'The most thrilling moment so far was singing the opening ballad as a whole cast with the band for the first time. I’d never felt such a mix of excitement and nerves and awe all at once.'
As a show with only two characters, the use of four actors in this production was truly innovative. It was able to showcase their talent in the best possible way, highlighting the actors’ strengths while elevating the characters to a level above how they have been traditionally interpreted on stage.
It is a poignant exploration of how couples in failing marriages perpetually struggle to see eye to eye and are so often operating, portrayed quite literally here, on differing temporal planes.
"Musicals centred around teenagers are destined to become ‘cult’ shows: their audience is intrinsically niche, and, due to their youth, unlikely to be able to sustain commercially and critically successful runs, leading these shows to fan-centric cult status."
Katie Kirkpatrick analyses how teen films are journeying from Hollywood to Broadway and the West End.
"To adapt such a complex series into a musical would be to severely undermine the weight of each of these topics and in turn, the production would do no justice to the character of Beth Harmon and the communities she represents."
Beth Ranasinghe considers the obstacles in the path of adapting the hit Netflix show for the musical stage.
CW: Addiction, rape, homophobia, conversion therapy, depression.
"While the apparent lack of original musicals can feel disheartening, there’s actually a lot of original work out there."
Katie Kirkpatrick looks at the state of new musical theatre.
Musical movies, juxtaposed with and exposed by realism, make me feel more. They make everything hurt more when you watch them fall apart, but they make the highs even higher.
