Tonight's The NightTonight’s the Night, the second touring revival of the Rod Stewart musical, is currently resident at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley.  

This story follows Stuart, a rather shy and geeky mechanic pining for the love of his life, Mary. Unable to express his feelings and embrace his inner rock-god, he literally sells his soul to the devil, meaning that he now embrace’s Rod Stewart’s pop persona. On hearing it has been written by Ben Elton, I instantly drew parallels to the other show that he penned – We Will Rock You. And yes, the plot is as thin as it sounds, but like the glory of all jukebox musicals, the star of the show is the music.

The hits, lovingly recreated by the cast led by Ben Heathcote as Stuart, include ‘Baby Jane’, ‘Stay With Me’, ‘Maggie May’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’. Whilst Heathcote channels much of his energy into performing the songs in a similar style to Stewart himself, it is the girls who trump him as far as performances on the night go. Rosie Heath as Dee Dee (understudying Jade Ewen for the evening) is spot-on with her rendition of ‘What Am I Gonna Do?’ and Jenna Lee-James as Mary evokes emotion in us all with her solo ‘Reason to Believe’.

The much-needed comic turn of the show comes from character Stoner, played by Michael McKell, who performs the rather thin lines to the best of his ability, often leaving the audience in stitches. Similarly Ricky Rojas, who has a cameo appearance as a Spanish waiter, makes his caricature so funny that it almost steals the show.

The choreography by Denise Ranger is tight and varied, often making scenes instantly more colourful, whilst the company position themselves around the upper and lower levels of a steel set that not only host the band, but the final scene.

Having been given a paper hat before the show, the audience is encouraged to wear it whilst singing ‘Sailing’, Rod’s most famous anthem. Director Caroline Jay Ranger’s vision is strong, but it is too predictable. Before songs even start, you know exactly how they’re going to play out, and when the lead duo take to the balcony in the style of Titanic, we, the audience, find ourselves in the middle of the inevitable sing-a-long that is synonymous with jukebox musicals. Tonight’s the Night has its weak spots, but ultimately is a show for all Rod Stewart fans.

Tonight’s the Night played at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley until 19 April and is touring the UK until August 2014. For more information and tickets see the Tonight’s The Night website.