★★★

“It’s a long journey, but a highly entertaining one courtesy of the wonderful vocal performances”

There are two things that strike you about the world premiere of Chilina Kennedy’s (music and lyrics) and Eric Holmes’s (book) new musical, “Wild About You”. The first is the inescapable fact that this is a stylish production, blowing onto our shores from across the pond with the confidence and swagger to head straight for Drury Lane. Picking up half a dozen of the finest voices in musical theatre, the performances alone claim the right to make the West End its first stop.

The second is the title. With the exception of a fairly throwaway number early on in the first act, it is very hard to work out why the writers opted for “Wild About You”. Admittedly it has undergone a couple of name changes since its progression from an album recording to the stage, but they still don’t seem to have labelled this show correctly. Perhaps when the concept is more finely honed, and trimmed a little, they’ll find it. The musical is a bit of a chimera, its personality split down the middle with each side of interval exposing its own idiosyncrasies and influences.

At the centre of the story is Olivia, beautifully played by Rachel Tucker, who inexplicably wakes up in hospital with gaping holes in her memory. Aided by the duty nurse, Shae (a gorgeously camp and comedic performance from Todrick Hall), she embarks on the task of piecing together a messy past as her memories slowly gather shape. The more she tries to find herself, the more she discovers that that is pretty much what she’s been doing all her life. The flaws in her character echo the flaws in her story, and we therefore find it difficult to empathise with the self-obsession that afflicts her. As her tangled love life ricochets between husband Michael (Eric McCormack), artist Thomas (Oliver Tompsett) and on-off lover Jessica (Tori Allen-Martin), our sympathies diminish with each rebound.

The second act becomes a different show entirely following a twist that is as inexplainable as Olivia’s initial amnesia. Her memories are re-traced from the others’ perspectives and her son Billy (Jamie Muscato), now eighteen, turns the story on its head. ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ meets ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ meats ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ meets ‘A Christmas Carol’ meets ‘Before I Go to Sleep’. A touch too quirky for its own good, the matted storylines are eventually smoothed out into its glossy, if a little sentimental, finale.

It’s a long journey, but a highly entertaining one courtesy of the wonderful vocal performances, backed by musical director Nick Barstow’s ten-piece band. Justin Williams’ sleek and stylised set frames the piece with an intimacy that cleverly belies the vast space; mirrored by Nick Winston’s ‘up-close and personal’ staging. Kennedy’s musical score wears it’s influences openly with its fine balance of belters and ballads. The dynamics are occasionally at odds with the narrative, particularly the impressive opening number into which Tucker pours her heart and soul. Maybe it needs to start smaller, allowing itself to grow naturally. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a grand opening but similarly we wonder where it can go from here.

The show seems to have skipped a few steps in its evolution. Its success now lies in its shrinking and fine tuning before we can really get wild about it.

THE BIG LIFE at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★★

“The whole show is a wondrous vision”

When front of house inform you that the show is approximately three hours long, the reaction is to smile politely while inwardly groaning and hoping there’s an espresso machine behind the bar at the interval. In the case of “The Big Life” however, after what is, in all actuality, a little over three hours we are still wanting more. It has been twenty years since this absolute gem of a musical premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East (before transferring to the West End), and its revival has come none too soon.

Set in the mid-fifties, the show opens on board the Windrush; sailing from the Caribbean carrying its voyagers heading for a new life. The characters are full of hope, with great expectations and personal aspirations. We all know the reality. But although this show touches on it, it is no ‘blaxploitation’ polemic. It is instead a true celebration of a culture to which we owe a huge debt.

Subtitled ‘the Ska Musical’, Paul Joseph’s music keeps the blood pumping and the feet tapping throughout. And during the more tender, balladic moments, our heartstrings almost snap. It is Bob Marley meets Louis Jordan. A crossbreed of ‘One Love’ and ‘Five Guys Named Moe’, with more than a splash of Leiber and Stoller thrown in. So where can you go wrong? Adding Shakespeare to the mix sounds like a risk too far, but the ingenious take on the bard’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” is a masterstroke of theatrical reimagining. Paul Sirett and Tameka Empson’s book (Sirett is also the lyricist) even manages to improve on it while staying remarkably faithful.

On board the ship are four young men who make a pact to abstain from women and drink for three years in order to work hard and make something of their lives. The women in their lives have other ideas. The admiral of the ship follows them all onto dry land, igniting fire into the cold, grey, unwelcoming landscape, and moreover igniting mischief into the lives of the star-crossed individuals.

You don’t need to be familiar with Shakespeare’s storyline to follow the action. The biggest threat of losing the plot is through the sheer multitude of laugh-out-loud moments. The cast collectively throw the term ‘triple threat’ to the wind, multiplying their talents left, right and centre. Co-writer Empson presides over the evening as Mrs Aphrodite, commenting on the piece and filling in details from her majestic place in a box in the royal circle. In the guise of a forthright, Jamaican, first-generation immigrant, she flamboyantly and hilariously dispenses gossip and shameless commentary through the scene changes. Her perfectly timed interjections gently morph into more serious subject matter, poignantly and subtlety drawing attention to the darker side – particularly the recent Windrush scandals. The disturbing irony, and the fate of these migrants is not ignored and is treated by the writers with a respect and an authority that lends untold depth to the tremendous applause that greets the curtain call.

Onstage, meanwhile, the party continues. The seven-piece band continue to belt out the numbers with high energy while the ensemble cast is spreading joy like there’s no tomorrow. So much zest is bouncing off the stage that we forget that these actors are probably among the hardest working performers in London currently. I’d love to namecheck everyone, but each one is a star. I’d love to give a step-by-step account of the story and index the song list for you, but each number is a showstopper. The whole show is a wondrous vision. The score is a dream. Twenty years ago, it transferred to the West End. The standing ovation it received this time around will surely guide it there again. In double-time, of course – it is a ‘Ska musical’ after all.

Tag Archives: Mark Senior

WILD ABOUT YOU

★★★

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

WILD ABOUT YOU at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

★★★

“It’s a long journey, but a highly entertaining one courtesy of the wonderful vocal performances”

WILD ABOUT YOU at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Reviewed on 25th March 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HANDEL’S MESSIAH: THE LIVE EXPERIENCE | ★★★ | December 2022

WILD ABOUT YOU

WILD ABOUT YOU

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

THE BIG LIFE

★★★★★

Theatre Royal Stratford East

THE BIG LIFE at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★★

“The whole show is a wondrous vision”