Boogie Nights
Photo Credit: Alan Martin/AMSI
Reviewed by: Patricia Connor on 22 June 2016
Venue: Little Theatre Southport
Date: 22 Jun - 25 Jun 2016
Type of Production: Musical
Music by Jon Conway
Directed by Stephen Hughes-Alty
Musical Director: Chris Rimmer
Choreographer: Jackie Morris
Boogie Nights is what is described as a Jukebox musical written by Jon Conway which means that the songs were not originally written for the show but it has a story written around a number of famous well-known hit songs and in this instance many songs of the 1970s are featured, it could be said that it is simply an excuse to have a great time and sing along to songs which were made famous by the likes of Hot Chocolate, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart and the Village People. The show is set mostly in a disco club called Boogie Nights where there is to be a fancy dress dance contest and we are taken back to the time of platform shoes, flared trousers, multi-coloured blouses and the Ford Cortina.
This production from Southport Spotlights directed by Stephen Hughes-Alty was a very slick, fast paced, full of energy show which moved easily from one well-known song to another. The cast worked very hard showing lots of stamina performing and singing the upbeat songs and the very impressive up beat choreography by Jackie Morris superbly. The story follows the antics of Roddy O'Neill played by Phil Hunter, Roddy is an out-of-work dreamer whose ambition is to become a rock 'n' roll singer, but he two-times his girlfriend of five years Debs after making her pregnant. Phil was well complimented by Jessica Wall as his girlfriend Debs, they both gave good singing and acting performances making a good strong central couple and Phil had a nice rapport with the audience. The show looks at their relationships and friends, their best friends were Terry and Trish who were wonderfully played with very likable comedic characterisations by Rob MacGregor and Kerry Baratinsky who both had spot on comic timing and were a big hit with the audience. Other memorable principle roles were from Dan Alan as Spencer the lead singer with the club’s resident band and Sarah Stafford as his long suffering girlfriend the sassy singer Lorraine who argues with Spencer and cheats on him with Roddy, Sarah and Jessica’s rendition of “Enough is Enough” was one of the many highlights of the evening. There were also two very good performances from Andrew Sloman as Roddy’s father the Elvis loving Eamon who depicted very well the sometimes funny, confused and volatile relationship he had with his son and Chris Seery as Dean the DJ at the club, who is more intelligent and understanding than his friends, he also had a job with a career and is secretly in love with Debs. The chorus performed superbly with precision, lots of energy and loads of enthusiasm. The band led by musical director Chris Rimmer played on stage and were an integral part of the action as the resident band “The Love Machine” playing excellently and supporting the cast very well.
Scenery was basically one main set for the club and other scenes were set by the use of large props such as furniture along with lighting and a front cloth was used for the outside the club. The quality of sound was very important in this show due to the nature of the music to enable the audience to follow the plot, so well done to the efficient stage crew, including props and the excellent technical crew. Costumes were spot on for the era and very colourful enhancing the production, we enjoyed trying to see who was wearing the largest flairs and the highest platforms.
Congratulations must go the Stephen Hughes-Alty and to everyone involved in this full of fun, excellent production. Thank you for inviting us, we hope to see you for your next production.