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Golden oldies roll back the years
Rock 'n' Roll Heaven
Malvern Theatres
***** This was a
great toe-tapping trip through the years of Rock and Roll and included
many of the great hits of the Sixties and Seventies. The show itself has been running for a number of
years and some of the cast have appeared more than once in the show's
history. Almost a concert, the characters are maintained throughout each
performance and in the interaction with the audience. The evening unfolds the story of several of the
Rock n Roll greats such as, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison, Del Shannon,
Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly and, of course, the 'king' Elvis himself. Rock and Roll music has a very charming and
innocent character to it, which is always appealing and appropriate to
all ages, as was demonstrated by the widely differing members of the
audience. The songs are about love and finding 'the girl'
(or cars) and this gives the music a fairly timeless quality, which all
generations can appreciate and enjoy. The genre is generally upbeat and
uncomplicated musically, thereby being more accessible and easy to
listen to. Each member of the cast appeared on stage to
perform a few musical numbers, in character, and then usually introduced
the next act to follow them, with some biographical information about
the artist and their achievements. This was an all-male cast with some
extraordinary musical talent, directed by Keith Strachan and supported
by the design of Andy Walmsley. There was an effective set with a
backdrop of photographs of the artists themselves, and a creative
lighting display designed by Sam Wright with sound by David Preece. The
overall production was impressive and reminiscent of the West End
production of Jersey Boys in its style and genre.
Damien Edwards did much of the narrative as well
as the characters of Del Shannon and Roy Orbison. His stage presence was
highly confident and in the characters themselves, he showed his prowess
in musicality, with some very effective solos and an impressive vocal
range. He was confident in his interactions with the audience
encouraging them to clap along.
Edward Handoll also gave a superb performance as
Ricky Nelson and later, Buddy Holly. With not only some great vocal
moments, but also playing all his own guitar solos, he showed an
extraordinary level of musical ability. He was also a confident presence
on the stage encouraging audience participation and building on the
'concert' feel of the show. Jonny Labey gave a very notable performance in
the role of Eddie Cochran, also playing his own accompaniment with great
effect, and incorporating appropriate choreographic movements to
complement the role. Lee Memphis King, a successful tribute artist,
took the role of the “King” of Rock and Roll, Elvis. He seemed somewhat
more nervous and unsure in the first half, but warmed to the situation
during the second half and became more interactive with the audience and
more effective in, what has to arguably be, an incredibly difficult
task; impersonating someone as famous as Elvis. But this was done creditably and with good
effect, even conveying the slightly confused state of mind that Elvis
was in by 1977, although it was clear the impersonator had no musical
aspirations to actually playing the guitar. There were some really golden moments during the
evening, especially in Roy Orbison's song 'You got it” from 1981, which
was almost identical to his performance on Top of the Pops when it made
a hit in that year. The show built to a climax with the slightly
improbable combination of Buddy Holly, Elvis, Roy Orbison and Eddie
Cochran singing together for the final medley, a great, rousing
combination which had the majority of the audience on their feet dancing
together to 'Pretty Woman'. Throughout the show the artists were supported by
an amazingly talented band comprised of Steve Geere (Musical Director
and Keyboards), Steve Brundish (Bass), Antoine Edery (Drums) and John
Hall (Guitar). The band held a very tight, professional sound
throughout, providing musical links at the start and end of each act as
well as the backing vocals. When the performers were not playing their
artist, they were assisting in providing musical backing and vocals. This was a great evening's entertainment with
much to enjoy and some great, well-known catchy tunes for the
enthusiastic audience to sing and clap along to; the show deserves to
play to full houses every night of the run. To 30-08-14 Sonya Vickers
26-08-14
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