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How BURLESQUE divided the critics... | Review roundup from ★ to ★★★★★ for the new West End musical
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Okay, so I know that I've been making a lot of content about the musical recently, but there was no way that I wasn't going to talk about all of the other reviews because. What do you mean? The Guardian gave a one star review to the Great Gatsby earlier this year and then gave five stars to Burlesque. What on earth are you talking about? Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you. If you are listening to my dulcet tones via podcast platforms, you're missing the frankly garish look that I have on this evening. I know many of you commented nice things about this sequin bomber jacket the last time I wore it. I need you to know how warm it is. And also, this isn't even the right hat for burlesque. But it may surprise you to learn I do not have an extensive bowler hat collection. And if anything, I feel the overall ensemble is giving the magical Mr. Mistoffelees on this the day of his daughter's wedding. Hear me out gangster cats. Anyway, what I'm actually here to talk to you about this evening is the reviews for Burlesque, the musical in the West End. Now, last week, by the time that you are seeing this, I spoke both about the alleged and reported backstage drama surrounding Burlesque as it prepared to open in the West End. And then subsequently I shared my own three star review of the opening night performance. You can go and check that out if you want to know what I thought of the show. But today I am particularly intrigued to share with you what my peers in the London theatre critical community thought of the show. And occasionally when I've made these videos in the past, what I tend to do is just read from a whole bunch of different reviews. And because we got a full theatrical Yahtzee with this one, yes, we got a one star, a two star, a three star, a four star and a five star. I think think it'll be fun if we read through exactly one of each, possibly two, three star reviews because they're both very significant outlets that I want to check in with. Now I interrupted my own introduction of myself back there. If you're meeting me for the first time through this, then you should know that I'm a professional theatre critic here on social media and my review for this, I guess was very middle of the pack middle of the road, which is not where I like to be, but is probably where I usually end up. I don't actually think that I am the most generous theatre critic in the world. I also am far from the harshest. And so it's going to be really interesting for me, and hopefully for you as well, to take a look at these other wildly different critical perspectives. And that's the great thing about theatre as this subjective art form. We can all go and see the same show, the same performance and walk away thinking wildly different things, as, of course, can all of you. Now, I asked you to do this on my review video, but feel free to share again the star rating specifically that you would give Burlesque if you've had the chance to see it already in the West End. In the meantime, let's find out what these other theatre critics thought and if you enjoy listening to this and you would like to see or hear more of this content in the future, go ahead and follow me on podcast platforms or subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel. In the meantime, let's round up the reviews for Burlesque. Okay, so just like a ski slope or a misguided marriage, we are going to start at the very top and then steadily decline. Let's begin with the hugely surprising. I was going to call it the somewhat surprising, the honestly, hugely surprising. Amazing 5 star review from Arifa Akbar in the Guardian. I've met Arifa. I know Arifa. I have been to the theatre with Arifa and chatted to her about theatre and she's lovely and at the same time I can never pin down what her perspective on a show is going to be. She is so elusive. I feel like I'm fairly easy to predict. A lot of other critics that I know are as well. I have no idea at this point what direction Arifa's gonna go. She is a critical leaf in the breeze. She could go anywhere and this is what she had to say. The Christina Aguilera movie gets a gloriously dirty makeover. 5 stars. This adrenalized adaptation of the 2010 film is stuffed with superb voices that it is, and sensational moves that it is as well. It's always interesting when I read through reviews that end up in completely different places and I actually agree with so much of what they have to say. And she covers some of the same ground that I did in my review. When she contextualises the whole thing with the current state of the West End, she says, what a tremendous breath of fresh air amid the indefatigable rise of movies Cynically respun for the stage. This musical adaptation of the two 2010 film featuring Cher and Christina goes its own eccentric way that it does with its monster sound, energy and blinding bling. It is no less than Burlesque 2.0, which is a very different way of looking at all of the changes made from the film. You could generate electricity with the combined sound of Orfeh as burlesque club owner Tess and Jess Foley as Ali, a small town singer with a big voice. Ali still blows the roof off this burlesque lounge, but the musical is grittier and less sanitized now. I agree in as much as I think their voices are outstanding and deserve to be highly praised, I actually sort of feel in the other direction. I haven't seen the film in quite a long time, so I'm not gonna wholeheartedly commit to this, but my memory of it was that the film was a little grittier and less sanitized than the stage production has