Review: NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A MUSICAL, King's Theatre

It's the 1980s in Birmingham, and best friends Gemma (Nikita Johal) and April (Maia Hawkins) are about to turn eighteen and have their whole lives ahead of them. Gemma wants to study nursing, settle down, and have lots of children, whereas April has her sights set on LA and becoming a movie star.

Set to a backdrop of 80s bangers, the girls each head out on their own path and lose touch over the next two decades. As adults, Gemma is played by Nina Wadia with Sam Bailey taking on grown-up April. The main cast all have excellent singing voices but the show feels somewhat disjointed as we mostly only get a snippet of most of the tracks.  

The plot for NOW That's What I Call A Musical somehow manages to be both lacking but also trying to cram in too many different storylines. This coupled with shoehorning in 40 years worth of hit music makes this a slightly exhausting theatre experience. 

There are things to like about this show. The song choices are solid, featuring "Tainted Love"; "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Heart of Glass" and "Video Killed The Radio Star". Some songs are treated to a full staging with themed costumes but others are just fleeting. The cast are good and bring a lot of energy to the stage. There are some decent nostalgia references but the script is also packed with cringeworthy gags. The show is directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood and while there are some great dance moments, much of the choreography is clunky. 

Part of the show is set in 2009, at the girls' school reunion. The big joke here seems to be how much people have 'let themselves go' since high school and it is rehashed several times with the punchlines being body shape and crap jobs. 

Special guest star Sonia makes a welcome appearance to help Gemma through her mid-life crisis and sing "Better The Devil You Know". It was stressed multiple times upon entering the theatre that this is not a sing-along show- I suspect this might be more of a problem on the weekend shows!

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