Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, Luigi Pirandello, Tom Stoppard, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Václav Havel and Edward Albee were some of the writers who, collectively, were responsible for the Theatre of the Absurd. Critic Martin Esslin coined the term in a 1960 essay talking about a form of surrealist-type theatre that started on the Continent in the mid-fifties. Its naissance coincided with that of another cultural revolution – rock ‘n’ roll.
The original practitioner of the new music in this country, our answer to Elvis, was a certain Tommy Steele, a twenty-one-year-old from Bermondsey in London. He had floppy blond hair, lots of teeth and a twinkle in his eye and mums, as much as their teenage daughters, loved him. One would not necessarily see much connection between The Theatre of the Absurd and Tommy Steele, yet with the current tour of The Glenn Miller Story the two are merged seamlessly into one with a now 79-year-old cockney Mr Steele playing a dashing, mostly 30-something American.
It must be said that in this show Tommy Steele was never anything other than a 79-year-old song and dance man, with virtually no effort being made to either look, sound or behave like Glenn Miller. I was semi-expecting/hoping that Tommy would give us Singin’ the Blues or Little White Bull in the style of Glenn Miller, but it was not to be.
That apart, and that was a very big ask, The Glenn Miller Story is not a bad show, not bad at all, with some really spectacular moments. For those of you who don’t know, from the 1930s through to the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll, musical entertainment was supplied by big bands and their leaders were the stars of their day. And there was no bigger big band and none with a more unique sound than Glenn Miller. He had thirty-odd top ten hits and was the recipient of the very first Gold Disc. When the US entered WW2 Glenn and his band joined up and provided entertainment for the troops and morale boosting radio shows back in the US of A. While travelling to a gig in Paris in 1944 from his base in the UK his plane disappeared over the Channel and nothing was seen of it or Mr Miller again. He was 40 years old. The legend was born and has never really faded.
The Glenn Miller Story took the form of a narrative musical with the songs being those of the period. Some of the smaller, more intimate numbers were often less successful than the big production show-stoppers. But it was with those big production numbers that the show excelled. The six excellent dancers and some great jazz in the style of Benny Goodman made the Basin Street number really outstanding. The dancers were brilliant throughout, also playing, with members of the band, all but three of the other characters in the show. One of the dancers, Siobahn Diffin, had a little cameo as a switchboard operator which was the funniest and almost the high-light of the show.
As always with all Bill Kenwright productions, visually the show was a treat with some spectacular sets – the opening scene in an aircraft hangar really had the wow factor – and provided a very high standard which never weakened. Mark Bailey’s design and Nick Richings’ lighting really made the show into something special. Bill Deamer’s choreography was consistently spot-on and was a joy to watch.
But in spite of the great music, the show’s beautiful appearance and some excellent production numbers, it was difficult to put Tommy Steele’s personality and performance aside. There were moments – especially in the romantic episodes when he was billing and cooing with a woman young enough to be his grand-daughter – that stretched acceptability and our credence to the limit.
But in all fairness, Tommy Steele was what the audience had paid to see, come what may, and that’s what they got and they were very happy with it. And you really can’t fault a performer who has been a star for sixty years and still manages to pack ‘em in and hold them in the palm of his hand for two hours despite all the doubts about suitability for the role. I imagine most of the audience were of an age who would remember both Singin’ The Blues and Glenn Miller, or at least his aftermath, so for them it was a double whammy – two great stars to warm the cockles of any 75-years-old’s heart for the price of one. Couldn’t fail. ★★★★☆ Michael Hasted 5th October 2016