ended up being. I didn't get a lot of grit on Tuesday night at the Savoy. I'll be honest. The biggest surprise, Arifa goes on to tell us, is that this reworking is done by Stephen Antin, the film's original writer and director. His musical underworld is not nearly as dark as Bob Fosse's Cabaret, but not saccharine either, and far raunchier and more outre than the Antin's script is so contemporary that it references Baby reindeer, which I hated, and contains a show stopping joke about the Coldplay concert's kiss cam couple, which I also hated. The humour seems peculiarly British in spite of the American accents, doesn't it? Todrick's choreography is a sensation true there with jaw dropping athleticism, balletic moves and circus acrobatics, while Marco Marco's more is more. Costumes deserve an award and perhaps they may get one. Time will tell. Hall also the show's director, is an absolute blast as a performer. He doubles up as Ali's old gospel teacher and Tess's right hand man at the lounge, blowing Stanley Tucci's benign, gay best friend of the film out of the water and in fairness is offered considerably more ammunition than Stanley Tucci had in the film, although admittedly Todrick hall could probably do the Stanley Tucci part in the movie. I don't know if Stanley Tucci could do what Todrick hall is doing on stage, but I would like to see it. I would pay some money. Ally's Slow Burn romance with Jackson Paul Jacob French is cute when it could Great. Yeah. With French providing a fantastically funny number in Natalie in which he dumps his ever absent ex girlfriend by phone. I actually neglected to mention that number whatsoever in my review. It feels wildly out of place. But it's charming and it's funny. It's when in the second act the show seems to start just throwing different things at us in the name of entertainment and just getting us to hopefully stand up by the end of the thing and laugh at whatever cost. But it is a fun number. The song seems coyly to poke fun at the earnest of the film, an endearing send up. The show as a whole bears its artifice every now and again, but without indulging in knowingness. Where Cher was a kindly fairy godmother type, Tess is a hard nut with fierce energy and a vague resemblance to Michelle Visage. I could. I could offer an insight into why that might be, but I feel that would be a little rude. The whole thing is very RuPaul. Arifa continues. There is no lip syncing as in the film, but enough leather, feathers, sequins and disco ball lighting for a season of drag race. Plus harnesses, thongs and bared bouncing flesh too. Jake Dupree I'm so glad getting a mention here as the gender fluid Trey Chardonnay is phenomenal. So true, complete with nipple tassels in one striptease, while Alicia McDermott and Jess Qualter as the kinky twins. Summer and spring bring more of the burlesque spirit. It is over adrenalized and messy in its plotting and I concur with that. But you forgive the blips. This is a production stuffed with personality, spectacle and wow factor. Come for the nostalgia, perhaps, but stay for the new kicks. Bigger, naughtier and camp as hell. Well, that really delighted Arifa and I am just so intrigued about everything that she enjoyed in that that she clearly didn't in the Great Gatsby. And I think because people have been trying to reconcile those two star ratings and I do think Great Gatsby is probably a stronger piece of th. They both live in the same realm. They're both like they're both middle of the road for me, three star shows. I think the cast is a little stronger over at the Great Gatsby in the West End. I think the whole thing is slightly more polished. But what you have to consider is that that on F. Scott Fitzgerald and this is based on burlesque open brackets, 2010 close brackets, which was never the most esteemed like it wasn't an Academy Award winning screenplay. And so there's a different expectation in terms of their theatrical adaptations and they are held, rightly so, to different standards because of that. And that's one duty within the role of a critic to consider that. But as far as audience members are concerned, it may not matter to them how faithfully it adapts the film or book that it's based on and how much it lives up to the legacy of that. If it's entertaining enough. And Arifa clearly was entertained by this show, I will say that acknowledging it being over adrenalized and messy, it feels like a four star review that she was just thoroughly, thoroughly charmed by. Worth pointing out, not the only five star review. I believe Anya Ryan also wrote one for LondonTheatre.co.uk, but I have vowed to give you one of each star rating, which means it is now time for our four star review and we are going to find that in the Telegraph, I believe this is from Claire Allfrey, despite the rumoured chaos oh, they heard about that. This daft rift on the 2010 movie do we mean rift? Snatches victory from the jaws of defeat Hell of a headline. Christina Aguilera's raunchy burlesque musical is a cult hit in the making. Claire begins well, this is a surprise. After weeks of rumoured chaos, including alleged rows over nepotism, working conditions and creative decisions, including cast members forced to buy their costumes from Primark and various creatives either fired or replaced and forced to sign NDAs. Which is just a little more than I felt I could say in the video last week, this knowingly daft riff on the 2010 Christina Aguilera and Cher movie emerges as a strange sort of triumph. It is so cheerfully itself, so zesterly camp and so sharply performed, it somehow snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. And it features an absolute knockout performance from newcomer Jess Foley. I'm really glad that she's getting great write ups because she has a tremendous