if he'd like to write a song for the competition together. Laura, who is still only 15 has a huge crush on Bobby, but of course he doesn't realise. Sue, the youth club vamp has a huge crush on Norman, along with all the other girls, but he's playing hard to get.
Cue one of the most cheesiest and blatantly obvious storylines as the teens sing and dance their way through no less than 44 songs each one of them punctuating what seems like every single significant moment in the show. Sue flirts outrageously, her friend Donna sings 'Jezebel' and later the boys sing 'Runaround Sue'; Bobby's upset, he sings 'You Won't Catch Me Crying'; it's coming up to Laura's 16th birthday party, they sing 'Only Sixteen' and then 'Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen'........you catch my drift. There was a lovely moment, however, when Bobby and Laura sang 'Runaway/Who's Sorry Now' on the pier.
That's not to say that these songs aren't good; they've certainly picked some of the greatest songs to come out of that era and it's perfectly obvious that each one of them are real crowd pleasers. Considering that the Cliffs Pavilion wasn't at full audience capacity on the opening night in Southend, the loud cheers and claps from the audience more than endorsed what a fabulous time they were having. It would be unfair not to point out that the majority of the audience were in the sixty years old and upwards age bracket but were clearly loving every second of these moments of nostalgia played out before them. There were lots of nods of recognition towards certain parts of the show with audience members no doubt remembering their own teenage japes; and there were quite a few funny one liners which drew some retrospective chuckles.
Despite the storyline being rather weak and plodding, you couldn't fault the enthusiasm of the cast, who also played the instruments on stage too. Alistair Higgins as Bobby has a lovely voice and vocal range although looked at little vacant at times possibly due to lack of direction and Alastair Hill as the cocky Norman proved that he has what it takes to belt out some great tunes. Elizabeth Carter played the blossoming Laura sweetly and did a wonderful job of endearing herself to the audience. I did enjoy watching David Luke as Laura's brother Ray in a nice comedic role.
The whole cast did a fantastic job of portraying the teens whose lives were so different from their parents' post war worries. This was a time where to be a teen was exciting and the world was full of promise with every song becoming a soundtrack to their lives. Dreamcoats and Petticoats shows the promise the teenagers of that time dreamed of and will, I am sure, bring a lot of joy to audiences. The Cliffs Pavilion audience certainly didn't hold back and were all up on their feet at the end of the evening, twisting and jiving away - it's amazing how good hip replacements are these days!!
With the show featuring classic tracks from Roy Orbison, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, and many more including Let’s Dance, To Know Him Is To Love Him, Shaking All Over, Bobby’s Girl, Little Town Flirt, Only Sixteen, Runaround Sue, Happy Birthday Sweet 16, Let It Be Me, Great Pretender, C’Mon Everybody, Let’s Twist Again and many more hits from music’s golden era, music fans are definitely in for a treat. Get yourselves along to the Cliffs Pavilion this week for over 2 and a half hours of rock n roll nostalgia.
Tickets are available at www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
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