United Kingdom An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical: Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, 16.7.2024. (JPr)
Another musical of another iconic hit film I have never seen! An Officer and a Gentleman came out in 1982 and starred Richard Gere as Zack Mayo training to become a US Navy Pilot. Douglas Day Stewart wrote the original screenplay and according to his biography in the programme based it ‘on his own experiences as a naval candidate in 1965, undergoing rigorous training while dating a local factory girl … a medical problem would knock Stewart out of his dream to fly jets but he would go on to serve on a top-secret team of naval and marine officers [involved in] starting The Vietnam War.’ Stewart returned to co-write the book of the musical with Sharleen Cooper Cohen.
Referred to as James Dean – at least here in the musical with his leather jacket and motorbike – Zack is rather rebellious and too cocky for his own good, he has had a very troubled upbringing and we see his ongoing turbulent relationship with an emotionally abusive (belittling) father, Chief Petty Officer Byron Mayo. Not only that but Zack is also pushed to his limits by the hard-as-nails training officer Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley. Despite Foley’s harsh treatment Zack refuses to DOR (drop on request) as several of his classmates will when they find the going too tough.
The American Dream is the underlying theme of the musical. The girls in their mind-numbing employment at the Pensacola Paper factory near to the naval station long to be swept off their feet – and thus secure their future – by one of the naval officers. Though warned by Foley against being trapped into marriage by the local girls Zack and classmate Sid Worley meet Paula Pokrifki and Lynette Pomeroy at a dance. While Paula, despite some ups and down in their relationship, will support Zack, help him through his tough training and get swept off her feet (a highlight of the original film apparently), Sid is not so lucky with Lynette. (Spoiler alert) there is no happy ending for Sid who is tricked by Lynette into dropping out and proposing marriage when she claims to be pregnant. Proving that for some the American Dream is simply just that, a dream!
I suspect Stewart and Cohen have retained much of the dialogue from the film and it gets interrupted by several 1980s pop anthems which occasionally get Strictly Come Dancing-style choreography from Joanna Goodwin such as the Act I opener ‘In The Navy Now’ and at the start of Act II with Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ at a karaoke bar when the company break the fourth wall and encourage those in the Cliffs Pavilion to clap along (though few do). Several of the songs do seem to be shoe-horned into the musical for no particular reason with the original lyrics failing to match what we see on the stage, though the factory workers – striving for that better life – sing songs of female empowerment such James Brown’s ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ and Helen Reddy’s ‘I am Woman’.
Regardless of the fact that I enjoyed the musical’s ongoing story most when they weren’t singing (!) the exceptional ensemble gave every number they were involved in full value. Occasionally music and drama genuinely came together such as when Zack sings Mike Oldfield’s ‘Family Man’ as he reveals his own insecurities and heartbreak at the loss of his friend Sid.
Possibly enhanced by the odd backing track the small band of five under music director Christopher Duffy do wonders with the 22 listed songs, even if they are rather too loud at times. Michael Taylor’s set is very functional – and efficient – in the modern fashion, all steel-looking skeletal steps and platforms with the cast bringing on and off other stage furniture. Ben Cracknell’s neon lighting adds atmosphere, as appropriate, to the various locations of the story, notably the local bar and trashy motel, the Tides Inn.
Faultless performances from all concerned particularly the two leads Luke Baker (Zack) and Georgia Lennon (Paula) who deserved their moment centre stage in the spotlight during the film’s ‘Up Where We Belong’ (as sung on the soundtrack by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes). The likeable Lennon especially gives standout renditions of Foreigner’s ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and Heart’s ‘Alone’. Every member of the cast is very good in their own way: there is excellent support from Melanie Masson as Paula’s caring mother, Esther, and Wendi Harriott’s Aunt Bunny. Tim Rogers makes Zack’s father truly dislikeable until the end when he accepts his son’s choices in life. Paul French’s heartbreak is palpable as Sid is led up the garden path by Sinead Long’s callous Lynette. Last but not least – I am unable to name everyone in the outstanding cast – Jamal Kane Crawford dominates the stage whenever he is on it as the demeaning and demanding Gunnery Sergeant.
Not knowing the An Officer and a Gentleman film, the story of the musical melds, for me, the best bits familiar from two 1986 releases Tom Cruise’s Top Gun and Clint Eastwood’s Heartbreak Ridge and although the first half of the musical drags somewhat it is made up for by the intensely emotional – and ultimately uplifting – storyline after the interval.
Jim Pritchard
Featured Image: Luke Baker (Zack) and Georgia Lennon (Paula) © Marc Brenner
For more about An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical on tour click here.
Creatives:
Book by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen
Based on the original screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart
Director – Nikolai Foster
Set and Costume designer – Michael Taylor
Choreographer – Joanna Goodwin
Musical supervisor and Orchestrations – George Dyer
Lighting designer – Ben Cracknell
Sound designer – Tom Marshall
Wigs, Hair and Make-up designer – Sam Cox
Musical director – Christopher Duffy
Cast included:
Luke Baker – Zack Mayo
Georgia Lennon – Paula Pokrifki
Jamal Kane Crawford – Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley
Paul French – Sid Worley
Sinead Long – Lynette Pomeroy
Melanie Masson – Esther Pokrifki
Tim Rogers – Byron Mayo
Olivia Foster-Browne – Casey Seegar
Lucas Piquero – Eduardo Cortez
Chris Breistein – Louis Perryman
Wendi Harriott – Aunt Bunny
James Wilkinson-Jones – Troy
Danny Whelan – Craig