amount of star quality and a legitimately remarkable voice, as she would have to in this role, the churchgoing girl from Iowa who, against the odds, turns around a struggling burlesque club in the city. And it's at that point that I would make some kind of remark about how implausible that seems. But Claire carries on. Granted, Antin fumbles his own plot, although mercifully hall has responded to reports of audiences staggering out of four hour previews by cutting the running time to 2 hours 45 minutes, still 15 minutes longer than Burlesque needs to be. If I'm being completely honest, half the story has been jettisoned and new bits added with precious little care for plausibility. There we go. Tess is now Ally's unknown birth mother. This means that Ali is grief stricken over the death of her adoptive mother, discovers she has another and joyfully sets off to the Big Smoke from rural Iowa to find her. All within the space of about two minutes. That's what I said. That's what I said. I haven't heard anyone else talking about it. And I take back everything I said before because Claire is now getting to the point that I was going to make earlier. Having seemingly been raised on a diet of corn and church gospel, she is also bizarrely an innate burlesque expert. Launching into comic send ups of the other dancers contemptuous perceptions of her as a rural naif in ways that wittily hold on. This is basically a tongue twister. Launching into comic send ups of the other dancers contemptuous perceptions of her as a rural knife in ways that whittle rural naefy defy the traditional character arc of an ingen. I can't get this sentence. Ingenue heroine who learns discovers her true self. She discovers her true self. I think that's meant to say wittily defy. And somehow rural naif has been copied into the next. Who spell checked this? Do we not have editors at the Telegraph? What's happening today? Oh, I might get in trouble for that one. Now it's at this point I have to question, does this feel like a Fortune 4 star review to you? This feels very three to me because I'm not disagreeing with any of it. And it's fairly critical of the plot. Hall embodies the show's metalite theatricality by turning the fact he plays both Tess's Queenie right hand man Sean. Can we say Queenie? I don't know how I feel about that. And Ally's vodka swilling gospel teacher Miss Loretta into a running gag. He makes a virtue out of the show's scrappy DNA and madcap extemporaneous air. There's a good line about Coldplay Kiss camps. Are we calling that a good line? Where are our standards, everybody? That was not good. That was foisted. Yes, an awful lot of the songs in the first act are filler. Yes, we are expected more than once to invest in a roof scorching power ballad delivered by a character we have only just met. And sometimes it's hard to know if the show is being wink Wink, referential or simply derivative? I'll give you a hint, it's the second one. Be it the echoes of Hamilton and Sweet Charity in the relentless genre bopping score or the odd visual nod to Chorus Line and Cabaret, which I didn't pick up on too much, aside from, you know, the way that cabaret and the cherography of it all and the bowler hat of it all have kind of filtered into contemporary jazz and burlesque just inherently prior to the movie. Even now. This is where we're going to turn it around, I feel into a four star review, yet the buzz is infectious. And like I said in my review, I can't call this terrible because I had a smile on my face for much of it. I was enjoying myself in my seat. Even with a fairly terrible view. Foley is formidable as Ali, easily Aquilera's equal as a singer and managing transition from supposed comic klutz to burlesque vamp with ease. An inconceivable ease, but an ease nonetheless. The first act suffers from its own storyline by parading a succession of standard burlesque routines, the very reason why the club is floundering. But the second ramps up the raunch and we have some notices for the men as well. George Maguire brings relish to the English upper class comedy villain Vince, and there's lovely work from Paul Jacob French as Ally's lazily charming love interest. Jackson, lazily charming coming. He is that. And Asher Parker Wallace finds prima donna Nikki's sharp angles and soft core. Claire finishes by saying there's an irony to a show that spends a lot of time telling us what burlesque is while sacrificing specificity in its determination to generate general, cheesy giddy delirium. But who cares? It's a cult hit in the making. Once again, I feel the energy of a critic just being charmed and won over by the joy of a show. Which is nice enough stuff to notice because so often, especially for critics who see anywhere between like two and five performances in a week and are constantly writing about them, it's easy to feel fatigued and it's easy to think of these long standing professional theatre critics as fatigued. And it's nice to know that sometimes the charm and the joy and the entertainment factor of the whole thing can win them over as easily as it can win over general audiences. And yet, having read those two reviews, which were higher than my own, I don't know if I feel persuaded that they highlighted much that I hadn't noticed and enjoyed. I just felt as though those factors were more mitigated by all of the other stuff than they did. They sort of tied both of those reviews up with a ribbon of not caring about the problems because it's so entertaining, which is a valid enough thing to say. It just wasn't my experience or my entertaining. Ribbon is what got it to a three, not to a four or five.
- [18:16]
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- [19:48]
