Last week I went along to watch the Drifters Girl at Manchester’s Opera House.
I wouldn’t describe it as a jukebox musical, but everyone who attended knew that the songs they were going to hear, were the hits of the legendary Drifters.
From the beginning of November, Manchester Theatre goers are in for a treat with the World Premiere of, I Should be so Lucky, which is a proper Juke Box Musical, telling an original story through the songs of Stock Aitken and Waterman. I can’t wait. I’d describe The Drifters Girl as a biopic, told with a particular emphasis on the story of their manager Faye Treadwell.
There are and have been many Musicals that have used the back catalogue of a highly successful artist to create a musical. A couple of years ago I really enjoyed Get on Your Feet, which told the life story of Gloria Estefan in this way. Jersey Boys is another, telling the story of the Four Seasons. I can see why these types of Musicals are highly successful along with Juke Box Musicals like Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge!, Rock of Ages and &Juliet.
You know what you’re going to get and we all love them. The only issue with these shows is that because the songs within them are so beloved and well known the audience doesn’t just come out of the show singing them, they go into the theatre singing them and more worryingly, they think they can sing the songs, sometimes loudly, during the shows.
At the Drifters Girl, last week, there was a small group who felt it appropriate to sing along with the talented performers on stage and it spoilt the evening for those around them. I see tribute bands performing all around the area all the time and I’ve attended a few of these concerts too. The atmosphere and expectations at these shows are very different. Singing along, particularly to the up tempo songs, is much more acceptable.
If I’d been at a Drifters tribute act last week, I might even have sung along myself, but I’d never consider acting that way in a theatre, apart from during the encore when the performers generally encourage it themselves.
Professional creatives in Musical Theatre go through endless auditions and years of training before they get the chance to perform for us and of course the audience has paid out their hard earned money to watch the very best perform. It seems that Jukebox Musicals and Biopics are the most likely to have these disturbances in the audience, which is such a shame.
I should emphasise though, that the vast majority of those who packed out the Opera House for the Drifters Girl, and will be there throughout November for, I Should be so Lucky, respected the performers and their fellow audience members perfectly so lets hope that common sense prevails and we can all enjoy these shows together.
This week, on my Tameside Radio Show Break-a-Leg, I’ll be playing lots of music from the Drifters Girl (you can sing a long if you like!). I’ve been at the magnificent 42nd Street at the Opera House this week , so there’ll be lots of songs from that show too and to celebrate playing the last part of my exclusive interview with West End & Broadway Superstar Kerry Ellis, I’ll play songs from her brilliant new album Kings & Queens.
My guests this week, as well as Kerry, are Ben Vaughan, a talented local AM/Dram performer who is “The Music Man” at Stockport Plaza with Stockport Operatic Society from 24th to 28th October and Toby Mitchell, the director of Julia Donaldson’s, the Smeds and the Smoos, at the Lowry Theatre during half term. Hopefully you’ll enjoy listening as much as I enjoy putting the show together. Break-a-Leg!
