13 GOING ON 30

Manchester Opera House

★★★★★

“heart warming, funny and endearing”

13 Going on 30 The Musical, based on the book and screenplay by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, and the 2004 film, is simply great fun. An uplifting coming of age story with a whole load of real, not fake, girl power, it takes us on a journey of discovery to realise that the things which matter most are those which ground us and make us better people. Never taking itself too seriously, flashy and sassy, this world premiere was fresh and vibrant, packed with humour and a host of memorable songs.

Jenna is turning 13 and her best friend, the rather shy and ‘uncool’ Matt, thinks she is the most beautiful girl in the world. They share their lives, dreams and fun together, which is then threatened by Jenna desperately seeking acceptance into the inner circle of ‘the popular kids’. At her 13th birthday party, she is transported into the body – and life – of herself aged 30, as a successful glossy magazine executive. Thrust into a seemingly perfect life, the parties, ‘beautiful people’ and faux friendships eventually turn sour and she realises that true friendship, love and valuing the simplest, truest things in life is the answer. The plot sounds sugary and a standard ‘rom com’, but the message is delivered with a real sense of truth. Time can slip away and the decisions we make along the way change the world for ourselves and others. It’s never too late to change!

This world premiere is directed superbly by Andy Fickman, ensuring the full humour and sentiment are apparent throughout the performance. Music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner provide a mixture of catchy, and emotional pieces, with some lovely duets, under the expert musical supervision of Alan Williams. The only non-original track, the “Thriller’ sequence, is a particular delight, even to those of us who did not know the 2004 film.

Lucie Jones gives a powerful and versatile performance as the lead, Jenna Rink, able to flit between the naivety of the pre-teen world and friendship and the excitement and frenzy of being ‘thirty, flirty and thriving’. Alongside David Hunter as Matt Flamhaff, their performance is extremely watchable, heartwarming and genuine. Grace Mouat as Lucy Wyman plays the perfect self-centred ambitious ‘bad girl’, originally the lead of the popular ‘six chicks’ at middle school and now in the gleeful position to offer perfectly delivered sarcastic witty retorts as she sweeps over her colleagues in seeking her own ends.

The whole cast are the best which the thriving musical theatre scene can give us. With spot on comedic timing, the cast give it everything: faultless and energetic dance routines, soaring voices and acting which was strong enough to genuinely convince us we too could still be that young person with dreams.

Special mention to the hilarious Caleb Roberts as Richard, the ‘boss’ at the magazine Poise, and the incredible stage presence and movement skills of Iván Fernández González as Darius Mark. It would be impossible to mention all the committed and talented cast, but it must be said that the young cast are every part as talented and versatile as their adult counterparts. Amelia Minto (young Jenna) and Max Bispham (young Matt) together with Emmeline D’Arcy Walsh (Becky) give shining performances and the comedic Cyrus Campbell (young Kyle) simply loves to entertain.

Colourful and captivating costumes (Gabriela Tylesova) add to the joyous and celebratory performance. The whole ensemble choreography (Jennifer Weber) is a particular joy to watch, with precision timing and movement. The set’s simplicity (Colin Richmond) makes for great efficiency in terms of transitions being seamless, and the dynamic lighting (Howard Hudson) facilitates the changing moods. The finale is visually spectacular and uplifting, featuring the perfect definition of a final number ‘Here and Now’.

A heart warming, funny and endearing show, it deserves to be counted as a strong new work in its own right, as well as a happy nostalgic throwback for those who loved the film.

13 GOING ON 30

Manchester Opera House

Reviewed on 30th September 2025

by Lucy Williams

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HERE AND NOW | ★★★★ | September 2025

13 GOING ON 30

First Date

Online stream from Crazy Coqs

Reviewed – 22nd October 2020

★★★

“the memorable songs and the impressive performances carry this funny and relatable take on the dating world”

The year is 2020, a pandemic has turned singletons everywhere horny (sound familiar?), and the musical ’First Date’ is here to find out if we can still believe in love!

In the Crazy Coqs bar we meet Aaron (Simon Lipkin) and Casey (Samantha Barks) on a blind date and setting eyes on each other for the first time. Queue a series of fantastically funny songs alighting on all the truisms of first dates from the friend you have lined up to fake an accident to the awkward pauses and who pays the cheque at the end of it all! The pair navigate small talk and their differences, to see whether this could be something. Our two daters are surrounded by a fantastic chorus who pop-up Grecian-esque as bartenders, exes, bad boys and even Google embodied!

The songs, written by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, are consistently brilliant. There are cabaret numbers, comedy numbers, ballads, duets and a lovely five-person opening. Accompanied by a live piano, the songs are well-written, well-sung and all great fun! The script (Austin Winsberg) between songs, however, is not up to the standard of the song writing at all. Whilst there’s some promise in there, it is overly long and slow, and needs some serious tightening up to meet the quality which is so evident in the lyric writing.

The cast are really strong, directed by Dean Johnson. They all boast fantastic voices, brought together with musical direction from John Winstone. Barks and Lipkin sing wonderfully, working hard on a slow script, although lacking in chemistry between them. Some favourite characters in the panopoly that the chorus play include Nick McLean’s Reggie and Danielle Steers’ dead grandma! The shining star of the whole show is Oscar Conlon-Morrey who is irresistibly funny in every role he plays: a feast to watch, even when he is just making comments during the internal (a lovely touch). I could’ve watch him all day.

Unfortunately the quality of the music and performers is let down by the audio (Matt Ide) and videography (Sam Diaz) quality, both of which are wildly inconsistent, so much so that they are disruptive to the piece*. The green screen backdrops are really fun and work really well, but in the space itself the lighting is bizarre and doesn’t respond to lighting changes mentioned in the script, silence buzzes, and it would be impossible to watch this through without regularly adjusting the volume up and down on your television or laptop. Given that it is presented like a film, it needs to have the basic production values of one. It is such a shame, given the quality of the actors and the material.

Production quality aside, the memorable songs and the impressive performances carry this funny and relatable take on the dating world.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography courtesy Lambert Jackson

* This show was reviewed on an advance link so sound and video quality may be improved on the released production

Tag Archives: Alan Zachary

13 GOING ON 30

★★★★★

Manchester Opera House

13 GOING ON 30

Manchester Opera House

★★★★★

“heart warming, funny and endearing”