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Tam Ryan as Jose, David Hasselhoff as Ross and Kim Tiddy as girlfriend Mandy. Pictures: Linda Lusardi Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
Wolverhampton Grand
** THE credentials
and ingredients for this show have merit. Director Jon Conway is a
seasoned impresario for jukebox musicals, David Hasselhoff is an
instantly recognisable name, Stephanie Webber, playing Hoff’s stage
daughter, looked strong as a finalist in
The Voice,
and the club music of the 80s in Ibiza offers a feel-good nostalgic
vibe. Premiering in Blackpool barely a month ago, this
is the debut tour of the production. As child, I watched The
Hoff avidly in his roles in Baywatch
and Knight Rider,
as a young adult the club music of the era is ingrained in my psyche, so
I approached the show with affection and optimism. Unfortunately, that
enthusiasm soon ebbed away as the curtain rose. The technical and sound issues which delayed the
start, and persisted in the first half, can happen, but the production
shortcomings were wholly foreseeable. Hasselhoff’s solos were
of the genre previously only explored by Pierce Brosnan in
Mama Mia,
while Shane Ritchie Junior simply did not have the vocal range to handle
the songs he was given and the e ensemble singing was insipid with the
harmonies pretty much non-existent. Club music requires a driving bass beat. Two
musicians, a drummer and an acoustic/electric guitarist played alongside
arrangements which stripped the originals of their vitality. This was
not musical supervisor Olly Ashmore’s finest hour. Similarly, the choreography and dancing was
authentic insofar as it portrayed inebriated youngsters partying, but
failed to deliver to a standard required in a stage musical. However
dancers Josephine Scammell and Barney Hudson shone by virtue of their
talent, energy and commitment.
The narrative was awkward and clumsy. Ageing
party DJ Ross (Hasselhoff) is joined in Ibiza by estranged daughter
Penny (Webber) who falls prey to the drug culture in Ross’s club, but
comes through it with the boy, Rik (Shane Ritchie Jnr). Ross addresses the audience directly when faced
with a drug dilemma by his daughter – should he try Ecstasy in order
that he can comment upon it? The cod moralising is embarrassing, the
moral itself confused when Ross accidentally takes the drug, and the
show picks up. Earlier the opportunity offered by a performance
of Ebenezer Goode had been squandered when Ebenezer (Barry Bloxham)
performed as a one dimensional Hackney drug dealer. The reason why the
song originally was such a hit was that it was possible to enjoy the
entire song, which has a fabulous beat, without knowing what it was
about. That subtlety and ambivalence was wholly absent here. So the kernel of this
show is The Hoff playing some club classics from the eighties, stood
behind a DJ platform and decks. It should be said that the audience,
whilst laughing out loud at some of the shortcomings, enjoyed the music
and stood to dance for the megamix finale. Two scenes alluded to his
Knight Rider
and Baywatch
past, bringing a warm sense of nostalgia to proceedings. Star of the show was Tam Ryan as Jose, the
barman. Funny, nuanced, and with plenty of audience ad libs, his
appearances always lifted the show, and he rightly took the plaudits of
the audience for the curtain call. Last Night a DJ saved my life runs until Saturday
21st November and continues on tour. Gary Longden
17-11-15
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