CityLife

Laughter in the Rain

Laughter In The Rain
Opera House
May 17, 2010

Ah Neil Sedaka. It’s probably a good test of which generation you belong to whether his records provoke recollections of being swept across a dance floor with the nets beneath your A-line skirt rippling in the breeze or just remind you of childhood Sunday dinnertime request shows on the local radio station. 

Nevertheless it can’t be denied that across at least three decades Sedaka kept his fan base entertained performing both his own songs such as Oh! Carol and the eponymous Laughter In The Rain plus those he wrote for other artistes including (Show Me The Way To) Amarillo made famous by Tony Christie (and of course latterly Peter Kay).

Bill Kenwright’s Laughter… weaves Sedaka’s musical back catalogue into the story of his life. From the promising teenage musician born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family, his early rock ‘n’ roll successes signed to RCA, the career dip after the British musical invasion of the US in the early 60s then his resurrection in the seventies following his move to the UK.

Though the show portrays a modest man he’s also one with a considerable amount of drive, faith and ambition plus the ability to tap into the zeitgeist of the day and reinvent himself almost as many times as Madonna. It picks up the pace in the lively rock ‘n’ roll numbers and overall the spectacle is well executed in both acting and song.

Particularly touching is the depiction of the relationship between Sedaka and his long-term writing partner, the late Howie Greenfield. Being a thoroughly nice bloke Sedaka himself braved the weirdness of seeing your whole life recreated in musical form by someone else and was in the audience for the opening night, popping up on stage for a final number with the cast. Altogether now ‘Ooo I hear laughter in the rain, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmmm….’