Dreamboats and Petticoats (or how not to do a musical)

Dreamboats and Petticoats - The Savoy (28 July)

These musicals tend to follow the same format:

You pick some great songs from an era you like... lets say the sixties... then you work on the script. Something like:

Handsome but dumb young rocker: "Can you really dance? Then prove it!"
Cue: Let's Dance

Plain Jane type: "Are you coming to my birthday party... I'll be sixteen."
Cue: Sweet Sixteen

Girl-shy lad called Bobby: "I'm glad you're my girl."
Cue: Bobby's Girl

The story goes: a bunch of (far too) wholesome teenagers from a youth club enter a music competition, and on the way end up finding true love.

For a musical that didn't start with any creative spark in the first place - I wasn't offended.
But. It. Is. Very. Predictable.

The performances are ok. The script has flashes of genuine comedy. But this is a musical with no heart and no soul - the result of crowbarring music into a paper-thin plot.

It's fine if you want toe-tapping fun - but it had little lasting impact on me.

Tim scores: 5/10