Far-fetched show is a hit

Having seen a few of them over the years, I find that one cannot trust a musical. Tonight's The Night, which previewed last night, was represented to me as a musical about the life and music of Rod Stewart, when it is nothing of the sort.

Rod Stewart was born in London and is a Londoner except for when he travels to watch Scotland or one of its subsections playing football, at which point he becomes a Scot like his forefathers.

It is true that Rod has for many years based himself in California, but that is a purely climatic tic - Rod still plays football, dotes on his model railway set and likes a night out with the lads just like the rest of us.

Tonight's The Night is set in America and features the adventures of a young man called Stuart Clutterbuck, who is a Bruce Springsteen sort of small-town guy. Please forgive me if I set down a few salient points of the story, because it is the only way to make sense of what has taken place on stage.

Stuart is a shy, retiring, sensitive yet strong young man who harbours a secret love for Sweet Lady Mary. Satan shows up in the shape of a foxy broad and offers him the usual deal - he gets the temporary use of the soul of Rod Stewart - unlimited sex, booze, rock and footie - in return for an eternity in hell.

If the choice had been put to me, I would have thought long and hard about it. Apart from anything else, close inspection of the deal reveals it to be not much of a choice at all. It can't be much fun chasing leggy blondes round in circles as the legs begin to go.

Stuart Clutterbuck naturally accepts the terms of the contract, which throws him into a whirligig of rock 'n roll action where he gets to meet lots of groupies.

The meeting of groupies alienates Sweet Lady Mary, but encourages the attentions of characters like Stoner - who is permanently stoned - and Baby Jane Golden - who loves money. Stuart embarks on a lifestyle which involves him being surrounded by leggy lovelies cavorting to the strains of Rod Stewart songs.

And here we come to the good bit. Rod has always had an ear for a good tune, and Tim Howard, playing Stuart, plus a tight backing band and some decent vocal support, makes a decent fist of old favourites such as Maggie May, Reason To Believe and You Wear It Well.

The audience were in a barely contained singalong mood, and I predict that if this show runs the distance, the cast won't have to worry much about singing the chorus. The omens for a long run are good: the souvenir stall was already doing a brisk trade in Tonight's The Night pyjamas and strappy tops before the curtain had even gone up.