With a budget that suggests they spent more in the lighting rig than most in Edinburgh spend on their whole show, the production values on Five Guys Named Moe are ridiculously high for the Fringe. But this isnt a Fringe show, its a West End revival that just happens to be located 400 miles north of Shaftesbury Avenue for the month.Locked out of his house by an unseen girlfriend, Nomax plays his records loudly and drinks whiskey late into the night. In a moment of coup de theatre, Nomax falls through his gramophone into a world inhabited by the eponymous Moes, who are intent on teaching him a lesson á la Christmas Carol. Five Guys is not a traditional book musical. First performed in the West End in 1990, its an early example of the compilation shows such as We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia, based on an artists back catalogue. For Five Guys, the showcase is Louis Jordan, a Jazz saxophonist who - it is claimed - paved the way for Rock and Roll in the 50s.From choreography to costumes, the love of the world of Jordan shines through with stylistic and vibrant attention to detail. Musically accomplished from solo singing to harmony and terrific performances from Ashley Campbell as Little Moe and Carlton Connell as Four-Eyed Moe. Numbers like Is You Is Or Is You Aint Ma Baby and Caledonia evoke Jordans jump blues style and give the show an opportunity to draw you into their feel-good world. If the audience member next to you isnt wearing a broad smile throughout this show, there is a simple test involving a mirror to check theyre not dead.Theres tight direction at work here, and a professional polish brighter than the smiles on the Moes themselves. The standing ovation at the end is a clue that talks of a London transfer must be a distinct possibility.
