(seen at the afternoon performance on 26th November 2024)
A freezing cold fringe theatre, around a third full. Probably a fair few of the audience in on heavily discounted tickets, and a good proportion only there thanks to that. They don’t get the heavily “Broadway back-catalog” (sic) referenced show, but you sense that they like you, so you keep going.
That isn’t the plot of the show the monkey attended this afternoon, but is certainly potential sequel material as it is the brutal reality of this afternoon. Show business is tough, and few punches are pulled.
Fact is, this theatre should have been sold out with a returns line. Anyone who truly loves Broadway musicals needs to see this – the natural successor to “A Chorus Line,” “Babes In Arms” and every other "show about showbiz" show.
This 2004 tuner by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell begins with friends Hunter (Jacob Fowler) and Jeff (Thomas Oxley) deciding to write a musical for a contest. Problem being, they have 3 weeks until the deadline and not an idea between them – plus plenty of “Trekkie Monster” distractions, say no more.
They hit on using their chat about what to write as being the subject of their show. Bringing in two ladies – friend Susan (Mary Moore), office job paying bills as her show dreams die, and working (subject to last cast member’s costume fitting her) performer Heidi (Abbie Budden) broadens the process.
Eventually they have a script to mail... and the other two thirds of the show chart its progress.
With Larry (Tom Chippendale) at the keyboard, a slew of intelligent songs are delivered on a set consisting of four chairs on plinths and a standard issue “home shelves with a few light blocks” set (Hazel McIntosh). Cleverly undistracting yet redolent of the starving artist’s lair, it works rather well.
Our quartet deliver some genuinely clever songs with unflagging energy. “Monkeys and Playbills” is a brilliantly staged (by director Christopher D. Clegg) ensemble number, as flop musicals (the monkey recognised about two-thirds of them and loved Googling the rest later) wove an unlikely plot.
Individually, each cast member also gets a chance to shine. Mary Moore exorcising her doubt demons in “Die, Vampire, Die!” is unforgettable. A duet “What Kind of Girl Is She?” with Abbie Budden is female insecurity at its best, Budden’s own solo “A Way Back To Then” moving. Something of a modern showbiz standard it performs well beside a keyboard.
Thomas Oxley rewards the monkey’s faith from last year’s “Merrily We Roll Along” to give Jeff a quirky insecure depth shown off to great advantage in “An Original Musical”.
The very male bond between himself and Jacob Fowler’s Hunter is strong, Fowler doing much of the dramatic heavy lifting where a resolute weight is required.
90 minutes and 2 years pass in a blur of truthful creative emotions. The raw pain of never being quite good / lucky / inventive / talented / impressive enough to move that inch closer to going up a level in life could be dull to watch. Instead, we are heavily invested in every single character, thanks to their performances.
Where this show scores highest is that it is about young people willing to put in the work to get somewhere, and being emotionally strong enough to deal with the inevitable setbacks along the way. There is no mentally screaming "Rent" (one t, in-joke) style "get a job then" at them. They have jobs, and want to better themselves. A refreshing angle reflecting well on the writers grasp of reality always being the best and most involving starting point (Bob Fosse q.v.).
If the show does request – even occasionally require – a little more knowledge than usual of Broadway’s musical theatre scene and the people who inhabit it, the monkey feels it a tiny price to pay for a production and performances which elicit nothing but sympathy, pride and admiration for both the characters in the show and the company here in London who play them.
The monkey is very proud to be one of those Nine People willing to call now this little gem one of its Favorite Things.
5 stars.
Photo credit: Danny Kaan. Used by kind permission.