Leader of the Pack - The Ellie Greenwich Musical

Synopsis

The story of songwriter Ellie Greenwich using the music of 1960s' girl groups - the story of a sound. Music from the Shangri-Las, Jelly Beans, Ronnettes, Crystals, Shirelles and Dixie Cups. Songs by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and friends.

Our Review:

3 March 2003

Compilation musicals can too often be toe-tappingly entertaining but theatrically unfulfilling as writers fail to weave a convincing storyline between the wall-to-wall hits. We love the music but we care nothing for the characters and that can mean being left very flat by the time the curtain falls.

On the face of it, Leader of the Pack has all the makings to join the list, but the script, by Gerald Armin and Peter Rowe, is nicely constructed, and the performance of Nicola Dawn as Ellie Greenwich, a staff writer for hit-makers Lieber and Stoller churning out hits for the girl groups of the early Sixties, is a joy.

We watch her forge a stunning career writing for such groups as The Crystals, The Dixie Cups, The Shangri-Las and, most famously, Phil Spector's Ronettes, while losing the love of her life - and her writing partner, Jeff Barry (Craig Purnell).

Hits like "I Can Hear Music", "Then He Kissed Me", "Da Doo Ron Ron", and "River De...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.107.227.26) - 12 May 2003:

i love craig purnell!!!...

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