"Boogie Nights" by Erewash Musical Society.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Boy, does this show bring back the memories, not only of the fabulous music of the 1970's, but of my days of being a mobile DJ - yes, I really am that old! It was the era that I had my first girlfriend, the decade I left school, the decade I got my first proper job; it was in a record shop in Hucknall - my weekly wage packet was a little over £38.00, and the decade that I became independently mobile - a pushbike bought from my own wages. I also bought my first record player and the first record that I bought with my pocket money from Mum and Dad was Nottingham's very own Paper Lace in 1974, "Billy Don't Be A Hero". The 1970's was a decade of growing up, surviving school and becoming a man, in every sense of the word!

Back in 2017 the Erewash Musical Society Youth Group performed this show at the Duchess, and now is the time to present the Erewash Musical Society's production, who I may say are all young at heart and still full of youthfulness.

“Boogie Nights-The Musical” tells the comical yet heart-warming story of Roddy, a Jack-the-lad, whose life of birds, booze and boogie is about to be turned upside down.

Roddy O'Neill is busy dreaming of life as a rock star! Debs, his girlfriend, has her own thoughts... basically that Roddy's a selfish, arrogant, horrible, unfeeling, rude, heartless pig! But the truth is that Roddy is in love with Debs, and Debs is in love with Roddy, but Debs knows that Roddy has more than a roving eye! Through all their tears and laughter - can they both find what they are truly searching for?

The musical starts with a wedding scene and Debs is looking lovely as the blushing bride. Roddy then relates how they got to this day, starting from the day that best mate Terry dared him to ask Debs out on a date, back in 1972. The ending comes full circle but there's a twist, well there always is..... isn't there?

For those who are too young to have experienced a 70s nightclub, this will be an eye opener. For those of us not too young (only just) it will be a nostalgic hustle down memory lane. I am quite proud to say that as a teenager I started my mobile DJ days in 1979 – two years after this story is set, but retro enough to count. The story is set around the day that Elvis Presley died - 16 August 1977 and that also is relevant in this story line.

If you can imagine being at the best wedding or retro party ever, then this is the atmosphere music wise because it has one of the best soundtracks around for a retro musical. “Ladies Night”, “Celebration”, “Blame It On The Boogie”, “You Sexy Thing”, “Kung Fu Fighting”, “Bye Bye Baby”, ”No More Tears”, “Play that Funky Music”, “Disco Inferno”, “I Will Survive”, “Boogie Wonderland”, “YMCA”… I could go on.

Partly penned by Shane Richie, this could be looked on as part autobiographical, as Richie was a jack the lad in his days of a holiday camp entertainer, dreaming of being a rock star and taking full advantage of the entertainer status. Now, I don't know how much Shane Richie was involved in the soundtrack but, being the music geek that I am, I noticed a few songs that were not released until after 1978, the cut off year for the musical. Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand's "No More Tears" was a 1979 release, The Crusaders "Street Life" was also 1979, Ottowan's "D.I.S.C.O." was released in 1979 but was not a hit until 1980 and Joe Dolce's "Shaddap You Face" was even later, in 1981. The scene when Roddy asked Debs out was in 1972 but the Bay City Rollers version of "Bye Bye Baby" was not released until 1975. Nobody but a geeky nerd would probably have noticed these though! If it's in the script, it has to be kept in. All great songs in any case.

Roddy is played by Hayden Fletcher whose energy, dance skills and likeability is so well suited to this role. I loved the fact that Roddy is so unlike Hayden but you still believed the character. Roddy is a selfish, cheating pig who constantly berates Debs, and that got the audience booing - in a friendly fashion of course and in response to how Roddy acted, not Hayden. I also have an idea that Hayden loved this role, especially the choreography. Hayden's vocals sound good and never better than on the stripped back "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word", and I really liked that arrangement.

Debs is played by Rosie Taylor, one of the Society's newer members. This woman has a gorgeous voice and is put to good use with these songs. Her version of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" was so good, as was "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", both showing power and control of those longer notes.

Terry is played by Evan Hagen. I stated in my last review of Evan's in "Top Hat" last year that I really noticed Evan's vocals for the first time, due to them being very distinctive. I am so pleased that Evan was cast as Terry because we get to hear his voice even more. This man has a great voice with plenty of power. Like Hayden, he can also dance and add to that his acting skills, he is an all rounder of the stage. Also loved his glow in the dark bright yellow shirt.

Trish, Debs' best friend and Terry's girlfriend, is played by Nicola Tuxford. Love her voice characterisation which gives Trish a likeable air of simpleness.

Lorraine is played by Charlotte Burden, who I am sure is a new name to me. Another great find vocally and stagewise. Lorraine is a sexy, self assured character who is not about to be controlled by her boyfriend Spencer, so sets her eyes on someone else who frequents the Boogie Nights Nightclub. Musically Charlotte and Jonny are both on the same page and sound great together, but that is where the sweet music comes to a grinding halt.

Spencer, the singer in "The Love Machine" duo - with Lorraine - is played by Jonny Cox. The archetypal sexist pig who feels that he has the right to control Lorraine as she is "his property" but we soon also see that his hard man act is set to crumble.

