JADAR

★★★★☆

Kevin! [The Musical] is a zany new musical full of comedic impetus and scathing satire. After over a decade of writing and development, the show had its world premiere last at Z-arts in Manchester.

As a lover of big, cheesy musicals, I was extremely excited to see Kevin! [The Musical], a new dark comedy satirising the current state of America. The show did not disappoint; it was delightfully over the top and full of witty, self-aware moments that elicited disturbed chuckles from the audience.

The plot follows English exchange student Kevin, who finds himself trapped inside the world of a cheesy All-American high school musical. Anarchy ensues as he becomes more and more disturbed by the wacky singing dancing American hellscape he has found himself in. The show struck the perfect level of political satire and zany comedy, proving a joy for musical lovers and musical newbies alike. I specifically enjoyed the blatant West Side Story references, and the repeated breaking of the fourth wall.

The general tone of the show felt like a rather insane mashup of Starkid’s The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and the 2012 musical Loserville. It also carried some hints of Groundhog Day as Kevin found himself trapped in a loop of this not-so-perfect American suburban life.

The first thing to mention about this specific production is how talented and hilarious the entire cast was. It is no small feat to keep an audience engaged for two and a half hours, but the performers were so committed and hilarious, with their brilliant vocals being a cherry on top.

A particular favourite of mine was Elena Whiteley as the ridiculously upbeat, creepy, President-obsessed Chase. Every time they belted, I was in awe and really felt myself siding with Chase (despite his more-than-questionable actions) due to the charm and drive Whiteley carried themself with. Chase began the show as the embodiment of the American high school loser, shouting with boundless optimism, “Today is the day where today is the day!”. Whiteley perfectly introduced us to the zany American suburb with a series of exaggerated everyday motions that I couldn’t help but giggle at.

Chase has a bunch of geeky loser friends. The first is Michael (Andrew McClarty), who wants to be a rockstar. The second, Eugene (Steffan Eldridge), who wants to be a jedi tap-dancer. Eldridge’s later jedi-inspired dance was another highlight of mine, with his lovably geeky moves providing much needed levity in a climactic scene. The high-octane campiness of the world felt entirely natural for these characters due to how fluidly each performer embodied their respective trope. From geeky dweeb to totally-not-gay bully, the characterisation of each felt like an American high school dialled up to 100.

Yet, this atmosphere was perfectly contradicted by Keir Lundy’s understated Englishman (and the title character), Kevin. Lundy as Kevin was wonderfully natural in comparison to the choreographed perfection of his American peers, and he functioned as the perfect stand-in for the audience. As we watched him become disturbed by the all-too-picture-perfect singing suburban town he was trapped in, realising it was, in fact – a musical!

It was thrilling watching his breakdown, however, as the title character, I feel we did not get enough time to see Kevin’s perspective. While he did go from happy English exchange student to almost literally pulling his hair out, the story focussed far more on Chase’s all-American dreams to be President and get the girl. I would have liked to see more of Kevin taking action in the story, rather than being a passive protagonist that the plot simply happens to.

Stian Jebsen’s scarily accurate Trump impression was another highlight of mine. He was painted bright orange, and wearing a tacky blonde wig, but despite this, he felt JUST as absurd as the real deal. Jebsen made the entire audience cackle, but also gave me a real sense of dread before the final musical number.

This is a testament to writer Will Sharland’s command of satire. Just when the plot gets ridiculously absurd, Sharland reminds us with real-life events/characters that this entire plot is not so far from the truth. Many of the events depicted (to name a few: school shootings, immigrants supporting Trump’s “build a wall” rhetoric, geeks becoming 4-chan conspiracists) are actually happening in America.

It is a testament to Sharland’s writing that, while inherently absurd and comedic, the action of the play made me think about how real and terrifying it was that even after the (sometimes literal) psychological torture of the show, the characters were still “making a song-and-dance out of everything”. I do however think that the conclusion wrapped up perhaps too completely. Many of the earlier witty jokes (such as two characters being played by the same actor) became over-explained and a tad contrived by the end.

Madi French’s direction perfectly balanced the high-octane comedy and frenetic anarchy of this American Musical hellscape. Each of the fourth wall breaks (and there are many) are executed with beautifully synchronised head turns from the oblivious suburbans. French never takes any moment too seriously, allowing the long runtime to barrel along at a brisk pace. On top of this, I could tell how much fun the cast were having onstage, which is surely a testament to French’s directing approach.

I also want to give props (pun intended) to the props department! From the American Flags littered throughout the stage to newspapers reading “Nuclear War Imminent”, every object feels deliberately placed by Phoebe Delafaye (Stage Manager/Designer) to incite moments of comedy, while critiquing America’s overwhelming patriotism and sensationalism.

Ultimately, Kevin! [The Musical] succeeded in making me feel both insane and elated. It was a truly bizarre and hilarious show that made me feel pessimistic about the state of America while loving watching it unfold. If you want a fun evening, full of meta jokes, zany humour, and lovely singing then I would recommend Kevin! [The Musical] as I am sure it will go places after this initial run.

I will leave you with these words of hopeless optimism from the show: “We can achieve our targets if we try our best!”