Picture: Kim Sheard Photography
Musical of the Year continues at the Lost Theatre, London until 29 October.
Star rating: three and a half stars
It’s 1955 and college sweethearts Rudy Brown and Lizzy Conlon embark on writing the ultimate award-winning musical. So begins a 60-year process of adapting the same musical to the styles of My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Cabaret, Les Misérables, Wicked, and virtually every other show in the musical theatre canon. Will they ever win Musical of the Year?
Certainly this show has the potential of attracting cult status, especially with musical theatre lovers, and it was extremely well received by the enthusiastic press night audience. However, there are some glaring faults, which in its current format could hinder the piece’s further development.
There is no doubting that Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe (book, music, and lyrics) and Owain Rose (book) are musical theatre fans with a good knowledge of shows – this is their baby and they can be proud of what they have achieved.
However, as director, Rose in particular has probably been too hands-on, and it would have served the show better to have someone else direct the piece. It needs an outsider’s perspective.
As the old adage goes, less is more, and some of the visual ‘gags’ are unnecessary: Sister Gudule (a strong performance from Victoria Waddington) doesn’t need to be painted green for ‘Mother Meets Daughter’ – have faith that the audience recognises Wicked!
The characters Rudy (Robbie Smith) and Lizzie (Rebecca Gilliland) are not developed enough emotionally. They are supposed to be central to the story, so there needs to be more narrative in order for the audience to get to know them and share their pain, frustrations and angst.
The show, and in particular Act I, is a good 15 to 20 minutes too long and is crying out to be cut. And for a show that refers to dance a great deal, the choreography by Emma Pleass is somewhat simplistic.
On a positive note, Musical of the Year can boast a vocally talented cast. Jamie Fillery as Quasimodo, Kevin Rodgers as Dom Claude, Jennifer Tilley as Esmeralda and Andrew Truluck as Minister of Correction/Esmeralda II are extremely watchable and Rodgers in particular has a very strong rich voice that is a joy to hear. The entire cast works hard and earned the fervent applause they received.
Frank Turnbull’s set is simple and a tad too large for the stage, but beautifully effective, altough the projection area needs to be larger. Lanigan-O’Keeffe’s lyrics are, on the whole, excellent.
This show has real potential and is one to follow. If you love musical theatre, or think you have an encyclopedic knowledge of musical theatre songs, then go along and see it. See if you can identify the musical parodies – but no looking at the answers until the end of the show.
Yvonne I’Anson
www.elokayproductions.com/musical-of-the-year
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