Charing Cross Theatre – until 15 November 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Get Down Tonight is 90 minutes of joyful escapism and nostalgia. A fictionalised version of Harry Wayne Kasey’s life and him founding KC and the Sunshine Band, the music is upbeat and will get everyone’s feet tapping.
J.F. Lawton’s book acknowledges the daftness with an irrepressible enthusiasm as Dee (Paige Fenlon) describes what a musical of Harry’s life should be. This navigates the clunkier, by the numbers plot with a light touch, but does ultimately negate the impact of the fates of certain characters. The story starts with Harry (Ross Harmon) working in a record shop, quietly announcing his desire to quit every day. His bubbly and adventurous friend/ex Dee encourages him to really quit and he starts working in a recording studio, mixing with music legends as he develops his own disco sound. The arrival of Orly (Adam Taylor) causes sparks as he is determined to live life to the full after fighting in Vietnam. Harry wants a relationship with Orly, Orly doesn’t want to be tied down, and Gina (Annabelle Terry) wants them both.
But the plot doesn’t really matter – this show is all about the music and the glorious nostalgia it evokes. Give It Up, Shake Your Booty, Please Don’t Go… absolutely fantastic. Ross Harmon is wide eyed and sweet as Harry and Adam Taylor is wild and fiery as the battle-scarred Orly. Paige Fenlon is a powerhouse as Dee and Annabelle Terry is comedy gold as Gina, who just wants to do IT. The cast have incredible voices and, together with the dynamic ensemble (Aaron Archer, Eve Drysdale, Rachel Kendall Brown and Finlay Oliver) dance and belt the disco classics brilliantly. Lisa Stevens directs and choreographs with a confident nod and a wink, celebrating but never mocking the disco kitsch.
Get down to Charing Cross Theatre tonight and embrace the disco ball.