Just For One Day - Review of Musical Based on 1985 Live Aid Concerts at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre

On July 13, 1985, a charity concert to alleviate starvation in Ethiopia took place in London, Philadelphia and 150 countries around the world. The scale of the event was so massive as to defy belief. It is estimated that 1.9 billion people watched broadcasts of the events or almost 40% of the world’s population.
On the 40th anniversary of the event Just for One Day, The Live Aid Musical was produced at the Old Vic Theatre in London and is now playing at The CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. It is a robust, and thoroughly enjoyable show that highlights some of the incidents and especially the songs of the more than sixteen-hours of concerts.
The Live Aid Musical as presented in Just For One Day was the idea of two people: the passionate dreamer and not-above-telling a few fibs to get his way Bob Geldorf (Craige Els) and the hard-nosed and honest Harvey Goldsmith (Tim Mahendran). The cast list names 21 people, mostly by first name only and they all seem to be very capable singers and mostly capable of comic acting. I admit I could not figure out the identities of most of them. Julie Atherton is listed as playing Margaret and that may be Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who has a brief meeting with Geldorf. He mentions the concert being on YouTube and he tells her what that means. She replies that for a moment she thought it would be about what she and her husband Dennis do. A good line but there is also humour that is not that good.
The artists that appeared in the concert in England and the United States and broadcast around the world make up a catalogue of the most important musicians of the period. There were notable exceptions but the claim that this was a great display of unity and a huge philanthropic contribution by musicians cannot be overstated.
The show starts with a display of the glittering light and sound systems of the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre. Loud and impressive, the music made my chest vibrate. We got a view of London’s Wembley Stadium with a sea of some 80,000 people crowded in it. An astounding sight. The story line by John O’Farrell is developed with confrontations, plans that defy belief, humour and of course music by The Band, singing and dancing to the chorography of Ebony Molina. Matthew Brind is the Musical Supervisor, Arranger and Orchestrator. Luke Sheppard directs this huge show with an expert hand.
What follows is a wide-ranging potpourri of rock music that is well-sung to a highly receptive audience. From the rousing “Heroes” to vigorous numbers to the lovely “Let it be” to the wild “Anthem of the Lonely” there is much to enjoy and admire.
The 1985 concert was a phenomenal and may be described as a miraculous event when one considers the number of artists involved, the organizational amplitude around the world and the millions of dollars raised. Just For One Day is a tribute to all involved forty years ago. The tragedy is that what it tried to solve – hunger in Ethiopia – has not changed at all and the situation around the world is much worse.
Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical by John O’Farrell continues until March 15, 2025 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

Craige Els and cast of Just for One Day, The Live Aid Musical. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman

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