Review: The Glenn Miller Story/Malvern Theatres

VETERAN song and dance man Tommy Steele guides rather than sweeps us off our feet with this homage to the great American band leader.

With its doubled-up banks of horns and a reeds section that simmers with seductive magnificence, the musicians faithfully recreate a sound that defined the war-shattered early 1940s.

But this show does, nevertheless, pose some awkward questions, the first being – how can a man of nearly 80 play the part of an individual who is around 25 at the start of the story?

Yes, Tommy Steele is a national treasure. But he is now most certainly starting to show his age and his credibility is stretched even further when the love interest arrives in the form of Helen Burger (Abigail Jaye).

The problem is when one icon takes on the role of another icon. Steele or Miller… who are we actually there to see?

And perhaps it would have been better if producer Bill Kenwright had made some attempt to bridge the age chasms. Even a haircut and a bit of dye might have done the trick. After all, the other guys and gals looked

the part.

Nonetheless, this play is smoother than the rich cadences that echoed across the dance halls of wartime Britain all those years ago. All the familiar tunes are present and correct, right from the strident chords of In the Mood through to the creaminess of Moonlight Serenade and

Pennsylvania 6-5000.

The people who danced the night away to these siren calls are now almost gone, but watching these fabulous musicians and dancers makes you realise how Glenn Miller’s music shone a light into the darkened lives of

a generation robbed of its youth by war.

Overall, this is a must-see show, even if it does at times demand a little forgiveness and concessions on the part of the viewer. It runs until

Saturday (September 24).

John Phillpott