The Drifters Girl, UK Tour (2024) Review
Reviewed by Jacqueline for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Following a successful London run during which it received both Olivier and WhatsOnStage Award nominations, The Drifters Girl is now coming to the end of its first UK tour. This week the production finally reached the Edinburgh Playhouse, but did it leave audiences begging for more?
Unlike many of the musical biopics that have come before it, The Drifters Girl focuses less on the members of the group itself and more on their manager, Faye Treadwell. From band members facing the military draft, to extensive legal battles, to tragic personal losses, Treadwell defied all odds and led the group to international success- including a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Throughout this slick and streamlined production (running at just over 2 hours and 15 minutes) we enjoyed the numerous ups and downs of the band, set to a score of The Drifters’ greatest hits.
This cast is small but strong. As the titular 'Drifters Girl', Faye Treadwell, Carly Mercedes Dyer is a star. She was a powerful presence fighting to have her voice heard in an industry with very little respect for an African-American woman in a position of authority. Her vocals were sublime, in particular during Nobody Like Me, her stunning act one solo. A personal standout moment for me was her lamenting the loss of Rudy Lewis and the responsibility she felt for that tragic event- a scene which packed one of the strongest emotional punches of the entire show.
Jaydah Bell-Rickets plays Faye Treadwells daughter and this is a tasteful framing device to tie the show together. As events are unfolding onstage, Treadwell often explains and justifies her actions to her daughter- adding greater context to the situations without feeling like an offload of exposition. Having said that, Bell-Rickets’s talents are criminally underused in her role as she does not sing or dance throughout the performance and spends most of the time observing the action from after.
The rest of the characters in the show are performed by Ethan Davis (Ben E. King and Others), Matthew Dawkins (George Treadwell and Others), Tarik Frimpong (Clyde McPhatter, Lover Paterson and Others) and Daniel Haswell (Johnny Moore, Gerhart Thrasher and Others). The range of characters performed by each cast member is a testament to their skills, as they seamlessly flipped between their roles simply by changing an accent or adding a prop. Having said that, the downside of the vast range of characters combined with the short running time of the show is that there was little time to form any emotional connection to most characters onstage. I felt this in particular with regards to Rudy Lewis whose introduction and death felt as though they occurred in the blink of an eye. Personally, I would have enjoyed a longer show with a bit more depth, rather than this ‘whistle-stop tour’ of so much music history. Unfortunately, at the performance I was at there were also some slight difficulties with microphone volume meaning that it was hard to hear parts of the dialogue and to follow the full story.
Throughout the production, we were treated to twenty-four Drifters songs, either as full songs or parts of medleys. These iconic songs translate well to the theatre stage, most notably “Stand By Me” and “Harlem Child” which received some of the biggest applause of the night. The finale medley of iconic hits had the entire audience on their feet- from families with children to those who had clearly been enjoying The Drifters' music since the 1950s and beyond. Overall, The Drifters Girl does well in its attempt to stand out in the sea of biopic musicals. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite pack the emotional punch that other shows have succeeded in.
The Drifters Girl UK tour runs at the Edinburgh Playhouse until May 4th and concludes at the Wales Millenium Centre from May 7th-11th 2024
☆ ☆ ☆