DJ Dean is played by Ethan Fletcher. Ethan personifies what a 1970's DJ should be and while DJ Dean being slightly over the top still manages to be "one of the lads" away from the decks.

Roddy's Dad, Eamon is played by Martin Briggs. This is a lovely character; he is obsessed with Elvis, and that back story is played out in Act two, so when the news in 1977 of The King's demise, Eamon is on an emotional high, possibly due to his alcohol levels, but there's a big fall out with his son which delivers  pathos to the storyline. That scene in itself is one of my favourites as Eamon croons along with Elvis to "Always On My Mind".

Baz the Bouncer is played by Nick Buckthorpe and Gos The Doorman is played by John Fletcher. This pair welcome you to the theatre, and if you're lucky enough, you may even get the back of your hand stamped, just in case you want to leave the auditorium at any time. Happy memories of teen youth clubs and discos of my youth. This pair also open the proceedings on stage.

The ensemble consist of many brightly adorned young things; Andrea Kemish, Carolyn Briggs, Emma Barnes-Marriot, Gary Fowkes, Hannah Hirst, Harvey Tavener, James McKinnon-Bowden, Jane Freeman, Karen Robbins, Kathi Ludlow, Laura Dawson, Louisa Ward, Sarah Terry, Sophie Homer, Tracey Renshaw, Sue Hagan and Vicky Byrne. All bringing great energy to this high energy show.

Directed by Chrissie Oakden. I love what she has done with all of these characters and has brought out the real characters of the musical. It's perfectly cast with the characters matched with the actors' strengths. As with most jukebox musicals the script can be a bit flimsy, but with this one, and the music for the musical being almost a decade of music, so many of the scenes and situations blended well with the songs and they gave the musical high energy.

Only one thing I might have added to the show was in the sections in the disco, the ensemble and the characters not directly involved in that particular storyline were dancing but there was no music. I would have had some kind of music, albeit on a low volume; it just seemed a bit odd them dancing with no music, the way that club scenes are done for films sometime, but then the music is added in at a later date. 

Choreographed by Hayley Wood (apologies for getting your name mixed up when showing my ticket). The 1970's, as well as the 80's were my dancing days. In the 80's I was never out of the clubs at the weekend, which is probably why I was such a slim youth - how times change you when you get older - and I loved the inhibited and freestyle dance moves as much as the Saturday Night Fever style "everybody join in" choreography. All the moves from that era were on show on stage - Hayley has obviously done her research as she is nowhere near old enough to remember them first hand.

What I did note with the cast was that it was the male cast members who really seemed to be throwing themselves into these moves with gay abandon. they did the worm, the hustle, the line dancing and they all looked to be loving these moves. There were a few scenes that seemed just a little too static for me where there was quite a bit of dancing on the spot - no handbags were in sight unfortunately - but choreographically I loved what I saw. If my knees weren't a bit dodgy, I'd have been up at the end dancing, as instructed by the cast in the lyrics of Sister Sledge's "We Are Family".

Musical Director is George Parkinson who replicated that gorgeous sound of the 70's disco scene brilliantly alongside band members Chris Renshaw (Guitar), Jeff Widdowson (Bass) and Phil Holland (Drums). George was on keys.

Set Design is by Mark Robbins, Bill Robbins and Erewash Musical Society and looked amazing and wonderfully 1970's retro.

The costumes are courtesy of Chrissie Oakden, Alex Tavener, Karen Robbins, cast members and friends of the company. I adore the fashion of this decade and every stop was pulled out to brighten up that stage with so much glitter. I couldn't see one costume that didn't look fantastic and didn't look right for this era. And if you ever want to get rid of some of those jackets, my wardrobe would be just the place for them - I probably wouldn't be able to get in them truth be told!

Sound is by Granite AV Solutions and was clear, fresh and at the perfect level.

Lighting is by Steve Greatorex. This really makes you feel as if you're in a club back in the 70's. The stage was awash with colour, as were the walls of the auditorium and the obligatory mirror ball. 

Production Assistant is Laurie Trott, who should have been in the ensemble, but was unable to due to a knee issue. It was really nice for the cast to acknowledge Laurie in the final bows.

Stage manager is Mark Robbins, who was his usual fabulous self regarding managing all things stagey.

Props were all thanks to Anna Fitzpatrick.

I know some may feel that the sexist jibes and attitudes of some of the male characters could be insulting but that is the way that Richie, Jon Conway and Terry Morrison created the script. This was the 70's and that caveman attitude was rife - remember "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" both had sexist pig characters. This is written in to extract audience reaction, and it succeeded, but in a jovial way because the women did get the upper hand in the end.

The musical is not meant to be a serious piece of theatre, just a good fun night out with a brilliant soundtrack that makes you long for your hipster flares and hotpants... just me then?

Wonderful energy, some marvellous vocals, lovely ensemble work, a great soundtrack and some brilliant costumes all make for this show to be labelled the best disco show in town.

"Boogie Nights" is at The Duchess Theatre until Saturday 7 March.