“The Boys of ‘41’” return for the UK revival of From Here to Eternity:

From Here to Eternity: the musical, based on the novel and movie adaptation of the same name, makes its return to the UK after its debut in 2013.

The show tells the story of G Company in the run up to attack on Pearl Harbour; showing the truth behind the army and its soldiers. It’s a gritty musical that does not hide from the distressing themes of war. We also follow two different love stories throughout the musical.

Leaving the theatre, the biggest impact that the show has is its score, with music and lyrics by Stuart Brayson and Tim Rice. The harmonies throughout the production, especially in the big group numbers with all the soldiers are hauntingly beautiful, especially towards the end of the show, where the story gets darker, and the music represents the grief and horror of the situation being played out. The soundtrack fires itself into the audience, and makes you leave the theatre already humming the songs.

A standout performance was Adam Rhys Charles as Warden. His performance throughout was very strong but it was his solo, “As Ease” that showed his true talent. His vocal prowess is immaculate, and his stage presence is all powerful, very fitting for his role. Another standout performance is certainly Jonny Amies as Maggio. He wins everyone's heart from the first time we see him, and then crushes it during his melancholic rendition of “I Love the Army”. Amies’s performance is one of the strongest in the cast and his character is one of the most developed with the best plotlines.

The plot, however, is where the show loses itself. It is confusing and muddled at times, especially when the accents are sometimes so strong that you can’t understand what people are saying. The two romances of the show are not developed, we see no reason for either of them to be in love with each other, the audience is simply told that they are in love. The affair between Warden and Karen Holmes is certainly more developed, with at least some scenes of tension, passion and drama to keep us entertained but the romance between Private Prewitt and sex-worker Lorene just feels thrown in to add some character to the semi-bland protagonist. Jonathon Bentley does his best with the character he’s been given, especially astounding in his big solo "Fight the Fight", but Prewitt remains rather obnoxious and boring at points, especially compared to Maggio, due to poor writing at times.