The road is long.
There are mountains in our way.
But we climb a step every day.
I went into An Officer and a Gentleman totally blind. I have never seen it and despite the film on which the musical is based being over 40 years old, I’ve not watched that either. All I know is that according to Joe Cocker, “Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong.” Still, I arrived with an open mind, not even having heard a cast soundtrack. What I found, though, was an enjoyable Jukebox Musical full of songs, mostly from the 1980’s. Okay, maybe not songs I would have on my default rock playlists, but familiar enough that I have become accustomed to them over the years to the point of enjoyment.
An Officer and a Gentleman was written by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharlene Cooper Cohen and tells the story of Zack Mayo during his training as an aviation officer, his developing love for local girl, Paula, and the conflicts with hard-driving Gunnery Sergeant, Emil Foley. As mentioned, this version takes its music from hits of the 80s in such giants as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, St Elmo’s Fire, Livin’ on a Prayer, and The Final Countdown. And the show ended with the song most famous from the film, Up Where We Belong.
Playing Zack was Luke Baker who I last saw in Footloose a few years ago. An excellent, impressive performance all round, especially during Blaze of Glory with the equally good Tim Rodgers as Byron. As Paula on the night, we had Julia Jones who was top drawer, and I really enjoyed the duet with Baker in I Want to Know What Love Is. Jamal Crawford portrayed a memorable Sergeant Foley and led the recruits well in song too during Hearts on Fire. Then, supporting in great fashion were Paul French (Sid), Sinead Long (Lynette), Melanie Masson (Esther) and Etisyai Phillip (Casey Seegar),
The one criticism I did have was that the basic plot was a little thin but when you have 22 Jukebox hits, the plot became secondary. I also wasn’t impressed with the softer version of Kids in America, but that was probably just me. Apart from that, it was an energy packed performance that left the audience buzzing.
The Director for An Officer and a Gentleman was Nilolai Foster, Choreographer, Joanna Goodwin and Musical Supervision/Orchestra, George Dyer with Musical Direction of the band from Christopher Duffy.
A great evening out, with spirits and feelgood factor up where they belong.
Where the eagles cry.
On a mountain high.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt - Author 