Thursday, December 26

Tag: Danny Whelan

An Officer and a Gentleman – Hull New Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

An Officer and a Gentleman – Hull New Theatre

An Officer and a Gentleman the Musical got off to a delayed start on Monday evening with a voice emanating from the nether regions of the Hull New Theatre stage, informing us that “due to unforeseen circumstances the show will now start at 8pm”. We’d all taken our seats ready for curtain up at 7.30pm, so 30-minute delay sort of dimmed or excitement. No matter, I just hoped the show was worth waiting for. It most definitely was, so that delay I mentally grumbled about, was very soon forgotten. I had seen the movie (of the same name) upon which this musical is based, way back on its UK release in 1983, and could only remember its star, Richard Gere, resplendent in white naval uniform, doing something so breathtakingly romantic that the scene has stayed with me all these years later....
Bat Out Of Hell – Opera House Manchester
North West

Bat Out Of Hell – Opera House Manchester

The award-winning musical featuring Jim Steinman & Meat Loaf’s greatest hits has rock n rolled back into Manchester where it opened back in 2017 and my goodness has it made itself heard! Of course, when you hear the title ‘Bat Out of Hell’ you can’t help but sing it. Packed to the brim with rock anthems, the production is exactly as you would expect it to be paired with the dramatic, rock songs produced through the years by the well-known pair. The story follows Strat, the leader of the rebellious gang ‘The Lost’, as he falls in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler of Obsidian, Falco. There’s a real sense of a Romeo and Juliet, star crossed lovers plot, mixed with a hint of the story of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, as the rebellious crew are forever young, th...