I first watched An Officer and a Gentleman around a decade ago when my mum showed me her favourite ‘80s films.

I immediately loved it so I was intrigued how it would be adapted for the stage and even more so as a musical without ruining the classic movie.

The UK tour opened its six-night stint at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury last night (July 8) and from the opening note I was hooked.

The production, like the 1980s romance it is based on, follows Zack Mayo (Luke Baker), a young United States Navy officer who must complete his gruelling training regime to achieve his dreams.

He is helped along the way by his firey new girlfriend Paula Pokrifki (Georgia Lennon), father figure Sergeant Foley (Jamal Kane Crawford) and best friend Sid Worley (Paul French).

The two leads, Baker and Lennon, were fabulous, making you fall in love with their characters and their journey while having incredible voices which sent shivers up your spine at some point.

Paul French, Sinead Long who played Lynette Pomeroy and Melanie Mason who played mum Esther Pokrifki also deserve a shoutout for their incredible voices and acting.

However, the standout for me was Sergeant Foley, played by Jamal Kane Crawford, who was exactly like his character in the film and at some points made you feel nervous as he was shouting orders at the recruits.

Adapted from the original 2012 musical into its current version in 2018, the show features a soundtrack of ‘80s anthems including Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Material Girl, Toy Soldiers and the award-winning Up Where We Belong.

Although I was sceptical about how the story would work as a musical, I needn’t have been.

You could tell time was spent making sure the lyrics made sense with the story and adapting them for a theatre production that it was hard to remember what the original sounded like.

I had to stop myself singing along and ruining the performance but the cast made sure to still get the audience involved by clapping along to hits like Livin’ On A Prayer which was a nice touch.

The show, which made its world debut at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney in 2012, is similar enough to the film which will keep fans of the original ‘80s blockbuster happy while also giving it a new, modern lease of life.

It will have you laughing, crying and cheering.

The iconic ending even had the whole audience clapping with the cast receiving a standing ovation from the packed-out theatre.

An Officer and a Gentleman will be at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury until Saturday (July 13). You can book tickets here.

You can also book tickets by calling 01227 787787.