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Tonight's
The Night (Victoria Palace)
| "It's
done with quite a bit of musical conviction, and though I'm
not about to sign up to Rod's fan club, I may actually buy the
cast album..." |
Pop's
back catalogue has frequently given rise to theatrical tribute shows,
but
thanks to Mamma Mia! - which famously folded old Abba songs into
a vivid new storyline to create a brand new musical - we've now
got a new epidemic on the way.
This
latest one - which could have been titled 'We Will Rod You' - is
a coarse celebration of the sexual allure of rock n roll, showing
how a lonely, virginal geek of a garage mechanic (convincingly played
by Tim Howar) is transformed into a rock lothario - when he's suddenly
given the heart, soul and, yes, balls of Rod Stewart.
groan-inducing
'jokes'
Ben
Elton's risible plot needn't detain us, as it clearly didn't detain
him much longer than an hour or two to write it.
Amidst the groan-inducing 'jokes', the show is just an excuse, of
course, to shoe-horn the songs into the proceedings.
But
since they're what the punters have actually come to hear, the clunky
book scenes weigh proceedings down quite a bit.
 |
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The
top price for the musical - at £55 - sets a new West
End high
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So
what of the sing-a-long-a-Rod part of the evening? (And some members
of the audience are treating it as such - why they're shelling out
up to £55 to do so when they can stay at home and do the same
thing with their CDs defeats me).
fine
pop melodies
In
fact, it's done with quite a bit of musical distinction and conviction,
and though I'm not about to sign up to the Rod fan club, I may actually
buy the cast album.
Here
are some fine pop melodies without the fingers-on-a-blackboard sound
of Rod's rasp.
I'll
also take cute young Tim Howar over grizzled old Rod any day, too.
And Hannah Waddingham's high-camp Satan who effects the transformation
also whips up a devilish vocal storm.
Agree
or disagree with our review? Add your comments below...
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