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Five speaking of a three, that's where we are heading next. Let's go to Stage then. This is the wonderful Paul Vale messy, overextended movie musical adaptation with star turns from Jess Foley and Ore is how he has characterized this. Now of course, the Stage newspaper was the one that broke the story about the Equity investigation happening backstage, so that is alluded to in the first paragraph and linked to within their own website subsequently. Paul goes on to say there are plenty of liberties taken with the original narrative, but the skeleton of Anton's story remains the same name here. Ally, a spunky young singer in a gospel choir, journeys from Iowa to New York to find her birth mother. It turns out that her glamorous, outspoken mother, Tess, operates a failing burlesque lounge. Talking more about the plot. Talking more about the plot. Ally's fresh ideas and killer vocals turn the business around. But her family's secret threatens to derail all their plans, for reasons that I never entirely buy into. But let's hear what else Paul has to say for all the dramas on stage and off. Burlesque is an upbeat, sassy story packed with astounding vocals. Very true. Extensively from Foley and Orfeh. And some genuinely exciting dance routines. Side note, I love that for whatever reason, we adopt the surnames of individuals when we talk about them after giving their full name first. So you say Jess Folly the first time and then you just say Folly shines in this role. And I love how Orfeh, with just a singular name, defies the ability for you to do that. The only thing they could do instead is just leave a conspicuous pause in the text and you have to infer that Orfeh is who they're talking about. Where was I? Some genuinely exciting dance routines choreographed by Hall Anton's script flips the dynamic of the story, pitching classic burlesque against the new wave while engendering a sense of family solidarity and equality within the workplace, which I wanted more of. There was an effort made in that direction as we journeyed into the start of the second act. There was a sense of the ethos backstage having been changed as much as the performances on stage by the arrival of Ali. But I don't know that it felt. Felt toxic and negative enough beforehand that that was able to feel like much of a contrast because, you know, it was chaotic in the first act and nobody was ready and there were problems, but it still felt like a family. And this, I think, highlights a big problem with the show that I hadn't fully processed before, which is that they don't want to dip enough into the darkness and the grit and the dirt of it all in the first act so that they can emerge into the light in the second. They don't want to make those burlesque performances stale so that Ali can criticize them and revamp them. They don't want to make Tess this imposing and mean spirited boss figure who is changed by the arrival of her daughter. And I understand the reluctance to do that, but I think those are necessary elements of the story that they're trying to tell in this version. Let's go back to Paul. Broadway actor Orfeh making her West End debut Steps confidently into Cher's shoes. And what shoes those must be her mellifluous been around the block mezzo vocals belt out knowingly welcome to burlesque. But there's a sensitivity there too, as she sings of the daughter she never knew. Like I, I said, it's Mamma Mia. But in New York, which incidentally Mamma Mia now once again is Foley is an absolute smash. Naturally easy on stage with great comic timing, yes, but possessing a powerhouse voice that soars through the auditorium, Anton's script also places hall center stage as Tess's right hand man, Sean, providing much of the comedy and occasionally breaking the fourth wall. Now, we haven't had many creative details yet, but here are some words on Nate Bertone's set design, which I'll remind you. Very different from the world premiere production in Manchester designed by Sutra James Gilmour. Although essentially a composite set broken up with a versatile projected backdrop, Nate Bertone's design features some very awkward sightlines. I'm glad somebody else said it. I think Paul ended up being far right of the auditorium of the stalls, but was many rows further back, which would be more advantageous than where I was, which was third row far left. I don't advise you to sit there. There were many moments where it was great having such proximity, but they bring out tables at the front of the stage, on the sides of the stage and two chairs at each and they just extend too far and they block unlock really important parts of burlesque performances and musical numbers. And it was maddening that they would extend that far out at the front of the stage. Likewise, Marco. Marco's costumes are a bit of a hit and miss affair and I trust Paul Vale when it comes to design. Never living up to the spectacle of the songs and dance routines. It could all be much tighter. And hall in his debut as director loses focus occasionally. I agree with that as well. Otherwise this is a noisy, fun show that actually stands head and shoulders above, above the source material. There you go. There is somebody who, you know, had mixed feelings about the show but actively seems not to have liked the film. I'm going to scan through Clive Davis's thoughts in the Times. I know I said I wouldn't do this. This is also a three star review, which is why I'm not dwelling for much longer. Todrick hall is called roguish and mischievous here. Anton has shifted the story from LA to New York. I think he's the first to mention that fully, utterly compelling. Whenever she gets her moment center stage, you only wish too that the petite Orfeh had more opportunities to showcase a voice voice that's a mixture of granite and bourbon. Great descriptor