Grand Opera House York. Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
Phil McIntyre Entertainments Ltd presents The Commitments at the Grand Opera House, York, running until Saturday 18th February.
Based on the Roddy Doyle novel The Commitments. Set in 1987 it’s the story of Jimmy, Andrew Linnie, a young working class music fan who dreams of putting a band together, the finest soul band in Dublin. Despite the criticism of his Da, Kevin Kennedy, fondly remembered as Curly from Coronation Street, he auditions a motley crew of wannabes and somehow turns them into a band, The Commitments.
The first part of the show was too much! Too much shouting, too much bickering, too much swearing and just too many people on the stage, that it was hard to follow what was going on. I could just not get into the story or the characters. I must admit that at this stage I was thinking OH NO!, what a disappointment, I had so much been looking forward to watching this show after being blown away by the film many years ago, especially by the vocal performance of Andrew Strong, now whatever happened to him? I suppose that is another story.
I’m glad to say by the second half things improved massively. Brian Gilligan as the lead singer Deco really comes into his own, and did the vocal part justice. His voice is amazing and he plays his character distastefully well, including the strip tease, if you can call it teasing. We can excuse Deco’s bad behaviour and obnoxiousness because of his great voice. He is supported by The Three Commitmentettes, played by Amy Penston, Leah Penston and Christina Tedders, who all deliver great vocal performances, and the rest of the band can sure paly. This is of course before everything goes pear shape because of Deco’s laziness and selfishness.
The second half is really like going to a music concert, and to be honest was the most enjoyable aspect of the whole evening. I did not really feel that engaged by most of the characters and it was really about the great Soul music. By the end of the show the whole audience were on their feet dancing and singing along, begging for more, including me. At least this meant that we as an audience were left feeling on a high. What more could anyone ask for?