Though it falls victim to some of the issues typical of jukebox musicals–do we really need two songs about how managers rip off the bands they rep?–Sunny Afternoon is, in all the ways that count, a triumph. Or perhaps better to say Triumph, for the British car company that gave the world the Spitfire sports car, which debuted months before the Kinks themselves, becoming a national favorite but more of an esoteric choice in the States.
That, more or less, is the story of the Kinks. The show–story and music by the great Ray Davies with a book by Joe Penhall–pins the fact that the band was never as big as the Beatles, the Stones and the Who on an abortive U.S. tour in which they ran afoul of performers’ unions and were banned from performing here for several years.
I’m sure their rocky reception on our shores had something to do with it, but the lack of sustained superstardom was more down to the fact that Ray and his brother Dave played music that was too eclectic to imprint on the public mind the idea of a “Kinks song.” From the explosive early hits “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All Night” to the mordant “A Well Respected Man,” “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and “Sunny Afternoon” to the beautiful, utterly British pop gem “Waterloo Sunset,” the Kinks were all over the musical map. Which is fantastic, except when it comes to sustaining a fan base that wants to be served different versions of the same thing over and over.
This is a beautiful production, with Danny Hoare and Oliver Horn nailing Ray and Dave–Ray the brilliant, troubled songsmith and Dave the wild man on guitar. And the music! Just as a concert, this show would be worthy of ovations. It’s loud and confident and raw and beautiful and the performers play and sing with real skill. Those of us who have long loved the Kinks in their many permutations will find several of the musical interludes transcendent.
But none so much as the post-show rave-up encore featuring a big, bold sing-along rendition of “Lola,” one of the few Kinks songs that still gets a bit of radio play. It’s cathartic in these fraught times when trans rights are under assault both here and in merry old England. A bit of naughty fun with an accepting, humanist spirit, it’s an anthem needed now more than ever. Long live the Kinks. Glad they never compromised.
Sunny Afternoon runs through April 27 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Jeff Sciortino
