New Victoria Theatre, Woking – until 10 August 2019
Reviewed by Lisa Harlow
4****
So iconic is this show that I can guarantee the title song strikes up immediately in your mind, the moment you read the title. Right?
The film and soundtrack, now over 40 years old, told the story of how disco took over the world, but also how Saturday Night became a beacon for most people trying to escape their down-trodden Monday to Friday lives.
The vibrancy of the dancefloor brings pretty much the only light into Tony Manero’s (Richard Winsor) Brooklyn working class life, the infamous main role played by John Travolta in that suit.
Tony finds himself stifled in a strict Catholic Italian family, with a bitter, unemployed father always ready to take aim with his pot shots. His friends occupy themselves with girls and fighting, whilst Tony finds his pulse and his freedom dancing in club 2001.
Enter Stephanie Mangano (Olivia Fines), and Tony’s occupation with dancing increases ten-fold as he follows his dream to find release in dancing. The sparkle from the dancefloor cannot overshadow the apparent darkness in Tony and his entourage’s lives; this story is not without tragedy.
You Should Be Dancing blasts out into the audience and for me, it was the first unveiling of the true vivacity of the music in this show. Unfortunately, there were a few audio issues during the first half, which were all handled professionally by the cast. It wasn’t clear if this was the true cause of the underlying cool, jazz vibe I felt up from the performance up to the interval, rather than fiery energy I had been anticipating. Dialogue between Tony and his father (Grant Neal) needed more impact, some dialogue needed more volume, all in all, I felt it a little muffled.
Post interval, the performance was rousing, emotionally moving and exhilarating. Winsor’s ballet training brought beautiful poise and flow to the dance moves, he also had great stage presence when peacocking on the dancefloor. Fines was hypnotic in her role as the enigmatic Mangano, and I found it hard to take my eyes off her when she was dancing. The trio singing the Bee Gees much loved songs were fantastic throughout, as was the choreography and supporting cast. By Jive Talking, Saturday Night Fever’s true explosive disco spirit had been unleashed and we were all consumed by its dazzling fire. Not only for nostalgic reasons, this show shakes your disco spirit free with its Burn Baby Burn fiery heart: a thoroughly enjoyable, glitterball of an evening