Lost in Music a production? not quite, a night at the disco? yes, full of fun singing and dancing to the classic tunes of the seventies; Musical director Tony Wood on the keyboards has created a trio of musicians to recreate the ‘funk’ of disco and a band to drive the sound forward for the five-piece singers who romp through a non-stop set list of classic music memorabilia.
A trip down memory lane including songs from, CHIC, Earth, Wind and Fire; Gloria Gaynor Donna Summer, Sister Sledge and many more, the Adelphi theatre came alive with the first song from Chic, which had the audience up on their feet within the first 5 minutes, quite inspirational. It is clear from the start that this is ‘party time’ with the audience encouraged to be a part of the show, sing loud, dance and record on their mobile phones, not the usual theatre experience. An audience, mainly females swinging and swaying to the sounds of the seventies gave a somewhat feel of being on one big hen/girls night out! However, it was clear the main aim from the performers was to ensure everyone was going to have a good time, as they shouted out on numerous occasions ‘Adelphi are you having a good time!’, followed by CHIC’s ‘Good Times’ to raptures of screams and chanting. Only one Bee Gees number ‘More Than a Woman’ made the cut.
The performer’s costumes depicted the style of the 70’s disco scene glitter, sequins and suits, to liken themselves to the artists they were portraying, which was effective. The staging lacked lustre and was simplistic, possibly to accommodate space and at times the playful choreography between the five singers. The first half of the show was strong, vibrant and energetic before going into the 20-minute interval. The second half of the performance struggled to get back the momentum of the first half, it was different, questioning does this show need an interval? Possibly for the performers, however the audience appeared less interested, there was chatter going on in rows of seats and this was disappointing and quite disrespectful, for what was a respectful performance.
As a theatre show ‘Lost in Music’ for one night only does enable theatre goers to have a night of guilty pleasure, feel good music and one big singing along to a plethora of disco tunes.
The show feels a little too long and after some time a little repetitive. The successes of this show it gets people up dancing and motivated a real feel good factor and there is no restriction on where and how you ‘strut your stuff’. The interaction between the performers and the audience from the outset was just genius. It would have been enhanced by an improved set list of less repetitive songs and inclusion of soft ballads with a little narrative. There is evidence of attention to detail and pre-production planning, but it was difficult to not feel like you’re attending a tribute evening. Despite this for the audience this was fond memories of younger days and past experiences which was hard to ignore that for one night only you can reminisce and let your hair down, forget life outside of this bubble if only for two hours.
Duration 2hrs 20 minutes with an interval
Reviewer: Michelle Knight
Reviewed: 13th June 2023
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 3 out of 5.
