MUSIC and passion were most definitely in fashion at Pendle Hippodrome for opening night of this week’s musical Copacabana.

The Barry Manilow-penned show tells the tale of aspiring songwriter Stephen, desperate to write the show of his dreams about the girl of his dreams Lola - while forgetting his real life girl Samantha.

Stephen becomes Tony - both played seamlessly by a likable Sam Crabtree - a would-be writer who has ended up ‘always tending bar’ who meets Lola (Sophie Lord) on her arrival at Sam Silver’s (Mark Brady) Copacabana nightclub.

Lola wins a spot as a Copa girl, with a little help from Copa-turned-cigar-girl Gladys - a fine comic turn by Fiona Thompson, although much of the lyrical humour in her song was lost under the music.

Sound was actually the biggest failing of the night. The band were excellent, really helping to create the feel of the pulsing nightclub scene, but please either pull back the band - hard I appreciate with a lot of brass - or turn up the microphones, especially for the women. Solos and chorus numbers were regularly lost under the music, which does make it harder to follow little-known songs.

From here the seedy world unfolds as bad guy Rico (Pete Dinsdale) drugs and kidnaps Lola, flying her to Havana to appear in his own show - much to the disgust of aging Cuban star Conchita (Liz Wellock). Dinsdale was brooding and dark, like any good baddie, but Conchita needed more Latina fire in her belly and I did think Wellock, and possibly Dinsdale, were too young for these roles.

The show picked up pace throughout, with smooth direction and well-arranged set changes aiding this. Cathryn Osborne’s choreography was excellent, especially the technically-challenging Bolero D’Amore which was well-executed by the three couples adding to the huge shift in mood as the action moved to Cuba.

Sam and Sophie are considerable talents. He made the most of the smooth - but not smarmy - ‘Manilow’ role, and she is a true all rounder excelling in the three disciplines. And their partnership was utterly believable and sweet, making a great contrast to the ever-bickering coupling of Gladys and Sam - I loved the post-fight scene.

Special mention must go to the costumes, which as you’d hope and expect, were spectacular. I particularly liked the opening grey scene and the ‘arrival’ coats, although thought the devil showgirls were not especially flattering. Naturally the classic Copagirl outfits were stunning - I was very envious!

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable performance and I’d encourage anyone to go.

l Copacabana, Pendle Hippodrome, until Saturday, performances 7.30pm. Saturday matinee 2pm. Tickets from £12/£10 adults.