At its heart, Revolution: A Celebration of Prince is a jukebox musical with delusions of grandeur. Like most cruise ship shows, it features a familiar roster of songs assembled around a common theme. What separates this particular production is both the performer whose music is at its heart and the at times stunning level of technology used to bring those songs to life.
From the moment the gorgeous chandeliers begin pulsing to the pre-show music, it becomes clear guests are in for a multi-sensory experience. This is followed by an impressive visual of a faux funeral and a downright spine-tingling intonation of the words every Prince fan knows by heart: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together to get through this thing called ‘life.’”
Unfortunately, what followed — at least where the performance during my sailing was concerned— featured one fatal flaw: Many of the vocals were sub-bar at best and flinchingly bad at worst. (It’s worth noting that an entirely new cast was set to take over the show in a matter of days, as the current cast’s contracts had run their course.)
Floor Show
One thing that can only be classified as “flawless” is the energy of the cast in general and the dancers in particular. I’ve long said that when performers are having fun, it translates to the audience… and these kids were slaying. Beats weren’t just hit, they were stomped into submission. Collectively, this troupe must burn more calories during the roughly hour-long performance than every guest on the ship combined does on any given day.
Another fun element is that the audience is broken into two distinct groups: Those with reservations are sent to traditional theater seating on deck 7. Those without are ushered onto deck 6, and while there are no seats, they wind up standing before the stage like the audience at an actual rock concert.
During various numbers, large pieces of the set move through the crowd, with a sea of silver-jacketed crew members making sure to herd the audience where they need to be (and, perhaps more important, where they definitely should not be at that particular juncture).
Know When to Say When
After working its say through a collection of hits, the show arrives at what is definitely the standout moment: An absolutely gorgeous rendition of Purple Rain, complete with a piano rising from beneath the stage. This is a crowd pleaser which should serve as the finale. But instead, we barrel into a big, splashy production number which, while fun and featuring the entire ensemble, fails to deliver the same emotional punch as what came previously.
It does, however, do what it’s intended to: It gets the audience up on their feet and sends them out of the theater smiling. It reminds me in some ways of the Broadway production of Mama Mia! That show, too, had some issues in my mind. But after wrapping its whispy plot, Mama Mia made sure to bring the cast out to sing a popular, upbeat Abba number while encouraging them to dance, sing and clap along.
Never let ’em see you sweat, but always leave ’em wanting more, I guess. But in this case, I can’t help thinking less would have been more had they wrapped on the emotional high of Purple Rain.
Ultimately, how much you enjoy this show will depend on how big a fan of the iconic singer and his music you are. Perhaps ironically, those who will be most satisfied are the ones who aren’t as familiar. Like many jukebox musical attendees, they want to hear some vaguely familiar songs and spend about an hour being entertained after dinner and before hitting the casino.
