Theatre Review: An Officer and a Gentleman

Douglas Day Stewart’s popular book and screenplay is brought to life on stage, beautifully enhanced by the quintessential soundtrack of the 1980s. A storyline based on his own experiences as a young naval officer candidate, together with a rich exploration of the chase for the American Dream for a diverse group of young people in Pensacola, Florida. An Officer and a Gentleman is a classic love story, with every ingredient needed to keep the audience gripped: moments of humour, heartache and humility. 

Knockout performances from the female cast stole the show in the first half; Melanie Masson (Esther) and Wendi Harriott (Bunny) set the bar with powerhouse vocals in “This is a man’s man’s man’s world”. Just when you think you’ve identified the most impressive vocal of the performance, another of the cast delivers yet again a standout vocal delivery on par with the best of the best.

As an audience-member you will spend an awful lot of time in sheer awe of the talent on stage, it is difficult not to feel the emotion emanating from center stage throughout - resisting the urge to get up and dance is almost impossible at points!

Later in Act one, Georgia Lennon (Paula) and Sinead Long (Lynette)’s duet of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun highlighted their phenomenal vocal range and catapulted both of their voices into the running for top performance of the first Act. In order to quantify the talent in this cast, you truly have to witness it for yourself.

An Officer and A Gentleman sells the magic of the working class dream of 1980s America which translates through Michael Taylor’s iconic set and costume design. The clever use of movement and dynamism within the multi-purpose set, height and levels all contribute to a richly enhanced experience as an audience member, the set design is a great asset to the story-telling of this powerful musical.

Costume also plays a crucial role in the delivery of some of the standout performances. Sinead Long (Lynette) delivered a knockout solo of Material Girl with the company all in a dreamy pink and blinged out dance number. Sinead’s vocal performances were one of the standouts throughout, with a beautiful depiction of her love story unfolding with Paul French (Sid) who also delivered some eye-wateringly fantastic vocals. 

Act two was where the male cast really stole the show - the relationship between Sid and Zack, played by Paul French and Luke Baker respectively beautifully developed in front of our eyes. A brotherhood between two very different men warmed the hearts of all in attendance. Special mention has to go to Paul French (Sid) for his overwhelmingly emotive performance in the very saddest moments of his character’s storyline. His own emotion was palpable on stage, and dark themes dealt with beautifully and delicately with the use of physical theatre and choreographed movement between himself and Luke Baker (Zack) it was impossible not to feel deeply moved.

A special mention for one of the most layered performances has to go to Jamal Kane Crawford (Gunnery Sergeant Foley). Not only did Jamal’s delivery of some of the musical’s funniest dialogue land perfectly, his ability to switch between a serious, unloving Sergeant and a softer, more human side was really impressive. Being the vessel through which we witnessed a lot of the naval candidates’ character development, Jamal did not have an easy role to fill but he did so brilliantly. 

This storyline fills our hearts with hope, the big-dreamers within us all are awakened and it would be hard to find someone who could witness this musical spectacle and not leave feeling uplifted and full of endorphins. A must-see for all ages, whether the 80s soundtrack will be a blast from the past or an entirely new experience.

An Officer and a Gentleman plays at Nottingham's Theatre Royal until Saturday 3 August.