Last night we were at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham to watch An Officer and a Gentleman. A Jukebox musical based on the well known 80’s film. The story follows a scrappy young man called Zack Mayo who enlists into the Navy and undergoes a relentless training programme overseen by the hard task master drill sergeant Emil Foley. During his training he meets local girl Paula and they fall deeply in love. The story follows Zack’s journey to overcome the demons of his past, graduate the programme and become an officer and yes…..a gentleman.

Boasting a score of incredible songs from performers like Bon Jovi and Cyndi Lauper, with songs like ‘Up where we belong’ and ‘Material girl’ we were so excited to see the show and how the songs were utilised in a musical theatre setting. Unfortunately for us, the show didn’t quite hit the mark Besties. The first act was plagued by poor sound, leaving the songs sounding hollow and meaning these anthem-like classics never filled the room up like they should have. This however, wasn’t the actors’ fault so we zeroed in and concentrated so we could still try and enjoy the story; but the plot itself, whilst exploring some interesting themes, was a little thin for us and at times some of the songs felt a little shoehorned.

The saving grace of the show were the performers themselves, all committing well to their respective roles. Luke Baker and Paul French were both strong in the roles of Zack Mayo and best friend Sid Worley. Exuding likability whilst dealing well with the trauma and struggles both characters face throughout the piece. Jamal Crawford also gave a sterling performance as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley. However, no matter how hard we tried we could never fully get into the show, it felt like something was missing.

That being said if you know the story, are a a fan of a good old romantic tale or want to go and listen to a cast of stunning performers sing legendary pop songs then we still think the show is worth going to see. It might not be perfect, but you will still have a cracking night. We would be very interested to see if in a few months time later on its tour when it’s had some time to settle.

The show has heaps of potential but needs a bit of fine tuning.

** Two Stars

Reviewed by James Edge