The cultural phenomenon has now been translated into a jukebox musical, though NOW That’s What I Call A Musical is too classy to feature an actual jukebox and instead uses a Karaoke/DJ to introduce some of the tracks into Pippa Evans’ story.
The show revolves around school friends Gemma and April who were thick as thieves as they stepped out into adulthood in 1989. Twenty years later, Gemma attends her class reunion in the local pub and the memories – and the songs – come flooding back. Gemma was rooted to Birmingham and dreamed of staying there, becoming a nurse, and starting a family. Two out of three ain’t bad as Meat Loaf was prone to sing. We see romance blossom: but life hasn’t all been roses over the two decades. Meanwhile, April wanted to be a Hollywood star, and in pursuit of her dreams, lost touch with Gemma. Will the pair be reunited? Or is it time to realise that time and distance have severed their ‘forever friendship’ permanently?
Director Craig Revel Horwood is also in charge of the choreography, creating visually interesting routines for the large ensemble who pick up the roles of the minor characters. The knowingly kitsch rendition of Video Killed the Radio Star (a 1979 hit) will be hard to forget. There’s an air of body positivity in the casting – ie, all shapes and sizes are seen to dance and exist – which is abnormal for theatre but a welcome decision.
The show is stuffed full of tracks from the 80s and early 90s. Musical director Georgia Rawlins, along with just four other musicians in the pit, pump out superb covers that drive the whole vibe of the story. Girls Just Want To Have Fun Relax, Tainted Love, Every Breath You Take, I Gonna Be (500 Miles), Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Flashdance…What A Feeling, I'll Stand by You, Gold (Spandau Ballet), Walking on Sunshine, St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion), Relight My Fire, and more.
Some of the most beautiful moments come when recognisable melodies are slowed right down, stripped back, and allowed to linger in a minor key (like Blondie’s Heart of Glass). The all-singing, all-dancing cast have the voices and presence to pull off their own story-specific renditions of the tracks. And it all adds up to something quite special.
A dream sequence – used as a device to reset Gemma’s thinking and propel the story to its (for-once) justified megamix conclusion – allows a star from the period to join the cast to sing a number. Some weeks it’s Sinitta, Sonia or Jay Osmond. Fans in the Grand Opera House were beside themselves with excitement when the curtain at the back of the stage opened and T’Pau’s Carol Decker (her name is never mentioned without including the band!) stepped in to sing China in Your Hand. While Decker’s voice has lost some of its strength, she still has the power to control an audience and whip them into a frenzy. People rose to their feet and swayed in the boxes. Most of the stalls raised their arms and waved them. A four-minute concert in the middle of an already musically rich show. (Having some of the industry’s biggest record labels on board must help with the rights to the music.)
Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher designed the set which playfully unfolds to transform the pub (which sells Carol Deckor-i/daiquiri cocktails) into a school, bedrooms and bedsits, a video rental store, and Gemma’s family homes. Ben Cracknell neatly drops down lights and a disco ball to shift some scenes into disco mode.
NOW That’s What I Call A Musical is full of spandex and solidarity, friendship and forgiveness; a toe-tapping musical memorial to the cassette tape that must confuse some of the younger audience members. Performances continue at the Grand Opera House until Saturday 23 November.
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