The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome, 16 April ‘till Saturday 20 April 2024, then on tour. 4✩✩✩✩ Review: Paul Gray & Louise Burke.
The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome, 16 April ‘till Saturday 20 April 2024, then on tour.
4✩✩✩✩ Review: Paul Gray & Louise Burke.
“Vocal harmonies that make time stand still. But just who is The Drifters Girl?”
This is a bit of a stripped-down show. Six cast members carry the whole musical and dramatic weight, and they have to carry the challenging task of keeping everything together. Hats off to them for managing that.
What happens on stage musically is really first rate. The singers are individually talented, and gel brilliantly, delivering skintight harmonies that send a shiver down the spine. As the four ‘Drifters’ - Tarik Frimpong, Miles Anthony Daley, Ashford Campbell and Dalton Harris all shine. Carly Mercedes Dyer, playing the band’s manager, Faye Treadwell, displays stunning control and stamina and really lets rip with some held notes that blast through the texture.
In a show comprised of timeless hits, performance of ‘Hello Happiness’ and ‘Come on Over to my Place’ stand out, lifting the soul and putting a smile on the face. It is clear the cast are having a ball and their enjoyment of working together as a team shines through with great chemistry going on.
Vocally the show is excellent and, at the end of the day, most of the audience are here for that. Which is just as well because other aspects are a bit of a disappointment. It is clear that some cast members have come from a purely musical background and perhaps lack some of the training or experience to carry off the dramatic side of things. Some input from a dialect coach would be useful; the American accents are largely unconvincing. The plot is confusing in its depiction of the evolution of the band, and their endless problems of changing personel The character of ‘the Girl,’ played by Jaydah Bell-Ricketts, is underwritten and her role in the drama is unclear. In fact she just kind of hangs around the stage doing very little, sometimes getting in the way of the song and dance.
The above not withstanding there is a lot of fun and humour going on which plays well. And it does not shy away from dealing with the racism – and the appalling sexism - endemic in that era.
Clearly this is a show that sets out to appeal to a certain demographic for whom the music of this era is particularly meaningful. At this level, it works a treat. It is an uncomplicated, feel-good, pick me up experience.