and so true. I wish she did too, clive says. The sex is fairly sedate, the dancing tinged with louche Bob Fosse moves tantalizingly. Brief numbers are allotted to the different members of the club's ensemble, though the one striptease is reserved for Jake Dupree's impressively chiseled trans performer Trey Alias Chardonnay, which is a collection of adjectives I haven't entirely decided how I feel about yet. But I'm glad for Jake Dupree getting another mention, as does Paul Jacob French, although that is because Clive says the after the interval, the love interest between Ally and the barman Jackson fizzles out after a long and slightly awkward bedroom scene. So true, bestie, so true. George Maguire copes manfully with the role of Tess's unscrupulous English ex Vince, a sneering figure who might easily have wandered in from a Disney cartoon. Clive concludes by saying it wasn't always possible to make out the lyrics to the songs, but the ensemble's sheer energy made A amends 3 stars 165 minutes and before we move on to the 2 star review, I must visit WatsonStage.com and see what they had to say. This, I believe, is a review from Managing editor Alex Wood. He called it a frivolous and flimsy frolic. Good alliteration. Lovely work there. A long and winding road has brought burlesque to the West End. Alex, having also covered the story of of the backstage drama the Equity Investigation, then recaps some of what has been reported on that front, and the switch up in creative team with Nick Winston having been jettisoned in favor of co composer, songwriter and star Todrick hall, now wearing as many hats on the creative side as he does on stage as the opulent fashionista Sean I know for a fact that Mr. Wood has watched my video where I multiple times made comments about the number of different hats Todrick hall was wearing, and I feel he may have been subconsciously influenced by my own wording there. Although let's be honest, I didn't invent the expression let's carry on. It's not the job of a critic. Mr. Wood continues to review whatever took place before a production has its opening night Review no Discuss, yes. In short, therefore, the most straightforward verdict is that whatever disquiet may have come before good word Burlesque is now a perfectly fine musical an entirely average run of the mill engaging evening. This is a three star review that is going to let you know in every single Descendants we follow one Ally Rose, a small town Iowa singer in search for her birth mother and the chance of making it big. Taking the mid afternoon Greyhound. Gosh, he was paying attention. Heading to the Big Apple's Port Authority Bus Terminal. The details. My goodness. She finds herself surrounded by the bright city lights and drawn to a burlesque club. Aren't we all? Led by the firebrand Tess in dire need of a pick me up while entangled in a fight for its future. In similar fashion to the Bring It On Musical, a lot of the original film's plot has been jettisoned. The action is moved from Los Angeles to New York, a very protracted plot about parental angst is added and some newfangled concerts. Concern about financial dire straits is forced onto the top with an interesting and very uniquely conceived footnote to follow about the pertinence of this subplot because of the loss of alternative performance spaces around the UK and the US due to redevelopment or rising costs. An easy example being the fight to save the legendary Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Circling back then, I suspect I spent more of my childhood watching these kinds of films than Alex did. I believe the Bring It On Musical differs from the first film because it combines the plot of multiple Bring it on movies. Anyway, Alex says it's not helped by Stephen Antin's baggy storyline. A show like burlesque isn't meant to live or die by its plotting, which is why it's so frustrating that there's so much of it in between. The big heavyweight crowd pleaser numbers, a Sharpie and a few hours of tough love could easily shave 20 minutes off the show and leave little worse for wear. I quite agree. And he goes on to say, just like I did in my review, the second half of Act 2 veers close to being a slight mess. And I would actually take that further. I would say it veers entirely off the clock cliff of slight mess and descends towards the forest of mess beneath. But they unfurl parachutes of nonsense and cheap charm in order to save themselves a grisly death. And if you're thinking this actually sounds worse at this point than a three star review, here comes the glittery ribbon that I've been telling you about. Things really do come to life during Hall's choreo heavy moments. Act 2 opener Express when Ally finds her feet in the club or Tessa's big 11 o' clock number sufficiently bring the house down. Other standout passages come with the Wagon Wheel, Watusi or Tough Lover, while there's some surprisingly deft stagecraft in ammo delivered by pseudo villain Vince. I agree, I liked how that was staged. Less successful is the award nominated tune Bound to youo performed over a protracted and awkward sex scene that only gains power when it transforms into a sultry cabaret number. Yes, exactly, it does. The problem with that is that it then goes back into what it was before and then continues continues for a strange amount of time. Once again, that scene is getting called protracted here, which whether you're on stage or off is not not a great adjective for your romantic liaisons. Where Burlesque succeeds is in its casting Jess Foley, also co composer on a selection of tracks, only one of which has made it into the show, it's worth pointing out, is a star in the making as Ali effortlessly blasting through the film's famed staples in a scintillating mix of dance and vocal