Picture: Marc Brenner
White Rose: The Musical continues at the Marylebone Theatre, London until 13 August 2025.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
White Rose: The Musical at Marylebone Theatre ambitiously brings the inspiring true story of the White Rose resistance to the stage, dramatising the courageous efforts of Munich university students – led by siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl – who defied the Nazi regime with anti-propaganda leaflets from 1942-43. This UK premiere of the Off-Broadway hit carries significant historical weight, and delivers moments of genuine emotional resonance, although it struggles to fully harness the power of its source material.
The cast emerges as the production’s greatest strength. Collette Guitart brings vocal clarity and understated intensity to the character of Sophie, shining particularly in quieter moments, though the script occasionally limits her emotional range and makes her come off as bland and uninvolved.
In the role of Hans, Tobias Turley delivers an equally engaging performance that makes the sibling dynamic a highlight.
Supporting player Charley Robbie, playing Lila, offers a fresh, enthusiastic presence, and Owen Arkrow, as Willi Gras, adds texture and some enthusiasm, though their characters feel underdeveloped.
The creative team’s contributions yield mixed results. Composer Natalie Brice crafts a soft rock score that, while accessible, often feels misaligned with the gravity of the story; rousing ensemble numbers like ‘Pride and Shame’ resonate, yet many songs lean toward generic ballads that fail to drive the narrative forward.
The book and lyrics by Brian Belding are heartfelt but sometimes blunt, with lines lacking nuance. A stretched runtime of two hours and 15 minutes also dilutes the tension of what was previously a tighter 90-minute Off-Broadway experience.
Director Will Nunziata struggles with static staging that misses opportunities to heighten the drama through movement. Justin Williams’ set designs evoke a war-torn Munich backdrop of concrete and rubble, which while striking in their imagery, ultimately feel underutilised.
At its core, the production holds a noble intent to honour the White Rose group’s bravery, and is occasionally stirring with its message of resistance, yet the disconnect between its pop-rock style and the depth of the story, paired with uneven execution, leaves it feeling like a work in progress.
Though it’s worth experiencing for the talented cast and historically relevant themes, the production falls short of fully blossoming into the impactful tribute it strives to be, at least until the closing number, emotionally expressed through splendid vocal harmonies by the whole ensemble. Sadly, this beautiful, redeeming moment comes too late to justify why the play needed to be musicalised.
Patrick Honoré
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