''Boogie Nights'' is a British

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, based upon the

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

of the 1970s, written by Jon Conway with

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is an English actor, comedian, presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the character Alfie ...

and Terry Morrison. Its 2013 production starred

Jimmy Osmond James Arthur Osmond (born April 16, 1963) is an American singer and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds. As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six RIAA certification, gold records, one RIAA certific ...

Jay Osmond Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is an American musician. He is a member of the Osmond family of performers. He wrote the story to the 2022 musical ''The Osmonds'', a musical based on the life and music of the family. The musical was shown ...

Merrill Osmond Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953) is an American musician in semi-retirement. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and bassist of the family music group The Osmonds and The Osmond Brothers, as well as an occasional solo artist. ...

and

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

History

The musical premiered at Bromley in November 1997, and debuted on the West End at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

in October 1998, directed by Jon Conway (its writer). ''Boogie Nights'' was also performed by WYMT (Wakefield Youth Music Theatre) at Wakefield Theatre Royal in September 2008 where it was performed by youths ages 12–19 for 2 weeks.

Plot

Debs and Roddy are a couple. Roddy has a dream to be a rock star. They have been together for five years, as have their best friends Terry and Trish. There is a fancy dance contest at their local

discotheque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

, Boogie Nights, and Roddy promises he will go with Debs. Debs then reveals to Trish that she is pregnant with Roddy's baby. Roddy's dad, Eamon, is a big fan of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. Eamon tells Roddy to treat Debs better and to get a regular job. But Roddy is distracted by his dreams of stardom to notice that he is hurting anyone. Days later, Debs is waiting for Roddy to pick her up from shopping. He doesn't, but she is met by Dean, the DJ at Boogie Nights. He tells Debs that Roddy is not good enough for her, and that she should leave Roddy for him. They kiss. Roddy meets with the singer in the disco's band Lorraine and her boyfriend Spencer (also a singer). They are rowing, and he storms off. Lorraine and Roddy then cheat together on their partners. Lorraine tells Roddy that she is going to enter the dance contest with him. At the contest, Roddy's lovers meet and realise what is happening. Debs dumps Roddy and subsequently has a miscarriage. When Elvis dies, Eamon is heartbroken, and when Roddy complains, Eamon tries to put everything in perspective. Roddy uses a picture of what he thinks is Elvis but when he looks it is his deceased mother. Eamon throws Roddy out and forgets about Roddy. Weeks later, Terry comes over to Roddy's and tells him that Debs is romantically involved with Dean. Roddy finally accepts that his romantic relationship with Debs is over. He goes over to Debs', and she tells him about the baby. Spencer gives Roddy the job of singer in his band. He runs to tell Debs the news, but she tells him some news first—she and Dean are engaged. Eamon tells Spencer he wants to make up with Roddy but if he says sorry. Terry is best man at their wedding; Roddy is the singer. When Spencer asks for song requests, Roddy makes a request to come home. Roddy and Eamon patch things up. Everyone has what they wanted: Eamon is close to Roddy, Dean is with Debs, Debs has someone to trust, and Roddy is a professional singer. However, Roddy wonders if he really wanted this dream; what if he had the choice would he have chosen Debs?

Characters

*Roddy - main character *Debs - Roddy's girlfriend *Terry - a garage mechanic *Trish - Debs' friend and Terry's girlfriend *Eamon - Roddy's father *Dean - DJ at the club Boogie Nights *Spencer - front man for the resident band *Lorraine - singer in the local band and Spencer's girlfriend *Mandy - an ex-girlfriend of Roddy *Cinema Manager - manager of the cinema

Musical numbers

;Act I * "

Ladies' Night A ladies' night is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons pay less than male patrons for the cover charge or alcoholic beverages. In the United States, state courts in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisco ...

" / "

Car Wash A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of motor vehicle, cars. Car washes can be #Self-serve car wash, self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or #Autom ...

"/ "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

" (Recorded Track) * "

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic ...

