A Blues Brothers act should promise explosive energy and dynamic performances, but Jake and Elwood fails to deliver on these counts.
While the duo posing as the brothers are competent enough with their characterisations, there is little in the way of crowd interaction and only glimpses of the essential Belushi/Ackroyd chemistry. The core energy of the performance is missing and, while Jake and Elwood definitely simmer, they never reach the boiling point of other tributes.
This could be attributed to the assembled crowd, who seem not to know the songs that well, but they should be able to anticipate this and have a back-up plan.
There are little elements of genius in this production. Crazy dancing a la Elwood is ever present and fantastic and Jake tries to reconstruct the elements of Belushi that made him such and entertainer, but the brilliance is diluted.
All in all, this is a slightly lacklustre performance. The adsence of a live band is all too noticeable and the live-wire antics associated with the Blues Brothers are in short supply. It could have been a bad night or an overly inhibited audience that made this night less than special, but Jake and Elwood is essentially for the hardcore fans.
2/5
Richard Biggs
