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'The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical', and why there are 2 of them... | The truth behind the news
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Micky Jo
Now, I'm not sure I ever envisioned saying this exact combination of words, but will the real Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical Please stand up. Please stand up. Please stand up. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. My name is Micky Jo and I'm obsessed with all things theatre. I am a professional theater critic, which is making me laugh right now because I'm sat talking to a camera in this ensemble. In answer to the questions that are likely now arising if you're seeing me for the first time, no, I do not always dressed like this. No, it is not very cold in my flat. If anything, it's something of a furnace. And in fact, I regret this immediately. But I am attired like this today because we are going to be discussing the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial musical. Both of them. Because as a stagey content creator and pundit and an avid London theatre goer, I have noticed that we are entering the festive season as far as shows are concerned. Pantomimes have begun and other seasonal offerings and it's starting to get a little bit weird because there are not one, but two shows based on the recent trial involving the Academy Award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and a skiing accident that she was involved in. Now, if this trial wasn't a full cultural phenomenon, it was at the very least a gay cultural phenomenon which tends to inspire works of theatre. But somehow we have literally ended up with two happening at almost exactly the same time. So let's talk about which one is the real Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial musical you've been hearing about in the headlines and how they have both come to coexist. Not since the Wild Party am I right? Now, if you enjoyed today's video, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel. I share many more videos about theatre news. I also review the shows that I have been invited to go and see, and I cover goings on not only in London, but also on Broadway. So make sure you hit that subscribe button to stay abreast of theatrical news worldwide. And if you have already got tickets to go and see either of the shows I'm talking about in today's video, please let me know in the comment section down below. I am honestly deeply fascinated. For now, let's talk about the two Duellings Gwyneth Paltrow ski Trial shows coming to London so inexplicably. And though many shows aren't able to gain kind of mainstream media coverage beyond dedicated theatrical Outlets like what's Onstage or Playbill or Broadway World. The Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial musical made international news and was covered by Rolling Stone and Variety and huge outlets who don't normally talk about London theatre. This made enough noise that I had multiple people messaging me asking me to go and see the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial musical because they were obsessed with this idea. They were fascinated about how this was going to work. But though it was covered by those journalists, I'm not sure they necessarily did their due diligence because the way it was reported, though it was great exposure for this show, wasn't necessarily a very accurate description of what the show actually was to start with. It's not a musical. So let's talk about the one that was announced first, the one that got all of this international coverage. I am talking about Linus Karp's show, Gwyneth Goes Skiing, which is coming to the Pleasants Theatre in Islington next month. Hold on, let me get my phone out of my pocket. Wait, can I use this? No. Oh, I've made a terrible decision with these gloves. Oh, yeah. So Linus Karp of Awkward Productions is the hilarious and bizarre performer and creator behind such recent Fringe hits as the Untold and Untrue Story, in which Linus played Lady Diana Spencer, and also how to Live a Jellicle Life lessons from the 2019 hit movie musical Cats. Both of these shows have run successfully at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as at the Pleasants in London. I have seen both of them before, and I would describe Linus's shows as being at the intersection of performance art, one person shows, and kind of like a theatricalized PowerPoint presentation. It's a little bit of a TED talk that utilizes every single Twitter meme you've ever seen. Can I say Twitter meme anymore now that it's not a thing? X meme doesn't sound correct, but Linus's shows are historically crafted within the smouldering core of of gay culture, which is how he came to play Diana and why he is now turning his attention towards Gwyneth Paltrow. So this next show, then, Gwyneth Goes Skiing, an appropriate bit of festive programming. I'm gonna put a picture up alongside me reading this description of the show because I think it will help you to understand the vibe of what we're talking about here. She's the GOOP founding door sliding, Shakespearean, loving, consciously uncoupling Hollywood superstar. That's four great Gwyneth Paltrow references right there. He's a retired optometrist from Utah. In 2016, they went skiing on the slopes of Deer Valley. Their worlds collided and so did they. Literally. Ouch. Seven years later, in 2023, they went to court. Double ouch. This is their story. Kind of not really, but