This show relies on three things to pull an audience; the Miller Mystery, the Miller Music and Tommy Steele. There is an huge affection around the UK for all of these, who doesn't like a good (however sad) mystery, the music makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise and Tommy was a staple of light entertainment as I grew up. So despite the horrendous Bristol traffic and nearly being late we rushed to get to last night's performance and got there by the skin of our proverbial teeth.
However ...
What on earth were they thinking? The Tommy Steele who smiles at us from the posters (and programme) is long gone, in reality he is now 79 with a slight stoop and a shuffle. His voice is fine but he was 8 when Glenn Miller disappeared and is now twice the age Glenn Miller ever was. For all his efforts he simply couldn't show us the vitality and life of the young Glenn and watching him woo Helen (Sarah Soetaert who must be 40 or more years younger) was a really uncomfortable watch. Had he been set as a narrator, "Glenn as he would have been" looking back over his story it would have been perfect, his infectious charm could have pushed the story along with ease and let a younger actor actually be Glenn. But no ...
This would, by itself, have been enough to spoil the evening but sadly it was not the only issue. Overall, even accepting that musical theatre is not 'drama', the acting and direction were atrocious. Sorry if that sounds harsh but frankly I cannot remember a show so badly done and I go to a lot of amateur festivals. From the horribly cod (and rather offensive) portrayal of Cy Shribman down to the inane representation of all the military personel my jaw never stopped dropping.
The chorus did a good job of trying to distract us (though why the poster claimed "dazzling choreography" I have no idea) but in the end the show's only saving grace, the only thing that saved this from being a one star review, was the band. They played Glenn Miller's music with style and commitment and gave us something to actually enjoy - their sections, both in the Basin Street jazz club and later, were the only bits I felt were worth a night at the theatre.
As we left I heard plenty of mutterings about the casting and one woman turned to her friend and asked "what happened to Glenn Miller in the end?" ... .the ever-welcoming Hippodrome gives pretty well any show that comes a full-house standing ovation ... last night it was patchy at best. The show is mis-cast, mis-directed and a missed opportunity.
