In Dreams - Friday 14th July 2023

FIRST NIGHT | THEATRE In Dreams review — Roy Orbison’s hits lift an irresistible show Leeds Playhouse Rachel Halliburton ★★★★☆ Death has rarely felt so exuberant as it does in this gloriously irreverent musical, which channels the spirit of Roy Orbison for a story of hopes and dreams that’s so cheesy it would give your average Roquefort an identity crisis. The Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read pulls out all the emotional stops for this New Mexico-set tale of Kenna, a country-rock singer who checks into a joint specialising in margaritas, tacos and memorial services for a reunion with a twist.

Appropriately, the plot is so skeletal it almost deserves its own wake: it’s no spoiler to say that Lena Hall’s sassy, wisecracking Kenna suspects that she’s dying and contacts her old bandmates to say goodbye without telling them why. As with Mamma Mia!, the story’s a shameless device for shoehorning in as many songs as possible, whether it’s two rock stars turned exhausted parents singing A Love So Beautiful or Kenna being raucously welcomed to the hotel with You Got It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HId94DB-lI Luke Sheppard’s pacy, colourful production takes Mexico’s Day of the Dead as its inspiration: there’s a sombrero-wearing skeleton called Katrina and the family restaurant in which most of the action is set is festooned with lights and marigolds. The vibe’s not so much about mortality as each character’s attempt to recapture a younger, more carefree version of themselves, whether it’s Oliver Tompsett’s hilarious Uber-driving ex-drummer, Ramsey, or Alma Cuervo’s vibrant, scene-stealing matriarch, Ana Sofia.

Any hint of sentimentality is quickly deflated by a barrage of one-liners; when Ana Sofia is introduced as a widow, it’s explained: “We say she’s in a long-distance relationship.” The gloriously awkward reunion between Kenna and her ex, Ramsey, is considerably enhanced by the scene in which he misguidedly tries to show her how much she means to him. “Somehow your arse tattoo isn’t telling me you’re serious,” she quips. In the true tradition of feelgood musicals, a story unfolds for everybody on Arnulfo Maldonado’s ebullient, cluttered set, filled with vintage neon signs. There’s the young couple about to have a baby, Oscar and Nicole (Manuel Pacific and Gabriela García), George the widower looking for new love (Richard Trinder), and Sian Reese-Williams and Noël Sullivan as Jane and Donovan, parents trying to reconnect. In a universally strong cast (not least Leon Craig as Tom, the band’s unashamed fanboy), Hall and Tompsett provide a credible and funny emotional core as the wild-at-heart exes. A rigor mortis-defying evening all round.

Alma Cuervo (Ana Sofia) Gabriela García (Nicole) Lena Hall (Kenna) Leon Craig (Tom) Manuel Pacific (Oscar) Noël Sullivan (Donovan) Oliver Tompsett (Ramsey) Richard Trinder (George) Sian Reese-Williams (Jane)