"Jukebox Musical” has become something of a derogatory term following their proliferation in the West End and the high-profile collapse of The Spice Girls’ Viva Forever.

Often criticism is levelled at trite stories designed to squeeze as many big songs in as possible – frequently with introductions that would make Alan Partridge cringe – and paper-thin caricatures rather than real characters.

But director Caroline Jay Ranger believes the way to make a jukebox musical work is very simple.

“I approach a jukebox musical in the same way I would approach an Oscar Wilde or Tennessee Williams play,” she says. “It makes the difference from someone just clapping along to connecting with the piece.

“You get a huge reaction when people have connected, whether it’s a classic narrative or a narrative driving the musical. If an actor approaches it in the same way then everyone comes away fulfilled.”

With Tonight’s The Night, she has the bonus of British rock legend Rod Stewart’s classic 1970s and 1980s musical output and a script penned by motormouth comic Ben Elton.

“Ben is a huge fan of popular culture,” says Ranger. “He knows what people want, he has a comic pedigree and he loves rock and roll.

“With a classic artist like Rod he was keen to focus on the music and keep the storyline simple – although there is still something slightly off-the-wall.”

Tonight’s The Night follows the story of a shy young man in 1980s Detroit in love with the girl of his dreams but unable to let his feelings show.

To get over his problem he makes a pact with the Devil and trades his soul for Rod Stewart’s.

“I love the tale which drives the narrative,” says Ranger who was behind Tonight’s The Night’s first UK tour back in 2006 following its year-long West End run in 2003.

“It’s heartwarming, there’s something very simple about young love and doing something extreme to impress a girl, not realising you didn’t have to do that because they liked you the way you are.

“I think everyone in the audience has gone through it in their life. It’s an old-fashioned tale of boy meets girl and geek who finds his confidence.”

When it came to casting the show she was shocked by the response.

“We had more than 1,000 top class performers apply,” she says. “The amount of people who wanted to be involved was extraordinary. It gave us the pick of the crop.”

She admits it was a long audition process to find people with the right rock and roll edge.

“When you’re playing the Edinburgh Playhouse to 3,000 people it has to have the feel of an O2 gig,” she says.

“Rod’s voice goes over three octaves, with that natural rasp. The male lead [Ben Heathcote] sings the majority of the songs with a Rod vibe. He’s worked extremely hard to capture the soul of a real geek who is never going to leave his hometown and to take on the guise of Rod to impress his girl.

“The girls [including former Sugababe Jade Ewen] have extraordinary West End voices – there are moments when they do the power ballads where your hair virtually stands on end.”

Joining the actors on stage is a live band, reflecting Stewart’s own connection with his musicians.

“I watched a lot of footage of Rod in the early days, and there’s never a moment where he isn’t reacting to the band,” says Ranger.

“I was keen to keep that live element so it wasn’t just a musical theatre version of his songs. The band are crucial to the set-up on stage.”

The crew are also seen on stage adding to the live experience – as Ranger puts it, “it’s all quite loud and proud”.

Ranger, who is set to work with Eric Idle on the Monty Python O2 shows later this year, has met Stewart. She admits that although the singer is now well into his 60s he still retains the charisma which made his name.

“There’s something enigmatic and very powerful about him when he sings,” she says.

“He’s not a tall guy, or big built, he’s in his later years, but there’s something that happens when you’re in his presence.

“When he sings with such meaning it comes from a place that touches somewhere inside you. I could understand why women still fall at his feet!”

  • Brighton music fans will be able to see Rod Stewart face-to-face when he plays The Amex stadium on Friday, June 13. For further information, call 0844 8889991