The 80s have already generated a slew of screen-to-stage hits including Flashdance and Dirty Dancing. The nostalgia machine rolls on, gathering up £20 notes along the way, with this jukebox version of the Richard Gere and Debra Winger movie in which trainee US Navy pilot Zack carries factory worker Paula off to a life of cramped accommodation, constant relocation and soulless military bases. Show The writer of the movie’s screenplay, Douglas Day Stewart, co-writes the book with Sharleen Cooper Cohen, and has a second attempt at getting it right on stage after a version with an original score bombed in Australia in 2012. Here, repurposed 80s hits including St Elmo’s Fire, Kids in America and Material Girl are used artfully to carry the slight storyline. Nobody crashes and burns, it’s merely tastefully dull and lacking in genuine grit.  Just as Dirty Dancing on stage is all about that iconic lift, this is two hours of musical foreplay, geared towards the moment when Jonny Fines’s charmless Zack saves Paula in return for her saving him. It’s fairytale stuff that plays oddly in the context of 21st-century gender politics. Plus, for all the characters’ complicated backstories and anguished delivery of ballads, the lack of emotional involvement means the moment never feels earned. There are several uncertain performances, but Emma Williams brings punchy intelligence to Paula, Rachel Stanley is strong as her mum, and it’s a smart move to give the women some of the best songs, including It’s a Man’s Man’s World. It’s a pity the show so insistently confirms that it is. Is Officer and a Gentleman musical good?Overall, the musical version of “An Officer and a Gentleman” is decent entertainment. You know the story, you know some of the music, and there are some exceptional performances, including some very fine dancing. An Officer and a Gentleman runs through Sunday, February 20 at the Providence Performing Arts Center.
Is An Officer and a Gentleman a jukebox musical?The movie An Officer and a Gentleman came out in 1982 to both critical and popular acclaim, but turning this story into a jukebox musical many years later seems like a strange choice.
Who turned down the role in Officer and a Gentleman?He wore his own uniforms and decorations in two scenes. Scott Glenn, Jack Nicholson, Mandy Patinkin, and James Woods were all offered the supporting role of Gunnery Sergeant Foley; but they rejected the part individually, as it was later won over by Louis Gossett Jr.
What town was Officer and a Gentleman filmed?Nearly all the movie was shot in Port Townsend, with only a few scenes filmed on Whidbey Island and at other Western Washington locations.
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An officer and a gentleman musical reviews
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