By Dan O’Farrell.
Ever since the success of ‘The Buddy Holly Story’, the appeal of the ‘rock & roll’ musical has been a recurring theme of West End and Broadway successes, with shows like ‘Jersey Boys’ and even ‘Hairspray’ tapping into the febrile yet innocent lore of late 1950s Americana.
It’s easy to see whey: these were the years when teenagers were invented and the foundations of all modern pop music were laid down on top of the hard limestone of the swing, blues and country music which had dominated the previous fifty years.
‘Rock & Roll Man’ – a new musical written by Larry Marsak, Rose Caiola and Gary Kupper – is happy to build on the DNA of those previous smash shows but, in choosing to tell the rock & roll origin story from the point of view of Alan Freed – one of the earliest rock & roll DJs and concert promoters – it gives the audience a fresh way-in to a familiar story. It also gives centre-stage over to a far wider than usual variety early doo-wop and rhythm and blues music, resulting in a show bursting with feel-good energy, but also carrying a surprising amount of depth and food for thought.
Alan Freed is an interesting character to anyone with more than a passing interest in the way that ‘rock and roll’ became the dominant musical force in the late 50s and beyond. Presented winningly here as a naïve but driven enthusiast – Broadway star Constantine Maroulis pitch-perfect and likable – Freed is shown to be one of the ‘good guys’, despite what J Edgar Hoover (a threateningly lugubrious Mark Pearce) has to say about him. As well as his sound musical instincts that saw him become the first American DJ to push early rock and roll records on a mainstream (ie – not ethnically prescribed ) station, Freed is also celebrated here for his refusal to pander to the prejudice and racism which the birth of this music threatened in its appeal to teenagers of all backgrounds.
Freed famously insisted on playing the original songs by the black artists who wrote and first recorded them – refusing to showcase the anaemic cover-versions produced by Pat Boone etc – and the show celebrates these black singers and musicians from the start and throughout. So, instead of Elvis, we get The Drifters, The Platters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Frankie Lymon. We get a soulful and powerful performance by Cherece Richards as LaVern Baker and – most entertainingly of all – we get a supremely OTT Little Richard (how could he be portrayed otherwise?), played with full ‘Bronze Liberace’ joy by Jairus McClanahan. Along the way, Joe Bence gives us a cheerfully grinning Buddy Holly, and musical director Dominique Scott manages to somehow dash between playing keys with – and conducting – the band, taking on at least four other roles – and giving us a fantastic Jerry Lee Lewis, backwards-piano-stomping and all. All of the singing is first-rate and emotionally raw, with the tragic doowop of ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ – interrupted by scenes of Freed’s life falling apart as his career nears its end – a particular stand-out moment.
I’ve sat through several ‘jukebox’ musicals in my time, and found them quite excruciating – stories twisted to hit a random emotional beat in a song written for an entirely different purpose – but the music here is integral and historically accurate. As well as the 50’s hits and ‘deep cuts’, Maroulis gets to sing some impressive new songs by Gary Kupper. These sit more in a 70’s singer-songwriter space, melodically, but as fans of ‘Grease’ will attest, the two genres can live happily alongside each other. A live band sits behind some cleverly designed archways and windows and gets increasingly animated as the show moves through its musical gears, especially during a vibrant concert section near the start of the second act. The set-design also springs to life at key moments to reveal sections of a video-screen wall – inobtrusive but effectively used to set atmosphere and context.
Freed’s life story was not without its controversy, and the story doesn’t shy away from some of the messier aspects, including his death from alcoholism at only 43 years old. Presented as a series of flashbacks during a trial in the ‘Court of Public Opinion’, the script examines Freed’s legacy fairly comprehensively. The structure allows for some dark moments as the DJ gets out of his depth with the mobster Morris Levy in New York and caught up in the payola and bribery scandals that effectively end his career. Gary Turner delivers two excellent performances as both the bitter (Levy) and sweet sides of Freed’s life. In Act 1 he plays Leo Mintz, the rock & roll loving record-store owner who became Freed’s first sponsor and mentor, and the scenes between the two are warm and funny.
Without fudging the issues at its core – the horrors of segregation and racist fears of ‘miscegenation’, the corruption of innocent enthusiasm by more sinister forces – ‘Rock & Roll Man’ manages to also deliver the joy that audiences will flock to experience in this kind of show. The strong ensemble is in constant motion – Stephanie Klemons’ choreography using every inch of stage-space to dazzling effect – and, crucially, appear to be having the time of their lives. It’s infectious and crowd-pleasing: pretty much the entire audience rises to its feet for the bows.
Looking for a show that gets you up on your feet, a wop-bop-a-booming, clapping along and considering the J Edgar Hoover’s role in clamping down on the Civil Rights movement in early ‘60s America? This is the one for you: you won’t regret it.
‘Rock & Roll Man’ is playing at Salisbury Playhouse until 7th March and then touring. For tickets and more information, visit wiltshirecreative.co.uk
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