Leeds Grand Theatre – until 23 March 2023
3***
The Drifters Girl takes us through the life of the band under the management of Faye Treadwell through to a major court case about the ownership of The Drifters’ brand. Told retrospectively, with very minimal staging, starting off outside the courthouse taking us back through the band’s history using Faye’s daughter Tina, who had the original idea for the musical, as the guide to the story
The band seemed to have an ever revolving door with members, with some lasting for just one show, so there’s a lot of story to be told. But, with so much ground to cover, it’s unsurprising that the narrative skips lightly through the band’s history. Whilst you get a strong flavour of the band, its evolution, and its challenges, there’s very little emotional or dramatic heft to the story. Some major parts are given a little more focus but far from enough considering their subject matter. Gender, colour, and sexuality are all touched upon but never given the depth of attention these subjects deserve.
The use of Tina (Jayden Bell-Ricketts) to drive the narrative forward is an interesting device, but the mother/daughter relationship is never built upon, so that some of the show’s emotional focal points end up lacking any real emotion.
Where the show shines, however, is in the performances. I was looking forward to seeing Carly Mercedes Dyer in the role of Treadway, after interviewing her earlier in the run. However, her absence meant we had the pleasure of Loren Anderson in the main role, her performance was bold, sassy, but for me, a bit reserved. But what the script failed to deliver in emotional engagement, Anderson made up for in her singing, especially during Harlem Child
Alongside her are true stars of the show, namely The Drifters. However EVERY male character is played by the same four actors – Miles Anthony Daley, Ashford Campbell, Tarin Frimpong and Daniel Haswell. Either by changing a jacket, hat or just expecting us to guess who they are at that moment, and I wasn’t the only one to find this confusing. Thankfully in the second act this was remedied with the change of accents too, making things much clearer.
The vocal are outstanding, everyone was note perfect and the live band (Dustin Conrad, James Beal, Eleanor Sandbrook, Dan Taylor, Dan Booth, Bret Vanderburg and Charlie Maguire) was exceptional.
The show is filled to the brim with Drifters songs including Saturday NIght at the Movies, Under the Boardwalk and my favourite There Goes My First Love. So if you want to hear some outstanding vocals this is the show for you, but if you want to hear about the story of Faye and the Drifters, it might be better to check the internet first.
NB if you get visual disturbance headaches be aware of flashing lights and whilst waiting for the curtain to rise, there is a rotating record which is very discombobulating