It seems I have reached the point in my career where I must publicly confess to enjoying a musical based on. I know. It’s embarrassing – also a surprise, given I disliked the 1998 romcom starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
The late American film critic Roger Ebert was right when he lambasted the movie as a product of a dumbed-down Hollywood which forced audiences “to watch the goofy plots of the 1930s played sincerely, as if they were really deep.” And in that respect, musical theatre doesThe show is shamelessly shallow and flaunts recycled nostalgia with infectious energy and a nod and a wink to the ridiculousness of it all.
The supporting cast are excellent. Kirby Burgess brings the house down as Robbie’s vampy ex . As his bandmates, Haydan Hawkins and Ed Deganos channel lost members of Aerosmith and Culture Club. Susan-Ann Walker as Robbie’s grandma and Nadia Komazec as Julia’s bestie Holly both revel in comic scenes, with the former breaking into an early hip-hop number, and the latter, in one of the trashiest Act One finales ever, invoking the infamous water scene fromIndeed, the show’s choreography is a major highlight.