THE BURNT PART BOYS Park Theatre, Finsbury

This small-scale American musical is set in a coal mining community in West Virginia in 1962. The story is by Mariana Elder. A teenager is shocked to learn that the mine in which his father lost his life ten years previously is to be re-opened. He thinks the mine should remain a grave to the men who died in the disaster. He determines to dynamite it and seal it forever. Chris Muller’s music is country, folk and blue grass. The lyrics are by Nathan Tysen. The singing is good but there are too many songs and they all sound the same.