Wild About You - Drury Lane

[mattnyc]

Man, I’m sad I missed this. lol

[theatrefan62]

This sounds like someone saw carousel and thought they'd 'reinvent it for a modern age'

Also the title of the show doesn't seem to reflect the show at all?

[anthony40]

Wow! It's disappointing to read these negative comments.

[vabbian]

Selling ticket for this tonight 7:30!
Realise I have double booked myself 😑

£10

Royal Circle L29

[shady23]

Well I may be in the minority here but I very much enjoyed it. Affordable tickets, keeping a theatre open for a couple of nights that would normally be dark and a really wonderful cast.

[ladidah]

Can someone spoiler-tag the plot please?

[robertb213]

Mar 26, 2024 13:51:26 GMT ladidah said:

Can someone spoiler-tag the plot please?

See the post last night from esteveyb, that pretty much covers it.

[demelza]

I saw this last night and had a good time! Yes, the show needs a lot of work, but I'd much rather see an original piece like this than something like Cruel Intentions or Clueless... the cast were great and I hope the writers go back to the drawing board with this one as with some rewrites and restructuring I think this could be a pretty good show in a smaller space! But the cast are absolutely what elevated the piece... I did find myself laughing at the end when I shouldn't have due to the staging of the final moment

[Steve]

Having been duly warned by the above posts, I enjoyed some of the first half, basically everything Oliver Tompsett related.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I loved Rachel Tucker singing "What I'm Here to Find," at the climax of the first half, which she belted out passionately, and which sounded like a cover of Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn."

It was slightly unintentionally comedic that she spent the whole first half wondering what she needed to find, while Jamie Muscato, playing her son, popped up behind a pane of glass every time she was wondering. I wanted to shout "He's BEHIND you!" But wasn't confident enough that it was a pantomime to actually do it.

Anyhow, the structure of the first half was the same as Nye at the National, pinched from "The Singing Detective," with a deathbed character in their jammies, looking back on what meant the most in their lives and singing about it.

By and large, the book for the first half fell flat, as Tucker's character felt universally desirable, with everyone begging for her attention, and her spoiled for choice.

The exception to the rule was Oliver Tompsett's lover character's two appearances as Tucker's baby daddy. Stubbled, with unkempt hair, his gentle husky voice built steadily in joyous rapture, grabbing Tucker's hand, and pulling her across and around the stage into a romance which worked a turn on Tucker's Olivia's standoffish character, until, both open mouthed, from an inch away (I hope they remembered their breath mints) they gave each other the full "Islands in The Stream" Dolly Parton-Kenny Rogers style connection that felt like actual drama.

And indeed, they got to fall in love twice, once before and once after conceiving a child, with both such scenes involving and utterly charming.

Unfortunately, all the other scenes in the first half, involving McCormack's husband character and Tori Allen-Martin's other lover character, were completely one note, with the spurned lovers moaning and Tucker's protagonist uninterested and unengaged. Consequently, the book for the first half was mostly lifeless.

I'd give the first half 2 and a half stars for the Tompsett-Tucker scenes which were charming, loveable and engaging.

[dave]

OMG, who wrote this dross? Biggest steaming pile ever. Left at the interval.

Also huge congrats to the lighting and set team - a mirror finish to the floor meant the balcony was blinded by reflected light for half the show.

[westendgirls]

I am on my way home from it now. Most of my row either left or moved at the interval

It was ok. Story just seemed to finish and there was so much that could have been done to develop the characters. I mean why was Olivia in hospital in the first place?

I saw most of the usual Twitter theatre reviewers in the foyer at the interval so will be interesting to see what they say about it

I hope that Rachel gets a different costume for her next show… two shows, same costume just a different colour tonight

2.5 stars

[thetruth]

Mar 26, 2024 22:14:25 GMT dave said:

OMG, who wrote this dross? Biggest steaming pile ever. Left at the interval.

Also huge congrats to the lighting and set team - a mirror finish to the floor meant the balcony was blinded by reflected light for half the show.

[thetruth]

I don’t know why you pseudo critics were being so negative. I saw the show on Monday and thought it was great. I, along with 95% of the audience stood up and cheered at the end. Great singing, good music and a very enjoyable show. I would certainly recommend it if it comes back to the west end.

[Being Alive]

Standing ovations are not a barometer for whether things are good anymore I'm afraid - we literally stand for any old rubbish.

And in fairness, most people who stood around me were getting their things together and heading for the exit 😂

[alece10]

I'm going against the grain here but I quite enjoyed it. Not the best I've seen but certainly not the worst either. Yes the story is a mess and quite confusing but I quite liked the music (I've got the concept album so already knew the music) but the cast made the show for me. Rachel Tucker excellent as always and Jamie Muscato has such a lovely voice. He looked so young in this. Rest of the cast great too and, although I know nothing about Todrick Hall, I thought he was rather funny.
Slight niggle for me was the blocking. There was a table and chairs at the front of the stage for part of Act 1 and all of Act 2 which blocked my view from where I sat in the front stalls. So missed some of the performance.
Highlight for me was sitting next to Jac Yarrow and Bonnie Langford. Had a little chat with them in the interval when I came over a bit fan boy but they were genuinely friendly and had a nice chat about Pippin and Rachel Tuckers liking for wearing a nightdress on stage.

