All You Need Is Love - The Musical

Boasting an impressive cast of hugely talented performers, All You Need is Love is a full-scale musical celebration of some of the best-loved bands in history. Our roving reporter Ernie Sutton was lucky enough to catch the show at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, and brings us this report.

Watch out for this smash hit 60s musical currently touring the UK in weekly runs until September.

For those who love 60s music, this is the show for you. The singing is excellent and the dancing is great; Darren Murphy and Gemma Facinelli stand out as quite superb dancers.

The production could benefit with more inspired set designs to help convey the context of the songs. Act 1 starts with a Carnaby Street scene, followed by School Party where there are many songs included from Downtown to Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.

There follows a medley of Four Seasons hits, superbly sung, and then Beach Boys hits, before some excellent songs from the "psychedelic" era, although the producers missed a golden opportunity here. Lack of scenery and lighting made this a very dull "Age of Aquarius".

The first act closes with a mini Beatles Medley, including the excellent Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the title track All You Need Is Love.

The musical highlight of the first act is You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, superbly sung by Jane Doyle. The musical lowlight was the lap dance scene done to a bizarrely slowed down Locomotion. Only the choreographer knows what he was thinking here.

The costumes are excellent, but with one glaring oversight. The Beatles medley at the end of Act one shows the 4 guys in Sgt Pepper suits, but there is no sign of a green suit (as worn by John Lennon on the original sleeve), instead the green suit is replaced with a yellow one.

The Beatles medley at the end of Act one features the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But this time (for some reason), John is wearing a green suit- Yellow one at the cleaners perhaps?

Act 2 opens with a rock medley with songs from The Who and The Rolling Stones, moving on to an Everly Brothers medley.

There are some inspired choices and performances of soul music- Mustang Sally and Soul Man, to name only two. This is followed by a Country Section, which, whilst seeming to go against the grain works really well. Some poor unsuspecting member of the audience is lured onto stage and is serenaded by a singer performing Crazy - quite wonderful.

On to Motown and brilliant performances of Reach Out and River Deep Mountain High. The Beatles return with Yesterday, Get Back and a refreshingly shortened Hey Jude.

We close with Elvis and Viva Las Vegas. Someone should tell the script writer that the 70s come after the 60s and not during. However, we all know that Elvis was a major influence on artists o the 60s. So maybe it is fitting that Elvis should be recognised at the end of the show.

The show is dominated by American 60s music - but such gems! For a great night of music, singing, dancing and just a great tome - you MUST see this show!

Catch it in your local town before it closes.

All You Need is Love Running Order

Carnaby Street: Downtown, Twist and Shout, Pretty Woman, Sweet Talkin Guy, Walk Right Back, These Boots are Made For Walking, Dancing in the Street
School Party: More Than a Number in My Little Red Book, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Da Do Ron Ron, Stupid Cupid, Then He Kissed Me, Happy Birthday Sweet 16, It's My Party, Let's Twist Again, Twisting the Night Away, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
Four Seasons: Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like A Man, Can't Take My Eyes off You, Calendar Girl, Locomotion
Rock: Pinball Wizard, I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Woman, Shout
Beach: Fun, Fun, Fun, Surfing USA
Woodstock: California Dreaming, Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In, Hair, Day by Day
Beatles: All You Need is Love, Sgt Pepper's / Yesterday, Let it Be, Get Back, Hey Jude
Everly Brothers: Wake Up Little Suzie, Bye Bye Love, Until I Kissed You, Cathy's Clown, Dream, Dream, Dream
60s Soul: Hold on I'm Coming, Think, Respect, Mustang Sally, Soul Man, Proud Mary
Country Section: Crazy, Stand By Your Man, I Can't Stop Loving You
Mowtown: Reach Out, Stop, My Girl, For Once in My Life, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, My Girl, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Where Did Our Love Go? River Deep, Mountain High
Elvis: Viva Las Vegas

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