View from the Green Room: Saturday Night Fever
Nights on Broadway at Theatre Royal, Waterford.
It must be the night fever because they just had to show it. Standing, swaying, phones lit up, dancing in the aisles and singing along for well over two hours. Along with several standing ovations throughout the evening as the group belts out hits that span four decades from the Gibb brothers. I found myself back at Catch 22 in the Tower thumpin’ the foot to that disco beat everyone loves.
Everyone seemed to know the words. All of them! I suppose it speaks volumes for the age profile of the attendance.
Like Alison who danced with Robin Gibb – outed by her friends – and the gang that bopped their way into the aisles as the show moved on.
This is a clever show. The band are dead-savvy and know exactly what the punters want. They’ve worked their routines well and it’s a well-rehearsed script that matches the progress of the Bee Gees to the rear-screen projections of John Travolta strutting his wide-lappelled stuff at the Odyssey Disco in Brooklyn in Saturday Night Fever, with actress Karen Lynn Gorney. Unfortunately, the onstage smoke sometimes makes it impossible to see the screens.
The band’s progress is matched to screenshots of their records so you always have a fair idea of the date-frame.
The Bee Gees were formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Their three-part tight harmonies, Robin's clear vibrato, Barry's amazing R&B falsetto and their killer disco tunes gave the group what every band wants – a unique sound. The group wrote all their own original material, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists – Beyonce, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion.
This band has a great connection with their audience who join in all the numbers under that disco glitter ball that pings its way around the house… "Nights on Broadway… Jive Talkin’… Love Me… If I can’t have you… Too much heaven… More than a woman… You stepped into my life… Love you inside out… How deep is your love…”
When the gig moves into the Saturday Night Fever excerpt that closes the show, the entire performance moves up a gear. Opening with the infectious “Fifth of Beethoven”, the band pounds through their score – written by the way after the film was shot!
With Travolta in that iconic white suit, we’re off into “Stayin’ alive… Night fever… You should be dancin’… Manhattan skyline… Disco inferno… Night on Disco Mountain… Jive talkin’…"
On and on it goes with the audience singing, clapping rhythm, dancing and living the beat.
Who says nostalgia is a thing of the past?
