[TITLE OF SHOW] (London Coliseum)****

 

 

By Imogen

Link: https://londoncoliseum.org/whats-on/title-of-show

Available until: Livestreams on 13^th and 14^th November, 7.30pm

[title of show] is a musical that’s all about putting on a musical.

I thought it was new but it actually premiered in 2004 and was most recently performed in Auckland last year. I bet they had people actually going to see it too.

The original cast was Jeff Bowen, Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Blackwell and Hunter Bell, who all played themselves. In this revival, the four actors use the names of the original cast, rather than their own names. So Marc Elliott plays Jeff, Lucie Jones plays Heidi, Jenna Russell plays Susan and Tyrone Huntley plays Hunter. I think it would have added an extra twist if they were playing themselves playing themselves, but maybe they’re not allowed to change the script.

I think the basic idea is good. It’s not an original idea of course. Singing in the Rain, 42^nd Street and Kiss Me Kate are just three musicals about putting on a musical. But it is an idea that works as a story and it does help when the actors have the same talents as their characters.

The music is good. There aren’t really any songs that you’d be singing as you walk out of the theatre (if we were allowed to walk out of theatres) but it all sounds really amazing because they’ve cast four actors who are not only amazingly good singers, they have voices which blend together very well so it’s always nice to listen to them.

But I don’t think the musical really has enough drama. There is a small amount of jealousy between Heidi and Susan who kind of size each other up but it never gets any more exciting than being worried the other one doesn’t like them. There aren’t any fights with handbags. There isn’t any flirtation between any of the characters. There isn’t even any unrequited love. There’s a very minor disagreement when the characters think about making changes to the show but it isn’t really what I’d call a proper argument. The characters didn’t seem to know which side they’re on. They spend most of the time respecting each other and getting on with their jobs. It’s not very realistic. It’s a good thing the performers are so brilliant or I’d have got really bored.

Tyrone, Lucie, Jenna and Marc are all great singers as I said. They’re also good at comedy and deliver every line perfectly. Their American accents sound perfect to me and they project the characters well. Tyrone is really cute as Hunter. Marc is responsible and intelligent as Jeff. Jenna is funny but insecure sometimes as Susan. But Lucie is the star for me, she makes Heidi really lovely and out of all the voices Lucie has an extra versatility. (Seriously if you want to go into musical theatre you should consider doing X Factor. The West End is full of X Factor ‘rejects’ who might not be famous but their musical theatre careers have lasted a lot longer than some of the winners’ pop careers.)