WHEN you base a musical on an album that’s sold more than 600,000 copies, you can be quietly confident it will be a success.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that Dreamboats and Petticoats is nothing more than a thumping good 1960s soundtrack. The endless stream of swinging ’60s hits is unarguably fantastic, but add in a superb cast and a witty script and you’ve got a real triumph of a show.
There was no weak link amongst the talented performers, but plenty of strong ones, most notably X Factor finalist Scott Bruton, who played Bobby, a would-be songwriter struggling with love, lust and lyrics. His beautiful voice made him the perfect teenage dreamboat and I could have listened to him all night.
Former Emmerdale star Ben Freeman also turned in a surprisingly strong vocal performance as Bobby’s love rival Norman. And the girls were just as good, especially Daisy Wood-Davis, who played Laura, the gawky schoolgirl who just so happens to be a brilliant songwriter.
As the cast went from one classic hit to another, including Do You Wanna Dance? Let’s Twist Again, Runaround Sue and Great Pretender, they set the Mayflower rocking. By the end, half the audience were dancing in the aisles.
This musical is a real guilty pleasure. It’s not cool, it’s not particularly original but it was fabulous.
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