‘Just for One Day — The Live Aid Musical’ Review: Musical Performances Make Up for an Earnest Retelling of the Famous 1980s Charity Event
variety.comDavid Benedict Enraged by the British government charging the standard 15% sales tax on tickets for Live Aid, Bob Geldof (Craige Els) bullies his way into a meeting with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (sparky Julie Atherton).
Ever intransigent, she responds with dialogue lifted from Bernie Taupin and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” before they argue with each other unexpectedly as a rap.
All good, except that this first instance of anything remotely surprising, let alone witty, comes an hour into the new musical now playing in London at the Old Vic, “Just for One Day.” That’s symbolic of this boisterously played but problematic musical about Live Aid/Band Aid: tremendous musical performances, shame about the book.
A docu-jukebox musical that lists 37 song/music credits—from Bowie’s “Heroes” to The Beatles’ “Let It Be” — “Just for One Day” is the behind-the-scenes story of how a personal response to 1984’s devastating Ethiopian famine became a (literal and metaphorical) record-making and record-breaking worldwide charity event.
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