A new musical which had its world premiere in 2021 is now a touring production that brings joy and the best feel good factor to the theatre. This is a highly recommended show.
We all know The Drifters as a group and we all know a lot of their fantastic songs which we have been listening to for decades, but what we don’t know is their story and their struggles. This musical gives us their story intertwined with some absolutely amazing music.
As a group, The Drifters have actually had around 60 different members over the years, yet apart from each past and current member having great voices, the core element of The Drifters and why they were successful is down to one woman: Faye Treadwell.
The Drifters, as an entity, was owned by a company and when George Treadwell died in 1967 Faye bought out all the partners and took over the management of the group. Not only was she a woman in the music industry at that time, which would have been tough, she was also an African-American which brought additional hardships to what she wanted to achieve. She had ambition, determination, drive and a desire to fulfil her and George’s vision of a successful group.
The story is filled with so many ups and downs, it takes your emotions all over the place and how this woman did not give up when things were so incredibly difficult, is remarkable. Faye Treadwell had to make all the tough decisions, even when it all seemed as though it was falling apart as there were ‘alternative’ The Drifters groups being formed by ex-members who then proceeded to sue regarding its origins.
The story is told through Faye telling her daughter about her life, this helps with keeping it on track, or giving a quick description about the next part, however this is subtle as the bulk of the story is told through the performance of the songs which creates such an amazing atmosphere. Not every song is played in full, enough to capture the scene for example when in a recording studio, or performed as though at their next gig – and it’s a proper gig performance with the smooth dance moves. However don’t be disappointed as the big songs are in full and fantastic. The cast sing a couple of songs at the end where the audience launch themselves out of the chairs in order to dance, clap and sing.
A lot of The Drifters songs are covered, which you would expect, and included ‘Come On Over To My Place’, ‘Dance With Me’, ‘Saturday Night At The Movies’, ‘Save The Last Dance for Me’ and ‘Stand By Me’….and many more.
The cast. What to say about them? There are only six of them, the four male actors play all the male parts between them, with a change of hat or jacket to denote the change. It works so well, it is a fast paced story so a quick slip of a hat transformed the actor to a different character which they accomplished perfectly.
Let’s talk about the singing. The acting and performing was brilliant from the cast, then we had the singing. Talent on top of talent. All their voices were stunning. They all had solo pieces which did bring you to tears, and then together their voices were incredible.
This is a musical with a fascinating story that completely engages you and takes your emotions on a journey. The tears you shed at the end are a release, a release of a heartbreak which then brings incredible joy and happiness. It’s brilliant.
Cast Members:
Carly Mercedes Dyer
Miles Anthony Daley
Ashford Campbell
Tarik Frimpong
Tré Copeland-Williams (standing in for Dalton Harris)
Jaydah Bell-Ricketts
This is a highly recommended show!