skill. Authority Tess, making her West End debut after years as a Broadway legend, has a steady magnetism that sells her status as a club owner willing to battle against the odds for her establishment. And I like Orfeh's Broadway legend status getting acknowledged here. The people must know who she is and I can't bring myself to disagree with any of the positive praise for Orfeh for Jess Foley. They are both fantastic in this, it must be said. Sets and costumes, despite the controversies, never look cheap or ineffective. Marco Marco's work across the 165 minute show is suitably lavish and eye catching and gives each member of the burlesque ensemble their own sense of clear cut identity and verve. Indeed, Nate Pattone's sets successfully hop between different locations with relative speed, bringing a perfect blend of seediness and well worn care to Tess Club. One snag is a largely unnecessary faux proscenium chipping away at the already narrow Savoy stage and making it all too squashed and cramped, which has a knock on effect of several other challenging elements when it comes to bringing in and taking away set pieces. And I hadn't thought to attribute that to the proscenium. I liked the proscenium. It's a little bit Phantom of the Opera, but I enjoyed it. What I didn't enjoy was the implication for the sight lines and the congestion. Rory Beaton's lighting design, first mentioned for that largely dynamic, occasionally bombards the senses and detracts from what's happening on stage by casting roaming Lights out into the auditorium. And at the same time, there's every possibility that that may have actually been the requested assignment. Now here's some interesting transparency, because there were two nights of press performances. I was at the second, which was the opening night of audience, in which it was producers and their guests and performer guests and a small handful of critics and a fascinating selection of celebrities. Alex attended the night before, which, as he tells us here, was a press preview, not the vocally effusive friends and family that attend on opening night and that the audience there were loving it all. An authentic audience for Hindus looking for a hoot or an office looking for an excellent team outing. Depends. Depends on the business, I dare say. Neck a few and head to burlesque. It will leave you whooping with glee. And I am never against necking a few and heading to the theatre. Let me tell you. Some powerhouse performances, popping choreography and a select few one liners bring the joy in perfectly adequate measures. Which feels like it ought to be the final line. But no, Alex has to remind us that he didn't actually like this and that sounded too positive. He goes on to say, but it's a show broadly lacking in flair or heart, chugging through the motions like a well oiled machine without the sweaty, graining authenticity that made the film so messy. Memorable. That's how I recall the film as well. There's also little here that feels original. You get some strangely specific references to Jamie Lloyd's production of Sunset Boulevard, which ran at the same theatre two years ago, while one number is staged like a strange mix between Moulin Rouge's the Sparkling diamond and Matilda's School Song. I hadn't thought about that, but yes, yes, it is. Special mention does, however, have to go to Hall's excellent improvised line about Coldplay and affairs. Okay, everyone else loved this, clearly. Every single other critic, every audience member ever. Is it me? Am I the problem? Is it just me? I listen. If I'm not at a pantomime performance, I don't know how I feel about hypertopical jokes, especially ones that feel cheap. I feel like if you're cashing in on fleeting virality, I just. I just don't enjoy it anyway. Oh my gosh. Okay. Mr. Wood finishes by saying, I often think about Gabrielle Union's famed line as chastity in 10 things I hate about you. I know, Alex, we're friends. And I had no idea that this was a reference that lived in his mind as much as it does in mind. I say this to Aaron often The line is, I know you can be underwhelmed and I know you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever be just whelmed? He answers by saying someone has finally found her an answer. Burlesque the musical in the West End. Oh my gosh, the number of characters that it must have taken up that he really wanted to dedicate to getting that quote in there. I have nothing but respect for that decision on how to end this particular review. And if you're curious, the answer in the film to the question question can you ever be just whelmed? Is I think you can in Europe. So I guess it's still.
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Propel with Gatoradem electrolytes Hold up. Anyway, we have reached the echelon that I landed at and the star rating which I gave Burlesque in my own review which was a three star. Let us now dive deeper into the more negative opinions, starting with my friend Stefan Kiryatsis in the Express. This is a two star review and he writes the new musical Burlesque is a great big glittering bomb. Don't read this one aloud in airport security. They won't let you on the plane. Christina and Todrick hall combine to bring the cult film Burlesque to the stage and I wish they hadn't, he tells us. First, let me be clear. I have soft spot for the much maligned 2010 movie and thought Aguilera was rather good in it. See, this is interesting because here is someone who likes the film didn't like the stage show. Earlier we heard from someone who liked the stage show more than the film that they didn't like. This is where the subjectivity of not just theatre but also film begins to play into all of this. Second, the excellent cast of this noisy frantic mess of a musical are in impressive explosion