Dreamboats and Miniskirts at the Palace Theatre Manchester Review
Dreamboats and Miniskirts
Palace Theatre, Manchester
20-25 April 2015
www.atgtickets.com/palacetheatre
Reviewed by Cathy Porteus
Dreamboats and Miniskirts is the sequel to Dreamboats and Petticoats, both are juke box style musicals, based on the album of the same name. There are lots of familiar tunes sung by the cast and played by live musicians on the stage.
The show starts with teenage couple Bobby and Laura singing their prize winning song ‘live’ on TV. Unfortunately Bobby is shown to be miming, when the recorded track gets stuck and repeats a line over and over. This leads to the pair having an argument, allowing the plot to then develop along the classic lines of boy meets girl, loses girl then tries his best to win her back.
Bobby joins up with his old friends in a band called the Conquests, who try to make their mark in the exciting music scene of the early 60s. We see them play the Cavern Club but be overshadowed by another band from the Merseybeat era. In order to get a music deal, Bobby tries to steal a song that Laura has composed, which she soon finds out and it leads to problems for both the band and the couple.
Laura records a solo hit which is a big success, but she chooses the Conquests to back her on tour, allowing for a satisfying finale, when true love conquers all.
The styling was good, showing the change from fifties style petticoats to sixties style miniskirts. All the cast sang beautifully. Laura, played by Elizabeth Carter, had a lovely tone to her voice, which made the sweet songs of love and loss come over very well. Bobby, played by Alex Beaumont, could also belt out a tune with soul, for his performance of the classic “It’s Over” he really gave it his all, so much so that I felt I could count his fillings in the last few notes.
I would have appreciated a plot summary in the programme from the predecessor musical Dreamboats and Petticoats, as without having seen the previous show, it was difficult to understand what was happening. I found myself googling the previous show in the break, in order to work out who was who and what happened in their relationships in the past.
Musicals of this type do sometimes seem to have a plot made to fit the songs rather than the other way around. I felt this particularly with this show, perhaps because many of the ‘easier’ songs had been used in the first story. However there are so many love story songs in the 60s that it wasn’t difficult to make a good production with lots of great songs. I particularly enjoyed the renditions of Groovy Kind of Love, definitely better than the covers we’ve heard over the years.
The Palace Theatre is a great venue for any kind of production and the grand surroundings gave the evening a sense of occasion. There were plenty of staff on hand to sell customers programmes and refreshment. The Palace is very easy to reach by public transport, being just a stone’s throw from Oxford Road station and multiple bus stops. For drivers, there is ample parking nearby, including some metered parking areas, which are free after 8pm.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £12.90 to £38.90 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Dreamboats and Miniskirts is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until 25 April 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call he box office 0844 871 3019.
Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6FT | 0844 871 3019