also it's at Christmas. Join harbingers of queer Chaos, awkward productions of Diana the Untold, An Untrue Story and How to Live a Jellicle Life as they transform London's Pleasance Theatre into Deer Valley ski resort. A brand new show for Christmas 2023, a story of love, betrayal, skiing and somehow Christmas where you are the witness for the prosecution be damned. That, if you didn't know, is the courtroom set Agatha Christie play currently running in London in a site specific production in an actual courtroom in county hall on the South Bank. Prepare to be gooped by O J E. Bring your own jade eggs. Honestly, I don't know enough about Gwyneth Paltrow's whole goop situation to catch all of these references. But it of course stars Linus Carp as Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Martin as Terry Sanderson, which I am very excited about because Joseph, who has always been alongside Linus, was an undersung highlight of the Diana show. And while Linus is hilarious and brilliant, I do think that what the two of them managed to achieve on stage together is even greater. In the Diana Show, Joseph was the puppeteer of the sort of demonic, possessed Camilla Parker Bowles puppet. And if at this point in the video you still hadn't grasped the kind of a campy tone that we're talking about with these shows, I feel like you understand at this point. And he also played Paddington Bear, who obviously was a character in that story as well. Finally, I want to draw your attention to one more little detail here. It features original by Leland, who is credited with RuPaul's Drag Race, Cher's Christmas and Troye Savann's Something to Give each Other. If you are wondering if this person was gay enough to be working on this show, those credits are a trifecta of yes, yes they are. But as the two have been clear to point out at every turn, as they've been enjoying all of this unprecedented international news coverage, the show is not actually a musical. I would anticipate it being not like their previous shows in terms of its form and style, where it is going to be a play that utilizes some music and I feel like it's going to be more campy and sketch like and less PowerPoint presentation, Ted Talk ish. Just based on the fact that they have the two of them and it's not Lena Stallone on stage. Which is another thing that I welcome because I enjoyed the Jellicle show, but I enjoyed the Diana show more because it felt like the capabilities of what it could be were growing into something more theatrical. I've said the word theatrical a lot. I keep putting my gloves back on and I can't use my phone to get the other press release. But all of this is to say is that when you first heard buzz about this show and you saw those headlines, that was the show that it was talking about. That is the show that garnered all of this international attention because it was the first to be announced. And though I believe it is already very well sold, it is going to be running at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington between the 13th and 23rd December. They've actually added more dates due to popular demand. It's only a 90 minute show. Tickets are available from pound 15. So if you're looking for an alternative Christmas show this year because maybe you're sick of all of the pantomimes or like me, you refuse to go and see another production of A Christmas Carol while the country still continues to elect a conservative government because they don't understand what irony is, then consider going to see this. And that would be the end of this news bulletin if it weren't for an email that I got a few weeks ago and genuinely gasped out loud. Because to misquote the end of Dreamgirls, there isn't only one Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical, there are two. So let me tell you about the other one. So six days ago came this I wish you well, the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical, a work in progress concert starring Zizi Strallen as Gwyneth Paltrow. Lots to unpack there immediately. Music and lyrics by Rick Pearson, Book and additional lyrics by Roger Dipper. Monday 11th December at the Turbine Theatre at 7pm Hence the gasp, because not only was this being announced after the other Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial show and after all of the international news coverage which had kind of falsely labeled it as a musical, but this one, which actually was a musical calling itself the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical, was announcing that it was going to be taking place two days before the other one opens, which initially felt sneaky and it felt like a little bit of an opportunity to grab at the attention that the other one had and take advantage of that situation. But was that actually the case? Stay tuned, I will explain. First of all, let's talk about this show itself. So I wish you well is based on something that Gwyneth Paltrow said during the trial and it's a cute little title. It does also remind me of the song I wish you well. I wish you well. And I barely know pop music to begin with, so you know that other people are making that connection. Connection. And this is not a jukebox show. This is going to have original songs. In fact, if we read on in the press release, it says it features future classics such as do you know Taylor, I'm Gwynnocent, presented without comment and the 11 o'clock number I wish you well. This hilariously camp and surprisingly moving musical concert is a one of a kind courtroom drama