of vocal and dance talent, if not so great at the acting. But even that I imagine can mainly be put down to the disastrous writing and directing, ostensibly by the film's Steve Antin, but allegedly increasingly a last minute Frankenstein cobbling together by the all singing, dancing, quipping, choreographing and spotlight hogging Todrick Hall. Oh, at times Stefan goes on to say, it's hard to remember the show isn't actually all about him. At its heart is a fantastic debut performance by rising singer songwriter Jess Foley, who is blessed with an outrageous voice and easy charm. Both very true. She even wrote and music musically arranged a couple of the numbers as Ali, the Iowa waitress who heads to New York to find her mother a major change from the film and pursue her singing dreams, she is a constant shining delight. Is a plane landing outside of my window that's just carrying on and only getting louder Should I be concerned? Am I in danger here? We're going to carry on if I do die I've always wanted it to be. During critical discourse, Aguilera co wrote many of the film's best numbers and Show Me how youw Burlesque and particularly the sultry roof raising Bound to youo are highlights of the musical that contrast harshly with a slew of new forgettable pastiche numbers mainly composed by Todrick Hall. An excruciating spoof boy band number Natalie is the Low Point and was done far better in Clueless. Did remind me of the song in Clueless. It was giving reasonable doubts. But isn't that interesting that that song that was singled out as brilliant in a previous review is called the Low Point here by Stefan? And finally, some vindication for me. As he says, hall gives us a perky pile of cliches and far too many fourth wall breaking asides about baby reindeer and that couple caught at the Coldplay concert. Vindicated? Vindicated I am. He is undeniably charismatic. So true. And a talented all round entertainer. Yes, but what is this panto? He also plays Ally's hometown choir mistress as some form of low rent sassy black Mrs. Doubtfire. Neither role has any interior life or dimensions beyond camp. But this also is absolutely the fault of the entire concept and creation of the show that sacrifices every single emotional and dramatic beat in favor of cheap gags and any empty glitz. And I believe I said something similar about a disco ball with a lot of spark on the outside and next to no structure. Similarly, entertainer Orfeh, as the club's owner tests a towering, nuanced creation by Cher, just stomps angrily around trying not to lose her business. She has a staggering voice, but never convinces in any brief and rare emotional moments. And you know, I think she does when she is singing. And I attribute this far more to shallow material material. And this production heinously hacks in half her big number. You haven't seen the last of me. Oh, how we could have talked about this. And then ruins it with ugly rushed orchestrations. And that's what Aaron said. My stagey fiance, Aaron James. I said we needed twice as much of the song because they cut it in half. And he said, and they did it so, so quickly. Now, we haven't heard much about the musical direction, but Stefan is ready to tell us what he thinks. Here on a low level with the uneven sledgehammer direction, is the entire musical arrangement, which is frequently too fast, too tinny, too messy. All the up tempo numbers, instead of exhilarating us, just start to grate. The staging has excellent moving sets and a superb main backdrop screen that's the work of Nate Batone, set designer. The dancers are uniformly sensational, but the space is too small. We've heard about why and the group numbers often look cramped with more references to the strength of the film. He says the film subversively worked powerful themes about female oppression and empowerment from the unhappily pregnant to answer to Kristen Bell's messed up alcoholic pseudo villain. None of that registers here. Everything is played for laughs and all conflicts are laughably easily resolved. Zero dramatic tension, zero depth. There is more. There is a note about Tess's toxic ex Vince, played by George Maguire, barely a panto cartoon sleaze, and his toe curling punishment dressed up in a corset and fishnets feels copied from the 9 to 5 musical. That's what I said, Steph, and that's what what I said. Everything feels like it has been done better elsewhere. All the attempts at dazzling balescrie feels like very pale shadows of Moulin Rouge. I agree, except for one standout moment when dancer Trey Jake Dupri finally gets to be his true self. Chardonnay for a brief 60 second showcase. They bring the house down. This production needs far more visceral, vibrant moments like this. And it's on that note that Stefan finishes seriously, this helicopter. I have been slightly worried this production was going to sue me. Didn't expect them to send the police and certainly not by air. But yes, and I think it's very powerful to actually end that review with the commentary about J pri's solo burlesque showcase moment because it does stand entirely apart from the rest of the show. You're like, oh, this is what it ought to be and this is what burlesque is. Honestly. Now that obviously was a very negative review. That was certainly a two star. That felt like a two star. So brace yourselves for the impact of this one star review that we are going to go to next. And I don't usually like to frequent the Daily Message, but for a one star review and Patrick Marmion, I will make an exception. So here it is, a laborious theatrical rehash of an already lamentable film. We have had didn't like the film but like the musical a little bit more we have had loved the film but didn't like the musical. Get ready for hated the film, hated the musical, hating