Cast: Graeme Henderson, Francesca Loran, Adam Howard, Mathew Quinn, Chris Coxen, Christopher Wheeler, Tristan Pate, David Ribi, Josh Little, Samantha Dorrance, Katie Birtill, Anna Campkin, Ben James-Ellis, Christopher Fry, James Nitti, Robbie Durham, Emily O’ Keefe.
The past is a foreign country, as the saying goes. However the early sixties is still fresh in our minds as it bought the fashions, the music and the second wave generations of teenagers ready to find their own way, their own style and stamp their time on the following decades and those that would follow them.
Set in 1961, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran’s Musical/comedy Dreamboats and Petticoats shows the story of a group of British teenagers ready to take on the world, or at least their little corner of Essex. To every generation that has followed the story will be familiar, one of unrequited love, fancying the wrong girl, little money and all set against some of the biggest hits and quality music of that period.
Unlike other productions that the Empire Theatre puts on, Dreamboats and Petticoats didn’t have the fall back of several big names to publicise it and for that the theatre should be commended for putting it on. It takes imagination and guts to put on a production where the real star of the show is the music.
Amongst them were the very impressive David Ribi whose vocal talent was immense, it was possible to compare him to that other star of stage Michael Crawford in shows such as Barnum. Soaring and passionate and just a little wonderful on such songs as Only the Lonely, In Dreams and the terrific duet with the charming Samantha Dorrance on the crossover song, Del Shannon’s Runaway and Connie Francis’ Who’s Sorry Now?, two great songs in their own right but somehow merged together to make a great song and backdrop to the angst between the two friends.
The only surprise is that this story, so perfect for the theatre has not made the transition to the big screen, like the Singing Detective was remade into a blockbuster film, Dreamboats and Petticoats is ripe for the jump.
Although Dreamboats and Petticoats is only on for a week, it is a cracker and a great way to feel good again about the world of today.
Ian D. Hall