Tonights The Night Regent Theatre Stoke Review
Tonight’s The Night
The Rod Stewart Muscial
Regent Theatre, Stoke
24-29 March 2014
www.tonightsthenightontour.co.uk
Reviewed by Debbie Tasker
A typical boy meets girl love story. Stu (Ben Heathcote), a shy geeky mechanic from Detroit, loves Mary (Jenna Lee-James) but can’t confess how he feels so he makes a deal with the devil and swaps his soul for that of the legendary rocker and sex god Rod Stewart.
But all that glitters isn’t gold as he soon finds out. And that is the story told.
From the pen of Ben Elton who is behind the script for both The Beautiful Game and We Will Rock You, I expected another brilliant show. I am afraid it didn’t deliver on many levels!
The script is very weak and the plot wafer thin. The songs don’t gel and the gags are cheap.
Rod Stewart has sold over 140 million albums worldwide and there is no doubt he is a superstar so the full theatre last night wasn’t a surprise. Were they happy with what they saw though is another matter judging by how many empty seats there were around us after the interval, I think not.
The talented cast work hard to keep the audience entertained and do an excellent job with what they have. The musical arrangements are good and the skilled band situated on stage at a higher level than the rest of the cast belt out all the hits with great gusto. The scene changes are cleverly done so as to not distract from the enjoyment of the show. The costumes are a bit hit and miss.
Michael McKell is entertaining playing Stoner an ageing cockney rocker who is a mix of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards amongst other 70s rock stars a comedy character who crosses paths with Stu on his rise to stardom. He has the best lines (and he knows it!) and is also an accomplished singer. For me he had the stand out performance. Jenna Lee-James (Mary) has a beautiful voice and her version of I Don’t Want to Talk About It and What Am I Gonna Do? are spot on. Jade Ewen (Dee Dee) of Sugarbabes fame gets a chance to shine when she sings The First Cut Is The Deepest, this got the biggest applause of the evening. Ben Heathcote (Stu) is also a superb singer. The dancing is a bit lack lustre in parts and The Hot Legs number was like something out of a Benny Hill sketch – we just needed the little bald man running behind them. It should have been full of sex and sass and it was far from that.
All the lead vocals have fine voices but sometimes the lyrics are lost especially with Young Turks which is completely inaudible in places.
Lots of the Scottish rocker’s best known songs are here including Maggie May, Baby Jane,Stay With Me, Gasoline Alley and the title song Tonight’s The Night. For the finale everybody is encouraged to put on a hat they are given on the way in that looks like a hot dog sellers head attire and sing and sway along to Sailing and a Rod Stewart Meg a Mix.
Was it an entertaining evening? – oh yes!
Was it a fitting tribute to a legendary rocker? – oh no!
In my opinion it clearly doesn’t work in the way it has set out to. If you want a feel good Glee style night out go along it will brighten those evenings full of April Showers.
The Regent Theatre in Stoke is easy to find and we had no trouble parking, a couple of minutes walk away. The car park was £1 for the evening. More than reasonable.
Opening in 1999 it is a truly stunning building. Very roomy and modern yet still has the feeling of being an older building. Bars and toilets are situated on all floors and are clean and well kept. I found the staff friendly and helpful and prices are as you would expect.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £12.90 to £33.40 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 7649.
Regent Theatre, Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 1AP | 0844 871 7649.