all of this. Oh, this one's gonna be be fun. How to make a Travesty out of a Travesty look no further than last night's West End opening of Burlesque the Musical, a theatrical rehash of the lamentable 2010 film Burlesque. Already a predictable yarn about a small town girl from Iowa, Ally, who finds herself working in a cash strapped New York nightclub. It's now been rendered improbable too, after being tweaked by writer Stephen Antin. So the owner turns out to be Ali's long lost mother. And in fairness, that is what motivates her to go to the the club in the first place. So it's not extraordinarily unlikely. Aquilera fooled almost no one as that small town girl in the original. And the X Factor, the band winner Jess Foley doesn't fare much better as the church choir refugee in need of a job, although I hope we get some mention of her brilliant vocals later as Ally's mother, Tess, Broadway star Orfeh is like a surly Barbie doll in 8 inch patterned heels, S and M bodice and Cupid's bow lipstick. Both women can live without each other and run a torturous scale on every syllable of every note, bending notes like uniforms. Yuri Geller there we disagree. Patrick Marmion I thought they sounded fantastic. Effort cannot be faulted, except there's way too much of it in a laborious evening pushing three hours. I mean, if you're gonna cut anything, don't cut those two women singing. That's when it works. Our main man Todrick hall even jokes that his back hurts from carrying the show. He wrote 20 out of the song's excessive 28 songs, all of them generic gospel rap pop mash ups, including contributions from Aguilera, Sia. Is it gospel rap pop? I've been calling it a sort of contemporary queer pop. Not content with directing and choreographing, hall also grabs two roles, which in fairness he was doing those first. He's certainly the funniest thing in a show in serious need of comic relief. But Antin's script, adapted from his film, is flat as an Iowa homestead, Iowa catching strays, and only fitfully enlivened by topical gags about baby reindeer, Coldplay and a TikTok meme. Oh, he liked those. Okay, we're back to my Back to my incredulity. The best moments come from supporting actors, especially Paul Jacob French as Jackson. In all of these reviews, I don't think he's been praised enough actually as the cool, bone dry barman and Asher Parker Wallace as the sassy but errant chorus girl Nikki. The would be steamy choreography certainly features a fair bit of flesh, but it's rote oven ready eroticism. And that fascinating choice of an adjective aside, I do feel compelled to point out to you, if you have any burlesque performers in your home, please do not put them in the oven. A lot of somersaults, a little light cancan and any number of scissor splits. Plus a bit of Chippendales and boy band action for the coach parties. The upshot is rambling raunch musical cliche and automated whooping. May it rest in peace. Wow, so he didn't like that one is what I'm taking from that review. And we have reached the point where there are things I objectively do disagree with in that particular review. Like I said, everyone is entitled to their own valid opinions. And if you hate the film that much going into it, chance, chances are you also aren't going to like the stage show. And sometimes those are the conditions under which critics arrive to shows. It doesn't mean they shouldn't be reviewing it, but chances are they won't be reflective of the general audience because if a general audience member, if a general theatre goer hates a film, then they are probably not going to buy a ticket to go and see the stage musical adaptation, unlike the critic who is given that assignment. So in that regard, not necessarily indicative of the audience at the Savoy Theatre, but worth it if only to give us that theatrical Yahtzee of a full 5 star to 1 star spectrum proof proving that the same piece of theatre can lead us all to incredibly different intellectual and emotional responses. And what I take from all of that, having not particularly heard that much that I hadn't already been considering about the show, is that burlesque is this combination of inherent theatrical shortcomings in the material with legitimately great, thrilling musical numbers, which is kind of how I characterized the show when I spoke about it in my review. And you know, how far that one thing pulls it versus to what extent the other redeems it and mitigates those problems is for you to decide. And it's now the time for you to do so. If you haven't already and you have seen the show, please comment down below with your own little review, your appraisal of the musical on stage, and crucially, your star rating. You've got a one to five option. Where do you fall? No half stars here. No half stars in Mickey Joe Theatre. Please. You're gonna have to get right off that fence. It isn't load bearing. Anyway, this has been a review roundup of Burlesque the Musical. I hope that you have enjoyed talking through each of those very different reviews as much as I have, and I hope that it's made you excited about theatre criticism. I think theatre criticism is very exciting. Let me know if there are any other shows coming up or recently that you would like me to talk about the reviews of. I don't make these for every single opening, but sometimes when they are so divided, it's really interesting to talk about. Anyway, in the meantime, I hope that you enjoyed this. If you did, make sure to click that subscribe button here on YouTube. It's very helpful to me. Or go follow me on podcast platforms or other social media platforms. And I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theater. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey Day. Subscribe.
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