Ushers: The Front of House Musical – Charing Cross Theatre

The cast of Ushers: The Front of House Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre, London. Picture: Roy Tan

Ushers: The Front of House Musical continues at the Charing Cross Theatre, London until 19 April.

Set in a fictional West End ‘Theatre Nation’ playhouse owned by Sir Andrew Lloyd Mackintosser, Ushers is a life in the evening of front of house staff at Oops, I Did It Again, a jukebox musical by Britney Spears. The team of five, led by the obnoxious house manager and failed opera singer Robin (a comic Ralph Bogard), struggle to cope with their boss’ demands, the complexities of a cash float, and their own emotional trials and tribulations, all the while trying to satisfy the needs of their customers.

The idea for this show has been kicking around since 2012, and last year a 20-minute showcase made it to the finals of the Search for a Twitter Composer competition at the Soho Theatre (it lost out to Graham Mercer’s Facehunters). It also made an appearance on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter that October, successfully achieving its £1,000 target. Now the show has transferred to the Charing Cross Theatre for a six-week season, following its premiere at The Hope Theatre in Islington.

The musical’s self-referential theme makes it ripe for staging (Max Reynolds directs). It’s a Hotel Babylon-style story set behind the scenes of a theatre –what Noises Off is to life on stage, Ushers is to managing the front of house. The creative team of Yiannis Koutsakos (music/lyrics), James Oban (lyrics) and James Rottger (book/lyrics) mine every aspect of theatregoing for comedy gold: expensive interval drinks (in plastic glasses, of course), extortionate programmes and even more extortionate picture books (“what’s the difference?”), tacky merchandise, American tourists, every failed musical from the last five years, and so on.

The ribbing is relentless – Michael Ball, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, Bill Kenwright are all targeted in Rottger’s mischievous but ultimately affectionate script. Despite the acidity, it’s basically a 100-minute love letter to the front of house, and is delivered by a cast with a particularly insightful experience of the material.

Ceris Hine gives a standout – if a little over-egged – performance as the ditsy Rosie, and her main number ‘Leading Men’, about her obsession with stalking her favourite actors, is hilarious. Daniel Buckley is also very strong as Gary, whose relationship problems with fellow usher Ben (the equally talented Liam Ross-Mills) provides a gentle emotional arc that balances with Hine’s comic turn. In fact, the whole cast gels very well, and each pull off their solo numbers convincingly. The final tap routine, choreographed by Russell Smith, is also a joy.

The songs, while not wildly distinctive or memorable, come at a decent pace and give the talented cast plenty of chances to showcase their craft. There’s also a nice degree of variety to the numbers, both musically and in the staging. As spare as the story is, though, it’s the book that’s the most engaging aspect of the production, and the references are so fresh and current that the ink must still be drying on the script (even ‘Adele Dazeem’ gets a mention!).

Therein, though, lies the show’s weakness. It’s such a knowing script – just a bit too smart ass for its own good – that the appeal is likely to be quite narrow. Name me a job that doesn’t have its foibles, frustrations and awful bosses. It’s a theatre show for a theatre crowd (it doesn’t start until 10.15 pm), and a particularly London crowd at that. A few of the jokes were lost on me – a reference to two-for-one cocktails at the Freedom Bar must have been hilarious as it got a particularly enthusiastic response from the audience (“oh my god, the funniest line of the night”, laughed the man in the seat next to me) but left me puzzled; I suspect I’m just too old.

Ushers has a rough-and-ready end-of-term feel to it – in a good way, mostly – but could benefit from a bit more professional shaping and polishing if it’s to go anywhere. Like its subject matter, the show needs to up its ante and do what it takes to get out from the foyer and into the spotlight.

 Craig Glenday