Showing @ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 23 Feb
The concept is crystal clear – it is 1960s England, and two teenage sisters head off to Lowestowe in search of unrestrained frolics: sun, sea, sand and …soldiers? A meeting with the affable Milton (Lee Honey-Jones) introduces the sisters to a world of US Air Force officers, who are soon to be revealed as seasoned heartbreakers. It is a coming of age tale of sorts, with many morals packed into a clichéd story. Marie (Elizabeth Carter) is a one-dimensionally idealistic and romantic teenager, in contrast to her jaded and sassy older sister Jennifer (Verity Jones). Falling in love with an officer proves a fraught path for the innocent Marie; he is a black American, in an environment of racial prejudice.
It is here where the show begins to preach, a smug moral high ground permeating throughout. It is too self-aware of its laboured instances of illustrative racism. The script is laughable and at times cringingly over-simplistic, with a penchant for weak puns noting differences between American and English language use. The substantial issues with material aside there are some technical issues in performance too. Stilting light/sound queues, monochromatic lighting design (why so blue?) and a lacklustre set-design contribute to a sense of fledgling professionalism. The onstage band provide dynamism, however doubling musician/actors are provided little but their smiles with which to explain the sudden thrusting of saxophones by other cast members.
Brimming with energy and enthusiasm the cast bring conviction to the most implausible of lines, allowing the audience to accept what should be unacceptable, until all we remember are their broad smiles and razzle dazzle chutzpah. Well done to the cast and crew, for getting through a difficult act to pull from a twisted heap on the floor. Save the Last Dance for Me is a feel good and frothy entertainer, reaching over and beyond an acceptable threshold of the twee.