bursting with idol worship and heart. Just before that, it said, fresh from a guided mushroom retreat in Mexico, Academy Award winner, entrepreneur and devastating downhill skier Gwyneth Paltrow has arrived in a snoozy UT room. I wish you well tells the inspiring story of Gwyneth Paltrow as she defends her legacy in the most iconic ski collision trial in history, low bar. And develops an unlikely friendship with small town lawyer Kristen, who, let's be honest, was the breakout star of that whole trial. If you were following it at the time, she was, she was fascinating. So this clearly is an actual musical version with original songs written by Rick Pearson and Roger Dipper, who has also written the book. And so it's more in line with what people are expecting the Gwyneth Paltrow show to be that the other outlets were talking about, even though they were talking about Linus's show and not this one. Which is what makes this feel like a kind of an opportunistic production. However, this is happening in a couple of weeks and this press release was only sent out a week ago. And I know for a fact that musicals cannot be written that quickly. They just can't. Musicals of any quality at least. And having done a little bit of digging, I have it on very good authority that this was in development prior to the announcement of Linus's show. Were they planning to necessarily stage it this December? It seems unlikely, especially because what they're putting on here is not the first production of the show. It's a one night only work in progress concert, which is not that unusual a thing. In London right now. In the last month there have been many semi staged concert productions of Developing musicals like Babies and Super U and Billy the Kid. We've seen other shows finding a lot of success by doing this. And so it seems like a lot of new musical projects are considering this route to try and develop an early audience and gain a little bit of feedback during that development process. But those shows have been mostly taking place in West End theatres. And this is happening at the Turbine, which is an off West End theatre in Battersea that's absolutely worth visiting, but it is a very small venue. The fact that this show was able to sell out so quickly is indicative of the fact that there is intrigue there and there is an audience, but also it's a very low capacity. So this feels less like it's trying to establish an enormous buzz with a lot of people getting the chance to see it early on and more like it's just important for them to actually have the show take place. Now, why might that be, I hear you ask? Well, maybe it's because if you find yourself writing a musical based on the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial and then another show gets announced before you are ready to announce yours, and that show gets international coverage calling it the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski trial musical, it leaves you in a very difficult position, in an impossible position, really, especially when that show isn't even a musical and yours is. So then when you see all of this excitement and bafflement and intrigue about the concept of a Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial musical, it's difficult because that's the thing that you are writing, but you haven't announced it yet. So even though the show may not be ready for a full production, you announce a one night only version just to try and get it out there alongside the other one. So yes, I think the timing is deliberate and suspicious and the two shows are kind of at odds with each other. And this announcement feels very much in response to the admittedly surprisingly large news coverage that the other one got. But I also feel like they were kind of left with no choice. Like because of the skiing aspect. It does feel like a winter show and producers think about those kind of things. So if they were to wait an entire year and put it on next Christmas, it would just feel like a rehash of the thing that we'd seen the Christmas before. Let's talk about some of the other cast members that are in this one, because we have slightly more performers, twice as many in fact. So we have ZZ Strellon playing Gwyneth Paltrow recently Seen as Mary Poppins in the West End production of Mary Poppins, which she was glorious in. Since then she's been doing a few new musicals. She was in Rock Follies at Chichester Festival Theatre. She was in Cake, another developing show that had a miniature run at the Lyric Theatre in the West End. And she is kind of perfect for Gwyneth Paltrow, although it's been a long time since I've heard her do an American accent, Obviously a long way away from the Mary Poppins voice. So I'll be very intrigued to hear what she actually sounds like and how she manages to capture Gwyneth's essence, her goopy, goopy essence. We also have Lizzie Connelly playing a character named Kristen Fangirlin, which evidently is not her government name. I saw her not long ago playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret in Paris, of all places. We also have Ollie Higginson as Terry Sightworsens. Now, Ollie is quite young to be playing this character, which again makes it feel like if the names hadn't already made this clear. Very kind of campy and irreverent retelling of this trial. He's been seen on Bridgerton. I saw him in the last five years in London. We also have Idris Cargbo as Judge. Judge, that's the official name. Idris has been in the Scottsboro Boys and Shrek and Wicked and also