Inside American Pie at Curve Theatre, Leicester Review
Written by Hollie for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Caution: This show contains haze, smoke and flashing lights.
With flavours of country, jazz, blues and rock and roll, this Made at Curve production starring Mike Ross and his fabulous team of performers come all the way from Harmony House and Prince Edward Island in Canada. Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford saw this enlightening and informative docu-concert being performed in Canada and he knew it just had to be performed at Leicester’s Curve.
Opening in Leicester for its European premiere, this production clearly means a lot to the group of performers as Mike cleverly dissects the famous Don Mclean song ‘American Pie’ line by line. Written by Don to commemorate the loss of three musical icons in 1959, this production is a combination of music and dialogue and Mike and his crew take a historical deep dive in the years leading up to that particular year, as well as the years after.
Mike offers his own interpretation of each lyric, as well as providing popular alternative theories. The evening was both informative and thought-provoking at the same time. Hit songs, including “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Janice Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and the titular song “American Pie’ connect the audience with the story and provide us with moments of reference, where we can relate to periods of musical history and pinpoint where we were in our lives. I wasn’t born during that particular era, but this show opens up this period of musical history to a new audience.
Each performer in the team has their own particular style but together they fill Curve’s Studio Theatre with emotion and talent alongside their accompanying and at times mesmerising body percussion. The mixture of dialogue and song allows you to begin to understand the news and events at the time and how several sliding door moments led to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper.
The change of pace throughout the show as well as the simple but effective lighting and set designs created by Simon Rossiter and Lorenzo Savoini, respectively, ensure that the focus is on this absolutely fascinating and insightful story. This docu-concert is a really clever concept that poses many questions but also provides answers, and I would really like to see whether other productions decide to take this concept forward in the future. I hope this new genre of theatre continues in the years to come.
So, bye, bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry?
So what did Don McLean mean when he wrote these lyrics at the age of 24 years old in 1971? Well, great art invites you to interpret it, and that’s what Mike Ross and his creative and talented team invite you to do during their show. This is a far cry from a traditional juke box musical, and with a running time of only 90 minutes, this show really packs a punch. You will find yourself singing the song all the way home in the car, but with a completely new understanding and meaning.
Inside American Pie continues at Leicester’s Curve Theatre until Saturday 14th March 2026 before returning home to Toronto for an encore engagement of the show at the CAA Theatre from April 14th to May 3rd 2026.
★★★★★
