FLASHDANCE THE MUSICAL BRINGS BACK THAT FEELING out TAKE
FLASHDANCE is one of my earliest childhood movie memories. I remember we rented it on video one weekend and I think I watched it five times before reluctantly returning it to Xtra Vision.
I was always a tomboy so I think it was Alex’s role as a pipe fitter and her trendy dungarees that most attracted me.
The music was, of course, central to it and songs such as What A Feeling and Maniac have been on my list of dancefloor fillers ever since.
In an age when a rash of 1980s and 1990s films are being adapted for the stage, it was probably one of the more obvious choices. With an already strong score and dance numbers throughout, surely it would be an easy task to take it live? Not so, it seems.
Co-writer of both the film and musical Tom Hedley admits that he resisted the adaptation, seeing them as two different art forms, with the stage having ‘a daunting kind of integrity’.
But thankfully, he eventually saw the light and the stage incarnation is just as entertaining as the silver screen version — and maintains its integrity. The story follows the dreams of welder Alex Owens (Joanne Clifton), who is an exotic dancer by night, part of a spirited group of girls who perform at Harry’s Bar. She catches the eye of Nick Hurley (Ben Adams), the son of the family which owns the mill she works at, and despite her initial reluctance, a romance ensues. She reveals to him her dream to study at prestigious ballet school the Shipley Dance Academy. His family often contribute to the facility so he offers to pull some strings for her but she refuses to let him. He decides to do it anyway. While things are on the up for Alex, they are very much heading the other way for one of her fellow dancers Gloria (HollieAnn Lowe). With her boyfriend moving away, the nearby Chameleon Club seems a more lucrative prospect, but owner CC (Matt Concannon) encourages her into a spiral of drugs and prostitution.
The interval comes right at the point of Nick’s betrayal and Gloria’s despair, but given that it is immediately preceded by Alex’s water-soaked exuberance, mirroring the iconic scene from the movie, the audience are left in a state of hype as the curtain falls.
As we follow Act Two to the show’s conclusion, the juxtaposition of the upbeat dance numbers with the stark reality of job losses at the mill and Gloria’s perilous journey is wonderfully portrayed.
Jennifer Beals was so utterly perfect in the lead role in the film that it must be a very daunting prospect for anyone to take it on in another art.
But Strictly Come Dancing champion Joanne Clifton is so wonderful in the role of Alex that the passing of the baton appears seamless.
Her dance talents, of course, speak for themselves but her singing flair was a wonderful surprise.
She is ably supported by Ben Adams, a member of boyband A1 who has gone on to great success in the fields of songwriting and producing.
The supporting cast in a show like Flashdance is so important, as the dance numbers must be executed to perfection, and they are not let down.
This production really took me back to that smitten little girl held in thrall for an entire weekend and is a must-see. What A Feeling indeed!