So far, I had managed to avoid Dreamboats and Petticoats, which had done the rounds of the provinces and finally landed in the West End at several venues including the Savoy and the Playhouse. Karaoke style musicals are a bit of a hit-and-miss affair at the best of times and this week I witnessed the birth of another. Save The Last Dance For Me by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran uses the music of Pomus and Shuman to colour the simple tale of a holiday romance between a schoolgirl and an American GI. Amiable enough, producer/director Bill Kenwright has employed a young cast, many of whom fail to exhibit the emotional maturity vital to handle themes of race and sex. In the casts defense the story takes a very definate second place to the songs, which interrupt the narrative with a monotonous regularity.
Save The Last Dance For Me features some particularly well arranged versions of classic pop songs but an undernourished libretto and so-so acting let the side down.
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