★★★

“brims with vulnerability and heart”

Tony Award–winner Levi Kreis steps into new territory with his writing debut, ‘Already Perfect’, a defiant yet tender coming out story urging us to embrace every part of ourselves. Though an imperfect gem, it gleams with life.

Troubled Broadway actor Levi reaches breaking point after a disastrous matinee, hours before the evening show is due to be immortalised on film. Luckily friend and sponsor Ben steps in and channels his turmoil into music. As the piano breathes its first notes, buried truths resurface, sparking a painful but necessary reckoning. Can Levi make peace with the past and finally love all of himself?

The book, by Kreis with additional material from Dave Solomon, charts a deeply personal journey from growing up as a gay Christian in the American Bible Belt, to the heartbreak of being cast out and beyond. The writing is raw and emotionally charged, tackling homophobia, drug use and suicide among other things, yet sparkles with humour and ends with a message of self acceptance. The structure, however, needs further shaping. The narrative feels more like a blow by blow than a cohesively crafted arc, and the central succession of dark chapters paired with back-to-back ballads feels a little lost – though to be fair, so is Levi. The redemption arc could do with more buildup, leaving the finale feeling underpowered. Though because the material is so personal, it’s packed with heart and soul.

Solomon’s direction draws the audience in with an intimate setting, fourth wall breaks and auditorium excursions. We witness the pain and trauma up close, underscoring the idea that “someone here has lived it too”. The staging is never static, with sharp blocking and Jennifer Rooney’s fluid movement direction bringing each scene to life.

Kreis’ music and lyrics, enriched by Matthew Antonio Perri’s musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations, pulse with Southern spirit – a blend of Gospel, blues, country and Americana that feels contemporary and inviting. The sharp arrangements showcase gorgeous harmonies and blistering riffs, anchored by the band’s assured delivery (Perri, Tom Sansbury, Mat Hector). My only gripe is the back-to-back ballads: though strong individually, stacking them dulls the emotional impact. Still, the 11 o’clock number cuts through as a genuine standout and delivers a welcome shift in tone.

Jason Ardizzone West’s set, with associate designer Ellie Wintour, is deceptively simple: an almost plain dressing room hides a revolving panel, snapping us into new spaces with dreamlike ease. Secreting the band behind a two-way screen in the heart of the action leans into the slightly surreal edge.

Jessica Paz’s sound design, with associate Andrew Johnson, is cleanly balanced and smartly detailed. The sharp sound effects land at just the right moments, and the tannoy voiceover neatly bookends the piece.

Jason Antone’s costume design neatly defines each character, using swift on stage changes to rally a plethora of personalities.

Ian Scott’s lighting design nimbly navigates the show’s many locations, shifting tone and focus with an impressive range of settings. The dramatic overhead spots preceding each Bible drop are particularly striking.

Kreis’ Levi, perhaps unsurprisingly, steals the show with a raw, affecting intensity and sheer musical brilliance, unleashing spectacular vocals, astonishing riffs and fiery piano work. Yiftach ‘Iffy’ Mizrahi’s shape shifting Ben provides a deft counterbalance, with disarming charm and cutting wit that ground weightier moments. Killian Thomas Lefevre’s Matthew is the show’s emotional core, bridging past and present with a moving journey from naive optimism to bitter reality. Hearing all three singing is a real treat.

‘Already Perfect’ may still be finding its way, but it brims with vulnerability and heart. With standout performances across the board and a message for everyone, it’s worth exploring.

HADESTOWN at the Lyric Theatre

★★★★★

“Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after.”

Hadestown is that remarkable thing: an adaptation of a tragic Greek myth that isn’t an opera or a film, or a series of elegiac poems, but is instead a bluesy, jazzy, rock musical with an uplifting ending. Yes, you read that right. Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote the music, lyrics and book, promoted early versions of Hadestown from rural beginnings in Vermont for years before she found the right team to help bring her vision to Broadway. And after taking Broadway by storm in 2019, it’s now the turn of London’s West End. This production of Hadestown has found just the right venue. The Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue is big enough to enhance the energy of its multi-talented cast, yet intimate enough to create the mood of a jazz club in New Orleans.

Hadestown is not the first musical to adapt the ancient Greek story of singer songwriter Orpheus and his wife Eurydice, but this is a fresh take on an old story. In the original, Orpheus and Eurydice are newly weds, blissfully happy until Eurydice dies from a snakebite. Unable to accept her loss, Orpheus follows her into Hades’ realm, with only his musical talent for protection. But Hadestown is not just about Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s also the story of another pair of doomed lovers, Persephone and Hades, the King and Queen of the Underworld. Plus their part in the environmental destruction that’s taking place on the planet above them. There’s a lot of material to unpack, but Mitchell’s lyrics, music and book are satisfyingly complex enough to hold it all.

Mitchell and her team have made some changes to the original Greek myth. Orpheus is still the dreamy artist, too busy composing songs to notice the danger his wife is in. Eurydice is an orphan in this version, hungry and cold. When the King of the Underworld tempts her with a one way ticket on his train to hell, she gives up Orpheus for food and shelter in return. Her story is mirrored in that of Hades’ unhappy wife Persephone. Hades, the brutal capitalist, is too busy exploiting his workers to pay much attention to her. The irony is that Hades thinks he can chain Persephone to him with his profits in gold, silver and jewelry. In the Hadestown version of the myth, there are four unhappy people with much to give. Yet they keep making the choices that bring them all to hell. There’s a lesson there for all of us. Fortunately it takes the form of memorable songs, brilliant lyrics, plus a book that is unusually complex and thought provoking. With so much packed into Hadestown, it’s easy to forgive the length of this musical. And one or two spots where the action slows, and you waken, for a moment, from the dream.

The Lyric Theatre’s production of Hadestown has put together a fantastic cast, and a band of great talent to support them. Despite the formidable leading men, Dónal Finn (Orpheus) and Zachary James (Hades), this production belongs to its leading women. Gloria Onitiri as Persephone and Grace Hodgett Young as Eurydice fill the space with their powerhouse voices, and Melanie La Barrie (Hermes) is both a voice to reckon with as well as a sympathetic narrator. Fates Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne and Allie Daniel turbo charge the female power on stage. The rest of the cast are equally dynamic supporters, and there’s no question the musicians are up to the task of backing these voices. Trombonist Daniel Higham and Brad Webb on drums stand out as they add just the right amount of jazz club intimacy to draw the audience in. The choreography (David Neumann), costumes (Michael Krass) and lighting (Bradley King) echo the sense of nightclub ambience. Together with the vision of Mitchell, the direction of Rachel Chavkin and Rachel Hauck’s scenic design, the team keeps this version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth paradoxically intimate, while seamlessly transferring the action between upper world to underworld, with assists from stage lifts and revolves.

Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after. Take your friends. This version of a classical Greek myth is something we can all relate to. Orpheus and Eurydice’s love story may have a tragic ending, but you’ll leave the theatre in an upbeat mood.

Tag Archives: Jessica Paz

ALREADY PERFECT

★★★

King’s Head Theatre

ALREADY PERFECT

King’s Head Theatre

★★★

“brims with vulnerability and heart”

ALREADY PERFECT

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 15th January 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Pamela Raith

ALREADY PERFECT

ALREADY PERFECT

ALREADY PERFECT

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN FEBRUARY 2024 🎭

HADESTOWN

★★★★★

Lyric Theatre

HADESTOWN at the Lyric Theatre

★★★★★

“Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after.”