Picture: Alastair Muir
Big the Musical continues at the Dominion Theatre, London until 2 November 2019.
Star rating: two stars ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩
Why does the theatre think it can eclipse the success of one art form by turning it into a musical? Musical theatre shows are seldom totally original entities, but are often adaptations of a book, a play, a film etc. Is this a lack of imagination or originality or just a desire to cash in on a previous moneymaker?
In the case of film adaptations to musicals sometimes it works as in, say, Little Shop of Horrors, Sweet Charity, The Producers, Sunset Boulevard, 42nd Street, Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia!, Grease, The Rocky Horror Show, Billy Elliot, An American in Paris, Hairspray etc – the list goes ever on… But there are cases of films becoming less than great shows, viz The Silence of the Lambs, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Carrie etc. It seems the bigger the film, the harder they fall as musicals.
The genesis of Big the Musical goes back to 1988 and the very successful Tom Hanks film in which he played Josh, a 12-year-old kid with parent problems, who wishes he were older and so, his wish comes true. Suddenly he becomes twice his age but still acts like a child.
In 1996 composer David Shire, lyricist Richard Maltby Jr and librettist John Weidman adapted the film of Big into a stage musical. All three have impeccable credentials Maltby and Shire wrote Starting Here, Starting Now, Closer Than Ever and Baby, all good shows in their own right. They collaborated with John Weidman (noted for working on Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, Assassins and Bounce/Road Show) on Take Flight, my personal favourite of theirs. The show, about pioneer aviators, premiered in London in 2007 at the Menier Chocolate Factory, but sadly never reached Broadway, even though I thought it one of their best shows.
Big the Musical dates from 1996 and a short run of under 200 performances in New York. A rewritten version toured the US in 1998. Jump then to 2016 and a new production opened at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and then at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin. The production, slightly recast, has now reached London.
Although it displays a great deal of excellent singing and dancing choreographed by director Morgan Young, the show itself rarely rises to the occasion. That said, the production whistles along with some eye-catching sets by Simon Higlett that keep on the move, terrific lighting effects by Tim Lutkin and video designs by Ian William Galloway. But it seems that the book and the songs drag it down to earth where it should actually be taking flight.
Jay McGuiness as the ‘grown-up’ Josh acquits himself very well and seizes all the comedic possibilities that arise from his bizarre situation with aplomb. As his mother Wendi Peters plays another strong woman but she does little about finding her lost boy when Josh turns ‘big’ and goes into hiding, except bake him a cake for his impending 13th birthday.
Josh has landed a job testing items for a toy company run by George McMillan (Matthew Kelly, on good form). As the possible love interest for Josh, Kimberley Walsh is in fine voice but her scenes when she is trying to seduce Josh leave a bitter taste. The show may be nearly a quarter of a century old, but in this day and age, this sort of lark would be labelled as inappropriate behaviour towards a minor, whether or not she knew he was only 13.
It is unfortunate that, although the cast members hurl themselves about with total abandon, the songs don’t live up to their energy levels and are really quite unmemorable. That said, however, the show did appeal to the first night audience and it should attract a young following, or at least a following younger than I am.
Michael Darvell
Tickets for Big the Musical are available HERE.
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