"(Recorded Track) * "Celebration" - Roddy and Company * Scene Change - Instrumental * "

If You Leave Me Now "If You Leave Me Now" is a song by the American rock group Chicago, from their album ''Chicago X''. It was written and sung by bass player Peter Cetera and released as a single on July 30, 1976. It is also the title of a Chicago compilation alb ...

" - Instrumental * Scene Change - Instrumental * Blame It On The Boogie Medley - Company * Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel ecorded Track * "Lady Marmalade" - Lorraine, Girls * "You Sexy Thing">Lady_Marmalade.html" ;"title="ecorded Track * "Lady Marmalade">ecorded Track * "Lady Marmalade" - Lorraine, Girls * "You Sexy Thing" - Spencer * "

Don't Go Breaking My Heart "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee, released by The Rocket Record Company on 25 June 1976. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte B ...

" - Debs, Roddy, Trish, Terry * "Always On My Mind" - Recorded Track * "All Shook Up" - Eamon, Roddy, Dean, Terry - Band Tacet * Scene Change - Instrumental * Yesterday Once More - Debs, Ensemble * Bye Bye Baby - Terry, Roddy * Medley - Shaft/ Kung Fu Fighting / Happy Days - Company * Medley Playout - Instrumental * Pearl and Dean Theme - Recorded Track * " ''Jaws'' Theme" - Recorded Track *

Sugar Baby Love "Sugar Baby Love" is a bubblegum pop song by English musical group the Rubettes, released as their debut single. Written by Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington and produced by Bickerton, the song was recorded in late 1973 and released in Januar ...

- Terry, Boys * Sugar Baby Love Playoff - Instrumental * " Just The Way You Are" - Spencer - Band Tacet * "Jammin'" - Spencer - Band Tacet * " Y.M.C.A." - Spencer, Roddy, Terry, Dean, Eamon * Scene Change - Instrumental * "

" / " Yesterday Once More" - Debs, Dean * " Enough Is Enough" - Debs, Lorraine * "If You Leave Me Now" - Roddy * " Jailhouse Rock" - Eamon * Funky Music No 1 - " Play That Funky Music White Boy" - Roddy * "A Little Bit More" - Recorded Track * " Last Dance" / "Reach Out" - Lorraine, Debs ;Act II * Entr' acte - Instrumental * I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper - Trish, Ensemble * "

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 studio album of same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream ...

" - Trish, Dean, Terry, Ensemble * Grease Sting No 1 - Instrumental * Grease Sting No 2 - Roddy * Grease Sting No 3 - Instrumental * Dead Man / Street Life Sting - Lorraine * "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...

" - Debs * Street Life - Reprise - Instrumental * Always On My Mind - Eamon * " Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" - Roddy, Eamon, Ensemble * Theme from "

Our Tune ''Our Tune'' is a long-standing feature/segment on British radio presented by broadcaster Simon Bates. Having begun by at least 1979 it was originally part of his mid-morning show on BBC Radio 1, where it aired daily throughout the 1980s and ea ...

" - Radio - Recorded Track * Shaddup a Ya Face - Radio - Recorded Track * If You Leave Me Now - Instrumental * If You Leave Me Now - All, Roddy * Celebrate Scene Change - Instrumental * Scene Change - Instrumental * Yesterday Once More - Underscore - Instrumental * Play That Funky Music - Reprise - Roddy, Ensemble * "

Boogie Wonderland "Boogie Wonderland" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions, released in April 1979 on Columbia Records as the first single from their ninth album, ''I Am'' (1979). The song peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' danc ...

" - Company * Finale Megamix - Can You Feel The Force / Instant Replay / "

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by American R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album '' McFadden & Whitehead'' (1979). They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. Background "A ...

" / "Disco Inferno" / " We Are Family" - Company * Finale Playout - Company

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.boogienightsthemusical.co.uk/
2003 reviewSouthampton Musical Society's 2011 productionStarburst Theatre's July 2011 production in Fleet, Hampshire
1997 musicals Jukebox musicals British musicals