the Lion King. Now the other one was a 90 minute show. This is advertising a 60 minute running time, which really suggests to me that it was developing and they don't have all of the material together yet and they really weren't ready for a full version of this show. This is all just by speculation, though. I don't want to say anything necessarily disparaging or to suggest that people shouldn't go and see it, but it's also already sold out. So whatever I say here also doesn't really matter because you can't get tickets unless there are returns or any last minute availability anyway. But it is going to be at the Turbine Theatre in Battersea on the 11th of December. So that is the situation. Hopefully that offers a little bit more clarity. I am not actually planning on currently seeing either of those shows I found with Linuses before, and I'm taking a little bit of a gamble here, but they do tend to come back and this is the first outing. Like I saw the Diana show last December at the Pleasants and it then ran the following summer at the Edinburgh Fringe. So I'm hoping there will be future opportunities to see the Gwyneth show, and I feel like it will have benefited from a little bit more development because it's only really having about two preview performances before they have the press in at this particular run, and so I want to give it the opportunity to get a little bit stronger. Also, the real factor here is that my December is so, so busy. So if you are looking forward to a Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial show review, there will not be one from me here on YouTube this December, sadly. But keep your eyes peeled in the future, because I dare say we are going to see both of these shows skiing back onto another stage before too long. Is that a. Is that a lawnmower? What is that? That does not make sense. With my skiing fantasy. I'm trying to create a vibe here. God, it's warm. Finally, as we hear the sound of gardening happening out of my window, I want to address the question, have we ever seen this actually work for shows before? There being two simultaneous productions adapting the same thing, because this is not the first time that this has happened. Perhaps the most notable example is with the Wild Party, which was seen on and off Broadway back in the early 2000s. There was a version by Lachiusa, there was a version by Andrew Lipper. And though it cemented the two of them alongside each other in theatrical history, it didn't necessarily do either of them any favors at the time, because there was a lot of confusion. People going to the wrong theaters with tickets for the wrong shows, people literally sending gifts and fan mail to the wrong theaters and them having to redirect it to the other one. Of course, like I mentioned before, when you have shows like A Christmas Carol, you can expect to see several of those popping up around Christmas time. In the uk, there are multiple productions of Elf happening simultaneously. There's the Big one happening in London. There's also an arena tour that's been going on, and there will be dozens of amateur productions happening all around the festive season as well. You also have replica pantomimes touring around the UK at different venues. There will be a bunch of Dick Whittingtons. There will be a bunch of Peter Pans. There will be a bunch of snow whites and the Seven Dwarves. Just so many Dwarves. But what made the Wild Party comparatively more surprising is that it was an adaptation of this old poem. And with the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial thing, it's a little bit surprising that two different theatre makers would both seek to make theatrical adaptations of this same event. Not that I don't think any courtroom drama is ripe for theatricalization. Look at the Agatha Christie trial show that was pretty minimal in terms of its adaptation because it literally just took the court transcripts and turned them into a script with very few changes. That was part of the genius of it. But what we might want to hope for here is that even though the concepts of these two shows seem to overlap and the tone seems to be very similar for each, that they might go on to play in kind of different zones. Linus's shows are often existing in places like the Edinburgh Fringe and like the Pleasants, and maybe a book musical version of this will go to slightly different places. Or we're gonna have this nightmare all over again next summer and maybe we'll see both of them at the Edinburgh Fringe. Who knows? We will all have to stay tuned to find out. In the meantime, that is about all I can tell you about this story. I hope that you have enjoyed today's Very Strange Theatre News video. If you did, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel for more theatre news, more reviews and more stagey content coming very soon. Don't forget to comment with all of your thoughts about this down below. Which of the two shows has you more intrigued? Have you got tickets to either of them? Has anyone got tickets to both? Someone should be seeing both. I need someone to go and see these shows and tell me what they're like because I will not be getting the chance. If you want to hear more of my theatre opinions, you can also find me on other social media platforms. I am ickyjoetheatre, on Instagram, on TikTok and on the app formerly known as Twitter. I hope that everyone has been staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Micky Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey Day. Subscribe.