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Monkee Business -The Musical at the King’s, Glasgow, makes for a fun- packed night out
Monkee-ing around: Prefab four doppelgangers get caught up in mysterious spy mystery
Anyone going along to Monkee Business expecting a jukebox musical bio-play of the Prefab Four, or a two hour reconstruction of the TV show will be in for a disappointment.
Although to its credit in Monkee Business shares the same sense of zany fun as the TV show that American producers dreamed up to cash in on the success Stateside of the Beatles. And which then, in a twist of fate ended up turning Davy Jones; Peter Tork; Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz into bona fide pop stars.
No, rather Peter Bendedict’s Monkee Business, which opened in Manchester, with Glasgow only one of three cities playing host to the show before it embarks on a London run, combines the best of tribute band nostalgia with an Austin power style 60s spoof that makes for toe-tapping, escapist, family fun.
Even if some of the tongue in cheek gags, ( a desperate wannabe singer called Valerie Head), can be near the knuckle in a Carry On “ooh er missus sort of way..
The admittedly silly plot revolves around a shady producer, Joey Finkelstein (an excellent turn from Linel Haft), who manages to persuades four gullible lads, Chuck (Ben Evans); Mark (Tom Parsons) and Andy (Stephen Kirwan) and Willam (Oliver Savile) to embark on a world tour in character as The Monkees on the pretext that the real Monkees are too busy. Anyway Joey assures them, they’ll be so far away from the audience that no one will notice that they’re doppelgangers. Their first gig takes place in Pleasant Valley on a Sunday (they set off on a train from Clarkesville) if you need any further guide as to how the songs are tenuously but entertainingly going to be shoehorned in here.
From here on things get even sillier as Russian spies, US defence secrets, singing nuns, a bit of romance and some sixties pop culture references are all thrown into the mix Austin Powers style, as our lads make a whistle top tour of the world, unaware their lives are in danger. One of the highlights of the show sees “the band” tackle various multinational versions of The Monkees Theme , my personal fave being the French torch song rendition.
Evans, Parsons, Kirwan and Savile manage to convey a likeable comedy chemistry not dissimilar to the real thing. (There’s a running gag throughout the show in which Savile’s dorky ” Peter Tork” is always being put down for trying to imagine a world where you could get a hamburger anywhere in the world, or could call somebody from a phone on the go).
Elsewhere Michelle Bishop vamps it up as Russian spy Nikita Smirnoff and the Jimmy Durante sounding Haft milks his comedy moments and song and dance opportunities for all their worth.
But where the show really hits all the right notes is when our four doppelgangers, backed by a quite excellent live band, deliver The Monkees hits so convincingly you’d believe you were listening to the real thing.
Monkee Business – The Musical, King’s, Glasgow until Sat. Tel: 0844 871 7648
