JADAR

★★★☆☆

Now That’s What I Call a Musical is the latest of arguably too many musicals using hits from the 80s. Celebrating 40 years of the iconic NOW albums, what makes this musical stand out amongst the rest is its special guests, with Sinitta, Sonia, Carol Decker (T’Pau), Jay Osmond and Toyah Willcox all joining the show in various cities.

The musical follows a reunion between two friends, Gemma (Nina Wadia) and April (Sam Bailey), at a school reunion celebrating 20 years of the class of 1989. I say that the musical follows this but it’s actually only the second act, for April does not even arrive until the final moments of Act 1, after over an hour of “Will she, won’t she?” even though we all know she will, because of course she will (and Bailey is on the poster!).

The book, in general, is uneven, with the first act repeatedly flashing back and then forwards again and the second act only flashing back a little bit. It’s a silly story that attempts to add depth with suicide and domestic abuse – but they are handled at best flippantly and at worst distastefully (but perhaps I’m just an overly sensitive, woke zoomer).

One of the strangest parts of the book is something not even in it: not once are the NOW albums mentioned!

The characters are likeable, and there are countless twists and turns, so you’re sure to remain engaged. The star of the show is, of course, the songs, with everything from Cyndi Lauper to The Police (but shockingly, not Madonna or MJ – except for a brief ‘Thriller’ dance in a camptastic number that references an abundance of 80s songs, such as the iconic lift in ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ in Dirty Dancing).

The loose script aims to let the songs do the talking, but the songs are often well and truly shoehorned in. You just have to let yourself escape into the music and forget about the plot. Early on, Younger April (Maia Hawkins) is listening to The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ in her headphones as she works – and then suddenly, the song comes to life, with the company recreating the iconic music video. It’s unnecessary and adds nothing to the plot – other than another several minutes to an already unnecessarily long first act – but it’s certainly nostalgic and fun.

There are lots of 80s and some 90s references, and I appreciate the attention to detail, such as Younger April donning a Clueless-inspired out.

The inclusion of 90s songs and references does feel a bit off though. The creatives seem to think that they can get away with this because the musical is set in 1989 – almost 1990! In one scene, Younger Gemma and Younger April briefly sing Sonia’s ‘Better the Devil You Know’ (which is performed in full by the real Sonia during the curtain call) even though that song was not released until 1993. They should have instead had the girls briefly sing ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’, which was released in 1989!

The set deserves great praise. I had been expecting the it too be static – I thought the bar would be used for every scene, much like in Calamity Jane the week prior. To my delight, the set was pretty elaborate for a new touring production, and it all moved around neaty for scene changes.

Craig Revel Horwood’s choreography is hit and miss, and the company are occasionally out of sync. But the aforementioned ’80s juggernaut number, led by Younger Tim (Kieran Walsh), is a bodacious bonanza.

The decision to set the story in Birmingham is an odd one. It doesn’t really need to be set anywhere, and the Brummie accent is hard to master, and unfortunately, most of the cast struggle with it. I’d love to see how it goes down in Birmingham…

The general performances, however, deserve great praise. Wadia is not an amazing singer but she’s got some real acting chops on her. She made Gemma multifaceted, and the drunk scene was hilarious. It’s fantastic seeing a South Asian lead in a musical (especially one which does not require its lead to be South Asian).

Bailey’s acting is pretty good. Sadly, she’s not given much to work with musically until ‘Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves’, which allows her to show off her powerhouse vocals.

Nikita Johal and Maia Hawkins are wonderful as the younger versions of the leads, with Hawkins, in particular, having a lovely voice – it’s a great professional stage debut.

Shakil Hussian and Luke Latchman are loveable as the older and younger versions of Gemma’s brother, Frank.

On press night, Gemma’s parents were played by Poppy Tierney and Phil Sealy. Their chemistry was electric – which is impressive because Sealy, who usually plays Steve, was covering for Christopher Glover. They play the parents in both 1989 and 2019. When the show catches up with our time, Gemma hilariously says, “They never seem to age, do they?”

Steve was instead played by Matthew Mori, who, confusingly, usually plays Younger Steve, with Blake Tuke (off stage swing / resident director) going on for him. Chris Grahamson chews up the scenery and leaves no crumbs as Gemma’s slimy husband, Tim, with Kieran Walsh stealing the show as Younger Tim.

Lastly, Sonia – she appears briefly in a dream sequence. “Oh, my God,” says Gemma. “Not quite,” quips Sonia before singing ‘Better the Devil You Know’. It’s another unnecessary scene but it is fabulous nonetheless. The special guest situation is a great novelty and a huge selling-point for this mediocre show.

It’s a solid cast but a good actor can only do so much with a bad script. But it’s good bad. It has a target audience, and they love it, so it does its job. It’s a daft, feel-good show, full of vibes and nostalgia. For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.

Now That’s What I Call a Musical runs at Opera House Manchester until February 1 and tours the UK until April 12.

Photo: Pamela Raith