Currently in Cardiff’s Wales Millenium Centre, An Officer And A Gentleman The Musical is one of the strangest shows I’ve seen in a long time. Charming in some ways and bafflingly off-putting in others, the musical feels like someone sat down with a bottle of vodka one night and slammed out the plan for it.
Based on the popular 1982 film starring Richard Gere, the show follows Zack Mayo as he pursues his dream of becoming an officer, and a jet pilot, for the American Navy. Mayo has a lot of street smarts, but finds it difficult to connect with others due to his childhood trauma. With the support of his peers – and new girlfriend Paula – he learns to love and trust, not just others but also himself. The musical is a jukebox set to hits from the 80s, with songs from Bon Jovi, Cindy Lauper, and Blondie, to name a few.
The cast are by far the most enjoyable thing about the show. Luke Baker, as Mayo, is empathetic, his presence the right balance of soft and strong. As Paula Pokrifki and Lynette Pomeroy, Georgia Lennon and Sinead Long’s voices shine during the show, their energy offering vibrancy throughout. Melanie Masson is a powerhouse as Ester Potrifki: her voice and presence is completely awe-inspiring, and she captivates the audience whenever she is onstage.
Jamal Crawford’s Sergeant Foley is powerful and engaging, again offering a stage presence that is impossible to ignore. The shining moments in the show, however, are from Paul French as Sid Worley. His performance is emotive and intelligent, with his incredible voice offering the icing on a cake to a stunning characterisation of a vulnerable and misunderstood man.
While the performances were strong, the musical direction and orchestration let the show down in a massive way. On the way out, a woman behind me described the singing as “very shouty” and that some of the songs were “really oddly done”: I couldn’t agree more. George Dyer’s orchestration fails to make the most of the songs at his disposal. Songs like St Elmo’s Fire were so fast that it was almost impossible to understand what the cast were singing, while Girls Just Want To Have Fun was, in fact, the least fun I have ever had listening to that song. Musical Director Chris Duffy’s guidance compounded these issues by having the characters overegg aspects of the songs unnecessarily, throwing in belts and riffs like they were going out of fashion and generally just doing way more than was needed.
This is symptomatic of the show as a whole: it isn’t sure what it wants to be. Some moments are gritty and raw, and others are surreal and otherworldly. Long’s rendition of Material Girl is one of the most jarring parts of the show, breaking out of a moment of realism to recreate the staging to Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, complete with chorus dancing around her and giving her jewels. The moment is so out of character with the rest of the musical, the audience seemed unsure whether to clap or not.
Furthermore, I would not recommend An Officer And A Gentleman the stage musical to anyone who’s lost a loved one to suicide or is being affected by mental health difficulties. Sid’s suicide in the second act is dealt with in the least sensitive, most insulting way possible: following a beautiful, affecting solo from French, Mayo enters Sid’s room and finds him dead. In keeping with the bizarre tonal shifts of the rest of the piece, this moment is immediately followed by a group dance routine to The Final Countdown. Sid and his suicide are never mentioned again, and roughly five minutes later, everyone is hugging, smiling and singing Up Where We Belong. The whole sequence is jarring, disturbing – in a way the team surely didn’t intend – and leaves me wondering if the team who adapted the work for stage have ever experienced an emotion, let alone a tragic loss.
You may well enjoy An Officer And A Gentleman if you like both the original movie and 80s pop, but on the strength of the production’s narrative and structure, it’s impossible to recommend. Yet for all that, the cast’s collective talent deserves to be seen. If you see it, then, take with a pinch of salt.
An Officer And A Gentleman The Musical, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Mon 15 Apr
On until Sat 20 Apr. Tickets: £17-£82. Info: here
words HARI BERROW
