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REVIEW
SON OF A PREACHER MAN 
Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend on Sea, Essex SS0 7RA

Tue 16 – Sat 20 January 2018
✭✭☆☆☆ 2/5
Son of a Preacher Man, as the title suggests, is about a swinging sixties Soho hang-out called, The Preacher Man.  It introduces us to Simon, the son of the man who was called the Preacher Man back then because of his ability to solve the problems of many of the angst ridden teens who would frequent his popular West End establishment.  With the knowledge of his wise words coupled with the music of that era having become legendary, when three random strangers, generations apart but all in need of help with their hopeless love lives, find that they are inexplicably drawn to the site of the original venue.  Naturally, the music of Dusty Springfield held a lot of significance to these love torn teens and will also find a place in the hearts of Alison, Kat and Paul who all need to find answers to their problems.

Debra Stephenson, Alice Barlow and Michael Howe take on the roles of Alison, Kat and Paul who all have their own personal dilemmas which draw them to the Soho venue.  Nigel Richards plays Simon, who reluctantly takes on the legacy his father left and, without giving too much away, attempts to solve their problems.  All four certainly put their heart and soul into their performances and you would never have believed that this was not only Alice Barlow's first appearance in the show (she took over from Diana Vickers) but also her musical theatre debut.

They are backed by a talented ensemble who not only sing, dance and act but also play instruments live on stage too.  The theatrical  quadruple threat is certainly out in force in this show.

I would imagine that the main appeal of this production for audiences is the music of Dusty Springfield and you won't be disappointed with the choices made for this show.  There are over 20 of her songs used in Son of a Preacher Man.  Highlights for me were, I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten, which featured some fabulous balletic choreography and the wonderful vocal harmonies from Michelle Long, Kate Hardisty and Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong who play the Cappuccino Sisters and who, in my humble opinion, should absolutely start their own cabaret act once the tour's over.
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Other songs in the show include, I Only Want to Be With You, The Look of Love, Spooky, In the Middle of Nowhere and of course, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me.  What is pleasantly surprising from this show, is just how many of Dusty Springfield's songs you don't realise you know and of course, this is what drives this musical along.

The plot, however, is all rather obscure.  In an interview, the show's writer, Warner Brown, says about his approach to writing, "I write very, very quickly.  I can't write any other way.  I don't hugely think about it beforehand, though I assume I am in my subconscious, but I just sit down and write and it's either OK or it's not, but that's the way I work."  I can only assume that this approach was adopted for this show as I have to confess that the storyline is somewhat ambiguous and far fetched in many areas; probably leaving more questions than answers.  However, despite this somewhat dodgy storyline, every member of the cast produce some powerful vocals which really punch out the emotions of each of Dusty Springfield's distinctive songs and, ultimately, reveal just how timeless her songs have become.  


​Tickets for Son of a Preacher Man are available online at www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Watch our interview with Debra and Alice, talking about the show, below

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