Tom: A Story of Tom Jones The Musical
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Running until 12th March
It actually seems odd, given the volume of jukebox and biographical musicals out there, that it’s taken so long for a Tom Jones musical to be written. And on paper it seems an excellent combination; working class boy makes it as a star and the chance to throw in the hits from Pontypridd’s finest. Certainly the audience at the WMC last night loved the chance to hear some of Tom Jones’ best known songs alongside what promises to be the ‘real’ story of his rise to fame. Unfortunately there seems to be something missing in bringing this tale to life.
The main issue seems to be a lack of any real drama on stage. The whole piece seems to be a long prelude to Tom getting his first hit, and the tried and tested formula of the rags to riches tale, or many a musical biography, still needs a bit of weight behind it to make an audience care. Mike James’ script is certainly funny and heartfelt, but perhaps Tom Jones’ story at this stage just lacks the dramatic or emotional depth to make for a really engaging musical. That said, the script is expertly crafted to create the world which created Tom Jones. From the opening monologue telling the audience ‘everyone has a story about Tom Jones’ to the little inflections of the South Wales Valleys speech patterns, it is a world expertly created.
The music is, as is to be expected, an excellent compilation of Tom Jones hits. That the music is created on stage by the cast as part of the band is a great way of doing it and makes the narrative feel more authentic, rather than feeling like a stage gimmick. The only quibble here is that Tom is the only one who really sings. This may have been a conscious choice to keep the central character and ‘the voice’ at centre stage, but for a musical it makes it feel a little flat, edging it a bit too close to ‘tribute’ territory.
None of this however can detract from the brilliant performances of Kit Orton as Tom and Elin Phillips as his wife Linda. It’s a great shame that we don’t seen more of Linda and indeed that Phillips doesn’t get more of a chance to sing. Her and Tom’s relationship is the heart of the piece, and the arc of their relationship the real dramatic hook. Phillips gives a wonderful performance as the supportive wife willing her husband to succeed whatever it means for her, making Linda likable and also feeling very much like a real character. Meanwhile nobody could doubt the star power of Orton as Tom Jones. Staying away from ‘tribute’ territory and making it ‘his’ version of Jones, Orton has the voice and personality to win over even the difficult ‘home crowd’ who grew up with the real thing. Let loose in the encore/megamix the real showman in Orton/Jones is finally set loose and the audience lapped it up.
And that is the key really. Despite quibbles over the story, and that in a tough field of these kinds of musicals (Sunny Afternoon: The Story Of The Kinks, Beautiful: The Carol King Story to name just two), actually what is always important is the audience. And last night’s audience loved it. The ‘home crowd’ can be either a blessing or a curse, but for Tom it was certainly a blessing-the audience were on side from the first note and loved it to the end. For a great night out, even the most casual of Tom Jones fans could do far worse.
For tickets and more information, see here.
words EMILY GARSIDE, photo SIMON GOUGH