Well, this certainly offers a cheery injection of nostalgia into one’s evening. Dreamboats and Petticoats is the jukebox musical developed by the prolific and varied writing duo Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Having had a number of extravagant and popular West End runs since it premiered in 2009, the show is once again touring the UK and has come to the Cheltenham Everyman, invading with its trademark blissful attitude and classic rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack.
The show, for those not familiar with it, is like a parochial British version of Happy Days. Boys and girls flutter about each other at the local youth club, where endearing dweeb Bobby fancies Sue, who is trying to get Norman’s attention, all the while Laura fancies Bobby and her brother Ray remains oblivious to Donna’s affections. All of this is overlaid with leather jackets, greaser hairstyles, and songs ranging from ‘The Wanderer’ to ‘The Great Pretender’.
It’s a pleasant take on teenage angst and hormones before the completely unbridled years of the sexual revolution. Not that there aren’t plenty of smutty little jokes delivered with a wink in the Carry On… tradition. The closest counterpart to Dreamboats is Grease in this respect: a bunch of teenagers who constantly burst into song because their hormonal energies are (presently) unspent.
The main virtue of the show is the all-singing all-dancing cast. Dreamboats and Petticoats proudly promotes its live-on-stage music – it’s designed to please crowds and wants to provide the immediacy of a concert along with its little drama. The actors can all attest to having some pipes on them. Alastair Hill as Norman stands out as being especially versatile and Gracie Johnson can deliver a belting tune amongst a group of formidable singing actresses. Musical veteran Jimmy Johnston adds an assured performance with some nice flourishes, particularly in his main piece ‘Shop Around’.
My only real criticism is structural. The tunes are delivered with aplomb but sometimes come right on the heels of each other. The brief perfunctory skits that come in between the songs in these instances feel unnecessary and a tad dramatically laboured – they are there to only provide a brief pause in the soundtrack which demotes the story elements to a clumsy aside, in my view. This isn’t the case for the majority of scenes but it is a habit which crops up a few times in the show.
All told Dreamboats and Petticoats is a thoroughly enjoyable and lively show, of particular appeal if you appreciate thumping ‘50s rock n roll. ★★★★☆ Fenton Coulthurst 4th April 2017
