A one time cultural powerhouse, teen mag Jackie returned home to Dundee last night reimagined as a smash hit musical.
With the groovy 70s setting and throwback musical numbers featuring the classic hits of Donny Osmond, David Cassidy and Marc Bolan, to name a few, Jackie The Musical took life-long fans of the magazine on a nostalgic trip down memory lane last night in the Gardyne Theatre.
By the time of the curtain call, it had its loyal reader base on their feet, dancing in the aisles.
Once a staple of every self-respecting teenage girl across Britain, Jackie the magazine was created and published by DC Thomson in their Dundee home base, but listed their address as Fleet Street, London, to make themselves seem cooler to their young audience.
The magazine ran for a final time in July 1993, but during the 70s enjoyed its heyday as the best selling teen mag in the country.
Its heady mix of fashion tips, quizzes, life hacks and problem pages courtesy of ‘Cathy and Claire’ kept readers hooked, so much so that last night the Gardyne Theatre was packed with faithful Jackie readers, ready to revisit its pages 40 years on.
And they were not disappointed; the musical was a frothy mixture of high-energy dance numbers, classic tunes, a hilarious script and note perfect performances.
Jackie The Musical follows a recent divorcee who dips into her old Jackie manuals for love advice, and first treaded the boards in the Gardyne Theatre in 2013.
It now has a brand new cast and crew directed by Anna Linstrum and choreographed by Arlene Phillips of Strictly Come Dancing fame.
The new production will be touring throughout the UK, but hometown Dundee gets a sneaky preview before it hits the road.
The atmosphere in the theatre was electric, with every member of the audience having a good time.
Spilling out of the theatre, long time reader of the magazine Alison said: “It was fantastic, very well done. It really brought the spirit of the magazine back to life!”