Review Roundup: IN DREAMS, Starring Lena Hall and Oliver Tompsett, Opens at Leeds Playhouse

The world premiere of the brand-new musical IN DREAMS, starring Broadway’s Lena Hall and the West End’s Oliver Tompsett, has opened at Leeds Playhouse and the critics are weighing in! 

Written by Emmy and Golden Globe-winning and Tony and Olivier Award-nominated David West Read (Schitt’s Creek, & Juliet) and directed by multi-award winning Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, What’s New Pussycat?), In Dreams is a feel-good musical filled with love, laughter and the joy of living life to the full. Set to the soaring songs of Roy Orbison, this inspiring story tugs at the heart strings of the audience as they experience the iconic music in ways never heard before.

The production revolves around former lead singer of a country rock band Kenna, played by Tony Award-winning actor Lena Hall. As she reaches a critical moment in her life she throws the party of a lifetime in a family-run Mexican restaurant to reconnect with old friends, while keeping her deeper motivations a secret. Starring opposite Lena is the West End’s Oliver Tompsett as drummer Ramsey, with whom – as these new images reveal – she shares passionate and loving moments full of energy and laughter.  

IN DREAMS will have its North American premiere September 26 to November 12 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, after playing the Leeds Playhouse in the UK July 3 to August 5.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

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Rachel Halliburton: The Times: Death has rarely felt so exuberant as it does in this gloriously irreverent musical, which channels the spirit of Roy Orbison for a story of hopes and dreams that’s so cheesy it would give your average Roquefort an identity crisis. The Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read pulls out all the emotional stops for this New Mexico-set tale of Kenna, a country-rock singer who checks into a joint specialising in margaritas, tacos and memorial services for a reunion with a twist.

Catherine Love, The Guardian: The show is best when focusing on the quartet of one-time bandmates as they reminisce about the past and come to terms with the present. It’s all rather earnest, but the charm of the performances and the strength of the music just about carry it through to a conclusion that is – despite the subject matter – feelgood after all.

Natalie O'Donaghue, BroadwayWorld: In Dreams is funny and sweet without becoming sickly or predictable. It is at heart, a love story but not just a romantic one. Kenna has no blood family to speak of but her bandmates are undoubtedly her kin. This is a show all about human connection. It doesn’t fall into the tropes of needing a partner to “save” you. Kenna is an extremely well-fleshed-out complex character which is so refreshing to see in a musical.

Paul Vale, The Stage: The success of this show rests on our affection for Kenna, and Broadway’s Lena Hall is both captivating and convincing as the musician. Behind the wry comebacks and salty language, there’s a vulnerability to the character in which Hall grounds her performance. It helps that she also has an incredibly controlled, soaring rock belt that lends added power to Orbison’s ballads, in particular the Act I finale, Crying.

Mike Mckay, Musical Theatre Review: But Hall’s final wrenching version of ‘Crying’ powerfully brings home the lost years between her and charming bad boy Ramsey. His passionate appeal to face the future together is resoundingly complemented by an ovation-winning company finale of ‘You Got it’.

Ron Simpson, WhatsOnStage: One of the strengths of Luke Sheppard’s production is the quality of performances from a main cast of nine and four supports – and, also, the equal spread of opportunities to shine. Thus act two begins with outrageous Tom from the kitchen (Leon Craig) belting out “Heartbreak Radio” and George (Richard Trinder) delivering a witty “Oh, Pretty Woman” to Ana Sofia, the mischievous matriarch of Felices Suenos (Alma Cuervo).

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