Lyceum Theatre Sheffield – until 22nd June 2024
Reviewed by Carol Crann
4****
An Officer and a Gentleman is a romance set in the 1980’s and is based around the latest cohort at a Navy Officer Candidate School, and some of the women at the local factory. Given the time period, there are certainly some outdated values portrated, however it is true to the era and only goes to illustrate just how much the world has changed.
The show looks at the relationship between the candidates in the Aviation Academy and how they interact in an environment where both their mental and physical health is consistently challenged by the Gunnery Sergeant, Emil Foley – a character powerfully played by Jamal Crawford. Foley seems to see it as a personal challenge to try and get them to drop on request (DOR), from the course.
Most candidates are carrying some sort of emotional baggage, but none more so than the two main characters – Zack Mayo (Luke Baker), the son of an alcoholic, petty officer and Sid Worley (Paul French), who was desperately trying to replace his older brother after he sadly died in action. In addition there is Casey Seager (Olivia Foster – Browne) a strong woman striving to become the first female jet pilot.
Zac and Sid meet early on, and start dating two local girls – Paula (Georgia Lennon) and Lynette (Sinead Long). The two women have different motivations for their relationships, different tactics and – more importantly – very different attitudes.
The curtains open to a quite industrial set, one which works brilliantly throughout the show as they utilise a metal, stepped tower and neon lights to reproduce the various locations depicted in the story… The academy, the bar, the factory and the hotel all use the tower in various ways to portray key elements within the story.
I had some concerns regarding how easily and successfully this would convert to a musical, and although sometimes the music chosen didn’t quite fit or enhance the story – the amazing 80’s power ballads clearly delighted the audience. All the cast had incredibly powerful voices, and were able to perform all of the numbers with great success and energy. The choreography, it has to be said, was also excellent – both in the dance numbers as well as the fight scenes.
Despite my initial concerns, I did actually enjoy the show. I would have liked a little more depth to the story and to see more development of the individual characters, but it was definitely worth seeing for the brilliantly performed numbers – which are what earned them a standing ovation at the end.