Last Night A DJ Saved My Life – The Grand, Wolverhampton

Dudley News:

 

What’s it about?

Top Ibiza DJ Ross (David Hasselhoff) finds himself in a spin when his teenage daughter Penny (Stephanie Webber) arrives on the party island.

He hasn’t seen her for three years and is shocked to see she is no longer a demure school girl, but a wild child who quickly falls for Rik (Shane Richie Junior), the holiday rep and aspiring DJ.

Ross, who is firm fan of playing 80s tunes on the decks, has another struggle on his hands as a dancefloor full of drug-taking revellers make him realise that a new decade has dawned and disco is out and the club scene is in.

It’s the story of two generations colliding, as a badly behaved parent tries to juggling repairing his fractured relationship with his teenager daughter with keeping his younger girlfriend Mandy (Kim Tiddy) happy and his business afloat.

 

What’s good about it?

The jukebox musical features all of your favourite 80s and 90s hits.

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (obviously), Papa Don’t Preach, Spice Up Your Life, Only Way is Up, Relight My Fire and Saturday Night are just a few of the musical numbers that put a smile on the your face and I spotted more than a few audience members busting a few moves in their seats.

Fans of The Hoff are also in for a treat as he dons the famous red lifeguard uniform to belt out the Baywatch theme I’ll Be Ready at the start of act two – a moment many caught on camera as the audience were encouraged to take snaps throughout the show.

Scenes between Ross and the Spanish barman José (Tam Ryan) reminded me a lot of Basil Fawlty and Manuel and got a lot of laughs from the audience.

Ebenezer, the security guard/drug dealer, played by Barry Bloxham was a great baddie and his rendition of Ebeneezer Goode was one of my highlights.

Vocally, the girls stole the show – party animals Shazza (Emily Penny) and her friend Amber (Natalie Amanda Gray) were great and it’s not hard to see why Tom Jones begged Stephanie Webster (who played Penny) to join his team when she appeared on The Voice UK earlier this year as she shone throughout, particularly when she performed Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart.

The whole cast must also be applauded for the way they dealt with an unfortunate technical hitch throughout the first act, they were the ultimate professionals.

What could have been better?

There were times when I actually winced when The Hoff and Shane Richie Junior were singing as I felt certain songs did not suit their voices.

It also felt a bit like an amateur dramatics performance but as the warm-up guy said, this is not Miss Saigon - it’s a fast-paced, cheesy, sometimes cringey, feel-good musical.

If you’re a fan of The Hoff, love singing into your hairbrush to music from decades gone-by and don’t mind shows that encourage audience participation, then give it a go.

Information

The show runs at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre until November 21.

Tickets start at £17 and are available by clicking here.