THE songs of the fifties and sixties, in Save the Last Dance for Me at the Palace Theatre, reach parts that other, more recent, pop songs do not.

They touch your heart and soul, make your hands wave and your feet tap.

This lively rock n roll musical, scripted comically by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, is the successor to Dreamboats and Petticoats which originally revived songs of the era.

It features many well-loved numbers, mostly by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

Elizabeth Carter plays 17-year-old Marie who falls for American GI, Curtis, a charismatic Wayne Robinson, while on holiday in Lowestoft with her older sister, Jennifer.

Lola Saunders as Jennifer, the strong minded one, is an equally good singer and just as good a dancer.

Alan Howell is amusing as Jennifer’s beau, the ice cream seller, Carlo, and Antony Costa, with a lovely voice, brings Curtis’s fellow soldier, Milton, to life.

The more mature audience members (by no means the majority) love hits of their youth such as Please Mr Postman, Sweets for my Sweet and Then he Kissed Me culminating in the title song, Save the Last Dance for Me.

These timeless songs are performed by a lively young cast, accompanied by an onstage band. However, there are 30 numbers and they become a bit samey. Perhaps fewer would have been more effective.

It’s not until the finale that the show comes to life.

At the Palace Theatre, Manchester until Saturday, July 2. Telephone 0844 871 3018 for tickets or view atgtickets.com/Manchester. Star Rating * * *