The Regent plays host to the latest leg in the UK tour of ‘An Officer And A Gentleman’ this week. The musical is a faithful retelling of the 1982 smash hit romatic drama which grossed $190m at the box office and tells the tale of Zack Mayo, a fearless young officer candidate, and the captivating Paula Pokrifki who meet whilst Mayo is stationed at Aviation Officer Candidate School in Florida.
The musical opened at the Curve, Leicester in 2018 and has been touring regularly since and is on the road until November of this year in its current run.
Luke Baker and Georgia Lennon take on the main roles of Zack and Paula. They were excellent, with strong vocal performances with incredible range and cool harmonies (especially during ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’), great chemistry as characters and well paced character development. This all contributes well to getting the audience invested in them as a couple and keeping the energy flowing.
Paul French and Sinead Long play Sid Worley and Lynette Pomeroy. Both get to grips with their complex characters really well and create the bittersweet emotional timeline of their relationship. As with Luke Baker and Georgia Lennon, they were excellent vocally especially ‘Material Girl’ and the very emotional ‘Family Man’.
Jamal Crawford plays Gunnery Sergeant Foley. He plays the archetypal drill sergeant with aplomb, although he does occasionally break into an impromptu dance move to add some humour to his character and also contributes well to the vocals.
Melanie Masson and Wendi Harriott play Esther Pokrifki and Aunt Bunny. Both add humour to the performance with the pair playing delightfully off one another, especially during the bar scene. They also belted out their respective vocals with a haunting rendition of ‘Kids In America’ and the powerhouse ‘I Am Woman’.
The candidates include Olivia Foster-Browne as Seegar, Lucas Piquero as Cortez, Lukin Simmonds as Jacobson and Chris Breistein as Perryman. Their energy high, dance moves tight and were really entertaining during ‘In The Navy Now’ and ‘When The Going Gets Tough’ (which Olivia Foster-Browne lead brilliantly).
The set was designed with an industrial theme, with bright neons contributing to the overall feel where it was folded and unfolded cleverly, dependent on the scene. It was particularly poignant during the ‘Family Man’ scene where the lighting was used to full effect.
The song list is a who’s who of 80s power music, from Madonna, Bon Jovi, Kiss and Hall and Oates just to name a few. It was all fabulously performed by a live band under the direction of Christopher Duffy.
It has drama, comedy, outstanding vocal performances all to the soundtrack of some of the best hits of the 80s. Lovers of the film will absolutely adore it, notwithstanding that it is a great watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it before.
It’s on until 11th May with Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Tickets still available from the box office, or online here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/an-officer-and-a-gentleman-the-musical/regent-theatre/