[lotster]

I didn't think this was very good but I think it was saved by the cast, particularly Rachel Tucker, Jamie Muscato and Oliver Tompsett. They were the main reasons I booked anyway, and it's always a pleasure to hear people of their calibre sing. A couple of the songs were good, but many were bland and forgettable. This, without a cast this professional and talented would have been unbearable.

[doornumberthree]

Mar 26, 2024 22:41:26 GMT thetruth said:

I don’t know why you pseudo critics were being so negative. I saw the show on Monday and thought it was great. I, along with 95% of the audience stood up and cheered at the end. Great singing, good music and a very enjoyable show. I would certainly recommend it if it comes back to the west end.

I stood because I wanted to watch the bows and the person in front of me was stood up getting their stuff to leave, barely anyone around us was stood. I certainly wasn’t giving it an ovation. As Being Alive said, it’s hardly a barometer of if something is good or not these days.

[Steve]

The second half of the show was MUCH more entertaining than the first half.

Featuring Jamie Muscato as a new protagonist, his story is told linearly and coherently, and most significantly, passionately and dramatically.

Some spoilers follow. . .

As intimated above, by other posters, the second half is basically "Carousel," with Rachel Tucker's character in the Billy Bigelow mould seeking to help her child in ghost form.

Except, unlike in "Carousel," the focus is not so much on Tucker's Olivia's spiritual redemption (she's not really done anything wrong lol), but is much more about Jamie Muscato's son learning about the mother that his father hid from him (the old intercepted letters later to be discovered plot).

In that sense, the structure is actually elegant, with the first half being about Tucker's Olivia seeking her son, and the second half being about the son seeking the mother (prompted by the letters to meet up with the lover characters from the first half).

But where the first half was meandering and flat, the second half is taut and dramatic, with Muscato's son seeking his identity, aided, unbeknownst to him by his mother's ghost. Muscato's climactic song, "Dangerous Lines," was a tour de force for me, as he tears his history apart and discovers who he, and everyone around him, is.

The second half is also bolstered by a great passionate rejected torch song from Tori Allen-Martin, some comedy bits from Todrick Hall's Starkeeper-type character, which actually worked, including the meta bit where he urged Tucker's Olivia to put some "shoes on" (she'd been wearing her whole "Singing Detective" hospital nightie outfit for too damn long lol), and another great song from Tompsett's character.

I felt the second half worked wonderfully, if derivatively, and rated it 4 stars, so I'd give the whole thing 3 stars.

This is way more fun than watching this sort of family-made-whole material on telly at Christmas, I felt.

[southstreet]

I think most people that stood tonight were either standing to leave or to applaud the cast, can’t believe many stood for the show itself.

I am still not over how bad the lyrics for this were. There were literally full of every single cheesy clichee and then felt like someone took a rhyming book to group them together and then repeated them at least 10 times. I and people around me sniggered a lot, I cried with laughter at unintentially funny/bad lyrics twice.
And the book was dire, too.
If this wants to go anywhere, every single word that has been written for the show needs scrapping and writing from scratch.

Also soooo much unnecessary belting in the score, which leading lady is supposed to sing this 8 times a week in a proper run of the show without effin’ up her vocal chords? (Though I dare say I doubt any leading lady has to worry about this issue any time soon….).

The music was passable but the only upside of the evening really was some of the cast, doing their best with what they were given. I’d give this 2 stars at best.

[lotster]

I found a few of the acting/scripted scenes rather cringeworthy as well. Not because of the acting. It was actually pretty good, more because at times it took itself too seriously. Yes, there were moments of humour from Todrick Hall (and Tori Allen-Martin) but I just felt at times it was a bit melodramatic. Am always happy to hear Rachel, Oliver and Jamie, they didn't disappoint, so for their perfomances alone, I'm glad I went.

[nash16]

Mar 26, 2024 22:41:26 GMT thetruth said:

I don’t know why you pseudo critics were being so negative. I saw the show on Monday and thought it was great. I, along with 95% of the audience stood up and cheered at the end. Great singing, good music and a very enjoyable show. I would certainly recommend it if it comes back to the west end.

Methinks the new member (who has only made two posts, both re this show) doth protest too much…

Lovely to have someone involved talking about it though.

[westendgirls]

Tiny thing but was surprised at the range of merchandise that was available for a two day show. Was expecting programmes only

Would expect to see some of it for sale in the Theatre Cafe shop in the not to distant future

[londonmzfitz]

Mar 26, 2024 23:40:31 GMT lotster said:

I didn't think this was very good but I think it was saved by the cast, particularly Rachel Tucker, Jamie Muscato and Oliver Tompsett. They were the main reasons I booked anyway, and it's always a pleasure to hear people of their calibre sing. A couple of the songs were good, but many were bland and forgettable. This, without a cast this professional and talented would have been unbearable.

Absolutely as above, although I'd rate it Jamie Muscato, Oliver Tompsett and Rachel Tucker in that order; Rachel was a bit shouty in the first song for me and I then hit the same vibe throughout afterwards.   Without these three, making up half the cast, the show would have been properly grim.

Overall, it was just so *GLUM*!  There are musical shows that have death and heartbreak at their centre that will (usually) have a little lightness, a little charm, to them.  Love Story.  Blood Brothers.  Love Never Dies.  But this was just unending gloom without a super song to hang its hat on.  

[londonmzfitz]

And yes to the staging, that blooming table and chairs!
And lots of "floor" action, with the kid picking up the letters - lost if you were front stalls.

[BurlyBeaR]

Poll added.