Son of a preacher man, as you have probably guessed from the title, is a musical based on the musical stylings of the great Dusty (that is Dusty Springfield aka Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, OBE). Dusty lit up the world in the 60s and was still smashing it hard in the 90s, a career as long as it was illustrious.
“The best British female singer of the 60s; many would claim that she is the best bar none.”
The Times newspaper
The story follows three lost souls from three generations, each on a desperate last chance saloon pilgrimage to their musical Mecca, the record shop known as The Preacher Man, run by…… the Preacher Man. Paul used to go to the Preacher Man as a lad, listening to music, finding love and finding inspiration in the super cool proprietor. Alison grew up hearing all about the shop and the legend from her mother, a second-generation pilgrim, Alison is as lost in life as she is in love. Finally, there is Kat, the Kool Kid! Kat always enjoyed hearing her nans stories about the old days and after nan passed away, Kat looked for a new source of wisdom. Who better to turn to than who nan turned to, of course, the one and only Preacher Man.
But for our three-protagonist’s life has more in store than a simple tour of a record store run by the wizard of Oz. Rather than a wizard, into the mix comes the shy, reserved complete opposite of his father, Son of a Preacher Man, protagonist number four. Flanked by the casually carefree, charmingly clownish yet confidently charming Cappuccino Sisters he grows in confidence as his plans grow ever more entangled and disarrayed.
The story is a little silly but the show is fun and a great tribute to one of the world’s greatest ever stars. And it is all about the music! Craig Revel Horwood, Director and Musical staging manager, knows this and kept the musical intermissions short and snappy packing in a whopping 22 songs over a couple of hours of fun and frolics.
“The songs are stories in themselves…. they push the story forward”
Michael Davies interviews Craig Revel Horwood
The cast looked to be honestly enjoying themselves which quickly spread amongst the crowd once that first high tone was hit and music began pouring, just a fun night for all the family. There most certainly is something for everyone, especially lovers of music i.e. life!
Playing at the Theatre Royal Nottingham until the 3rd of February, the show has been touring since early September and is on a run until we hit July and hopefully get some sunshine. Until then, if you want some joy in your life, go and see this show.
Review by Abdul Khan
