THEATRE REVIEW: Anything For Love - The Palace Theatre, Manchester.

Steve Steinman rose to fame in the '90s after ‘being’ Meat Loaf on 'Stars In Their Eyes' but the enduring success of Steinman’s recurring shows ‘Anything For Love’ and ‘Vampires Rock’ is essentially down to Steve Steinman (whose real name is actually Steve Murray) simply being Steve Steinman, together with an excellent backing band and perceptive choice of special guests.

The Tribute Act has become a staple of smaller theatres over the last ten to twenty years but to regularly filling out large venues like the Palace requires a bit more than just impersonating big stars. Above all, ‘Anything For Love’ is no more a tribute act in the strict sense of the term than say a concert by the Halle Orchestra of works by Beethoven is a Beethoven tribute act. There is no attempt by Steinman to look like Meat Loaf or adopt a Meat Loaf persona and in some ways, the show’s name is a misnomer because you will leave the theatre knowing no more about the actual Meat Loaf story than when you first walked in, although you will have heard excellent and faithful renditions of most of his best-known songs.

What really sets the show apart from the standard tribute act is the comedy. Steve Steinman aside from being a very competent rock singer is actually a consummate comedian, having the ability of a stand-up like Billy Connolly or even Ken Dodd to weave effortlessly between addressing an audience of over 1,000 and conversing ad-lib with an individual in the crowd. He also happens to be very funny, casually musing about a conversation with co-star Lorraine Crosby the previous evening, dropping in the words ‘in bed’ before remembering it was actually on the way to the theatre. His language is ripe to say the least but there is an art to swearing. The F-word in the mouth of a lesser comedian can sound vulgar and dirty but used intelligently and sparingly by Steinman, it has the potential to be very funny indeed. The comedy also comes from a frequent alternation between being very self-deprecating and riotously insulting the audience and to carry this off well requires real skill and timing.

The band and backing singers are a regular ensemble who have perfected playing all the Meat Loaf hits as near to the original as you are likely to get yet being able to break off mid-song for occasional comedy routine. A key to Steinman’s success is that whilst he is serious about what he does, he never takes himself too seriously and aside from the banter, is genuinely respectful of the audience, right down to ensuring they get value for money, with a 12-piece band, good staging and costume changes and a three-hour long show (interval included).

With Lorraine Crosby as the special guest star, the audience are treated to a piece of the actual Meat Loaf story (having sung the duet on Meat Loaf’s No 1 hit ‘I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’. Again, aside from being a great singer, Crosby is very much part of the comedy, being a double-act with Steinman as much in the jokes between songs as in the singing.

The audience were in sing-along mode from start to finish and it is doubtful many would have enjoyed themselves any the more had it actually been Meat Loaf himself on stage. ‘Anything For Love’ is an absolute joy and so much more than just a celebration of a great rock star; it is the perfect blend of rock music and comedy.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 4/12/19