Featuring 25 of
The King’s most popular songs, Love Me
Tender is a new musical from the producers of Hairspray and Legally Blonde
inspired by the music of Elvis.
The story is
simple enough; a small town in the US are shook to its core by a hip-shaking,
pelvic thrusting stranger with enough charm and charisma to power a jukebox.
What follows is lots of falling in love, mistaken identity and a happy ending
all around!
Love Me Tender
feels fresh and is a largely upbeat and loud show, as you’d expect with Elvis
music, but also has real heart and warmth thanks to some well-placed ballads,
expertly performed by a stellar cast. The script is funny with jokes told by
big, comedic characters that all the audience really root for.
Headlining the
cast is singer Mica Paris and TV star Shaun Williamson as Sylvia and Jim. Both
deliver strong performances, especially Paris who wows the audience with her
soaring, powerful vocal. Williamson, who has made a career of playing loveable
fools, is the right amount of goofy as Natalie’s unlucky in love Father.
Blessed with wonderful comic timing, he worked well with Paris with both
performers
Ben Lewis was
arrogant and alluring as handsome stranger Chad while Sian Reeves bought
comedic evil to the role of Mayor Matilda Hyde. Laura Tebbutt was brilliant as
lovesick mechanic Natalie, with a commanding voice and who showed her
versatility as alter-ego Ed. The
ensemble and supporting cast all worked tirelessly to bring the show to life
from start to finish and the pace never dipped.
The real star of
the show was town simpleton Dennis played superbly by Mark Anderson. Possessing
the best voice in the cast, he combined smoothly with characters like Chad and
Natalie to bring real honesty to the role whilst remaining amusing throughout.
A real performer to watch out for.
The success of a
musical often relies on memorable songs, and with the audience singing along
from the off, it was hard to see this show not putting a smile on your face,
but praise to the cast and crew for delivering a show that left the audience all shook up! If you want a fun, fast
and funny musical – Love Me Tender is
the show for you.
Review by Andy Edmeads
Rating: ★★★★★
