Grand Opera House York – until Saturday 16th Feb 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
3***
Saturday Night Fever has hit York in this newest adaptation by Bill Kenwright. Based on the iconic 1970’s film, it has a lot to live up to, and a show I was really looking forward to, seemed right up my street.
It tells the story of Tony Manero (Richard Winsor) who is unhappy at home, works in a local store but secretly dreams of being a dancer. He is the “IT” guy at the local disco, strutting his stuff, he’s the one all the girls hit on and all the boys wanna be him. The club announces a dance contest with a $1000 top price, Tony just has to find himself a worthy partner. After partnering up with Annette (Anna Campkin) his interest is captured by Stephanie Mangano (Kate Parr), and Annette is effectively dumped. The story follows their relationship, on and off the dancefloor, as well a grittier stuff, touching on religion, pregnancy, abortion and suicide.
When the curtain raises, we are treated to a fab performance of Stayin’ Alive by three sound alike/look alike Bee Gees (Edward Handoll, Alastair Hill and Matt Faull), resplendent in their gold lamé suits, whilst the main cast are grooving away, getting the audience into the swing of the 1970’s disco vibe. The “Bee Gees” remain on a platform overseeing the stage, for most of the show, singing the classic songs that the show is renowned for, only occasionally accompanied by pre-recorded music. I have got to say that these three were a real highlight of the show for me, their vocals were on-point and you could believe they were the real deal. I didn’t realise how much I actually enjoyed listening to the Bee Gees until now.
The set and staging were quite simple, but effective. Seamlessly changing from Tony’s house, to his work, the disco and Brooklyn bridge with apparent ease, with the platform being a constant. The costumes were fitting, flares aplenty, and some incredibly tight trousers.
The famous white suit does make an appearance, and we get to see Winsor strip down to his undies in order to don the said suit, much to the enjoyment of the audience, a few cheers and cat calls could be heard. Winsor is virtually on the stage at all times, a lot of dancing is involved. He certainly has a lot of energy but perhaps not enough swagger to quite pull off what I imagined Tony to have. I felt that the chemistry between Tony and Stephanie, was somewhat lacking, I wanted to feel more, but it just wasn’t there.
The dance sequences are very lively and I was amazed how the cast kept going throughout the whole show, swaying hips and all. I was exhausted just watching their stamina, very impressive. I must mention DJ Monty (Faizal Jaye) here, another highlight, he really got into the swing of things, working that platform, he took the whole energy up to another level. Oh to have such moves!!
I really wanted to love this show but I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, overall I did enjoy it but it was missing something, can’t put my finger on it, it was just a bit underwhelming. It is still really worth a trip out to the theatre to see this fast paced show with some great music, you will be entertained.