Saturday Night Fever canned mid-performance due to technical issues

Saturday Night Fever theatre-goers have labelled the much anticipated show a "Friday night flop" after forking out hundreds for "screeching" music before the show was canned altogether.

The sole Auckland show was cancelled mid-performance last night after technical difficulties with the sound.

After a rocky start to the show, with the audience reporting there were difficulties with the sound, the 1600-strong audience was told after an intermission that the show wouldn't continue.

A statement from the show's producers said they had canned the show "with much regret".

The rest of the country's shows, including a performance tonight in Tauranga, are set to continue.

Auckland woman Carol Smith told the Herald that Saturday Night Fever was more like a "Friday night flop" having paid $110 for a ticket.

"Right from the first song it was evident that the singing was not going to be good but the sound was really bad from that point on and proved to be the downfall of the night," she said.

"At half time we thought, 'this can only get better, right?' Wrong! After waiting nearly 45 minutes for the curtain to go up again....to be treated to even worse sound."

She said the sound was "screeching".

Another Herald reader, Melissa Salive, said the audience had started disco dancing of their own accord while waiting for the malfunctions to be fixed.

"People were there for a good time and didn't let the show (stop) their enthusiasm for the night."

​The next show is at ASB Arena in Tauranga tonight.

The show's tour dates were announced in April this year, with it set to be performed at 24 venues throughout November and December.

Publicists at the time dubbed it "the ultimate end of year party".

Theatre-goer Tania Greig told the Herald the music was okay, but the actors' voices were inaudible.

After the intermission and then another break, the cast came onto the stage to say the show could not continue.

"Good on them for doing that."

But she took aim at those behind the show, which she paid $112 per ticket for seats in the stalls. Theatre-goers were told they would be contacted about a refund.

"We've been looking forward to it for such a long time. It's expensive, people dressed up, getting into the city isn't easy, getting parking isn't easy.

"Whoever the sounds guys are, did they not do a check?"

In a written statement from producer Ben McDonald he said "with much regret" he had cancel the performance due to technical issues.

"Sound issues presented and unfortunately, after intermission, the cast's microphones suffered a complete failure from which they couldn't be recovered," he said.

"Some 40 minutes later, cast and crew determined they could not continue tonight's show. The issue has now been resolved and the tour will continue to other theatres as planned."