Review: THE DRIFTERS GIRL, New Victoria Theatre Woking - Tour
For those old enough to remember the 70’s discos, with the smell of Wild Musk Oil as the girls danced around their handbags, this nostalgic musical will resonate well, especially with The Drifters 70’s hits, including ‘Kissing in the Back Row of the Movies’ (1974), ‘There Goes My First Love’ (1975) and ‘You Are More Than a Number in my Little Red Book’ (1976). Yet there is more to this show than the hit songs as it reveals the hidden story of the constant evolution of The Drifters lineup from its formation in 1953, and the role of Faye Treadwell (nee Johnson) in that history.
It’s fascinating to learn that The Drifters were more of a brand than a band, a name with a contract and tour dates and a variable line up of four slickly choreographed singers behind the microphones. Over sixty artists have performed under The Drifters brand name (or derivatives of it) and the show drops their names frequently as the story unfolds. The slick staging projects a succession of new names as “lead” singer without the dates of their membership but covering the period from the formation to the last hit in 1979, it does merge together into an impression of the constant change rather than a historical record of the evolution and fails to explain the relative importance of each to the hits.
It starts like any jukebox musical might, with a jukebox and a girl selecting some songs to introduce a fast medley of their greatest hits to open the show. The audience were already smiling at the memory by the time we learn that Faye Treadwell (the wonderful Carly Mercedes Dyer) is in court to protect her ownership of the name and recounts the back story throughout to her daughter (Jayden Bell-Ricketts). It is quickly clear that this formidable woman is the only constant in the band’s history. As she says, “Like the Yankees , the players may change but it is still The Drifters” and ex-players can’t get together under the name. Mercedes Dyer is at her best belting out numbers such as ‘Follow Me’ and ‘Nobody But Me’, although occasionally she pushes so hard, we lose some of the words.
Four men play the multiple characters from Atlantic Records Executives, Nat King Cole, Bruce Forsyth, an amusing parade of some of the women they met in the early days and the misogynistic racists who the band met when they toured the UK as well as the band members (each denoted by a single piece of costume change). Miles Anthony Daley plays the brand owner from 1955, George Treadwell, who tragically died in 1967 (in a check jacket). Ashford Campbell plays Ben E King (perhaps the most famous band member from 1958-1960 and 1981-1985), and Rudy Lewis from 1960 until his death at 27 in 1964 (in a green jacket). Tarik Frimpong plays founding member Clyde McPhatter in a glittery jacket (1953-1955) and the litigious road manager Lover Patterson (in a white fedora). Dalton Harris plays Johnny Moore (in a black cap) who led the UK tour era (1963-1978). They work well together and have all the traditional Drifters moves and sound to perfection, though naturally in this two-hour show, each is drawn in a very sketchy fashion.
It is the 70’s hits that stand out with ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’ opening Act 2 in their traditional mauve suits , ‘Kissing in the Back Row’ featured from the stage of The London Palladium, and ‘You Are More Than a Number’ in a concert at the White House. This production is fast paced, smartly staged and lit, and sung with plenty of energy and commitment as you would expect from director Jonathan Church, choreographer Karen Bruce, producer Michael Harrison and a very hard-working cast of six. This tour continues around the UK until May 2024, but you can also catch Faye’s daughter Tina’s 2023 lineup of The Drifters on tour throughout 2024, just to prove that over seventy years after its first appearance, this brand is still making music and putting a smile on faces.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
The Drifters Girl plays at the New Victoria Theatre Woking until 25 November, with tickets for select touring venues available here.