Review: Stand by Me

Stand By Me conquers the Savoy



Stand By Me, the Best of Leiber and Stoller. Helsinki City Theatre’s premiere at the Savoy Theatre 4.2. Directed by Tuomo Luhtanen.


Helsinki City Theatre also takes its performances outside its own premises. The real candy of the turn of the year was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Alexander Theatre, but now that place will be taken by the show musical Stand By Me at the Savoy Theatre, subtitled The Best of Leiber and Stoller.


The songs of the well-known American songwriter duo provide a foundation on which choreographer Tuomo Luhtanen , who is also making his directorial debut, together with veteran Jukka Virtanen and conductor-arranger-pianist Lasse Hirvi , who was involved in the artistic design, conjures up an excellent entertainment package.


Nor should we forget the thrilling contribution of nine singers, actors and dancers and an orchestra of seven musicians.


There are also American stars living in Finland. They are represented by e.g. the spectacular dark-haired actress-singer Caron Barnes , who is known from Tampere Theatre’s Carmen Negra (1996) and Rent (1999), and the young American star Gary Revel Jr., who is a singer-actor-dancer-choreographer who started his career in Universal Studios and Disney films and TV.


Revel has performed with us as a guest star on Laura Voutilainen’s tours and was the first foreign artist to win the Star of Finland award in 2002. Gary has also done choreographies for Hot Club Dance Company and Svenska Teatern, among others.


Marjo Leinonen, who has captivated the audience among Finnish names, is the long-time vocal soloist of the band Balls. Sasu Moilanen, on the other hand, is remembered for Hearthill and Veeti & The Velvets. Sami Saari and Aki Sirkesalo, who are also known as solo artists, are also known from the Velvets, while Nina Tapio’s background is remembered as e.g. The Magic Mirror and Adiemus.



Charles Salter will be joined by bassist-singer Mikko Vihma, who has been active in many bands.


Marika Tuhkala, who has graduated as a music teacher and is studying to become a singing teacher, also has a lot of stage experience, for example, from Molli-Jori at the Comedy Theatre Arena.



Stand By Me offers 35 songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, in Finnish and English, at an almost breathtaking pace. The rhythm is not really bothered by the change of strings, it just shows that both of them swing.

The translations are by Niko Ahvonen, Aki Sirkesalo, Riikamaria Paakkunainen and Timo Turpeinen .