''Save the Last Dance for Me'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

written by Laurence Marks and

Maurice Gran Maurice Bernard Gran (born 26 October 1949 in London, England) is an English writer and one half of scriptwriting duo Marks and Gran. He co-wrote the sitcoms '' The New Statesman'', '' Birds of a Feather'' and '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' with La ...

. It primarily uses songs from the 1960s written by

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hal ...

and

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as ...

such as ''

A Teenager in Love "A Teenager in Love" is a song written by Doc Pomus and partner Mort Shuman. It was originally recorded by Dion and the Belmonts, and released in March 1959. It appeared on their album ''Presenting Dion and the Belmonts'' (1959). It reached numb ...

'', ''

Sweets For My Sweet "Sweets for My Sweet" is a song written by the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, originally recorded by American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group the Drifters. In 1994, British reggae singer C. J. Lewis had a very successful Euro ...

'', '' Little Sister'', ''

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...

'', ''

Can't Get Used to Losing You "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is a song written by Doc Pomus, Jerome "Doc" Pomus and Mort Shuman, first made popular by Andy Williams in a 1963 record release, which was a number-two hit in both the US and the UK. Twenty years later, British ba ...

'' and the title song ''Save the Last Dance for Me''. It opened at the Churchill Theatre Bromley on 9 January 2012 before embarking on a nationwide tour. A spin-off production from '' Dreamboats and Petticoats'', it reunited the writing team with producer

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023. Early life Kenwright was born in ...

and director

Keith Strachan Keith Strachan (born 21 January 1944) is an English composer and theatre director. He co-wrote the song " Mistletoe and Wine", which got Cliff Richard the 1988 UK Christmas number one. His TV work includes the theme music for the worldwide franc ...

. The choreography was by

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

winner, Bill Deamer. As was the case in Dreamboats and Petticoats, all of the music was played live by the actors on stage. A new production has been announced, due to open April 2016 at Windsor Theatre Royal, before touring the UK again.

Plot

In 1963, teen sisters Jennifer and Marie go on holiday to a caravan in Lowestoft without their parents. There they meet handsome American airman Milton who is stationed at a local airbase and invites the sisters to a dance at the base. At the dance youngest sister Marie meets and eventually falls in love with Curtis, a black airman from Tennessee. The story deals with themes of racial tension both in the American military and British society, as well as Anglo-American relations in the 1960s.

Music

The musical was advertised as featuring the hits of

and included many of their songs, although some songs were included that the duo did not write together and some songs, like

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" is a popular song with music by Turner Layton and lyrics by Henry Creamer. First published in 1922, it was advertised by Creamer and Layton as "A Southern Song, without A Mammy, A Mule, Or A Moon", a dig at some of ...

, that were not written by either of them. A double CD compilation album was released in May 2012.

Cast

Reception

The critical reception was mixed, with many reviewers judging the storyline to be a weak point, while the cast and musicians' performances were often praised. It was often deemed inferior in comparison to Dreamboats and Petticoats. Catherine Jones of the Liverpool Echo described the plot as "purely a vehicle to introduce the American songwriters’ extensive back catalogue", while Phil Williams of the North Wales Pioneer called the show "unmissable", "sheer quality" with "excellent musicians". Bruce Blacklaw of The Scotsman was particularly scathing, and referred to the use of "cack-handed race and gender politics", with "all the depth of a burst paddling pool", although he conceded that the show was about the music and that the audience were dancing in the aisles.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Official website
Fiction set in 1963 2012 musicals Jukebox musicals British musicals Musicals set in England Musicals set in the 1960s