REVIEW | Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical, Seven Dials Playhouse
Chriskirkpatrickmas Production Shots. Photo credit: Hector Rodríguez Written by Penny
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for a review
Billed as a mash-up between Christmas movie stalwarts It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, Chriskirkpatrickmas gives 90s boy band NSYNC the festive treatment in a story about band member Chris Kirkpatrick. Set on Christmas Eve 2009, seven years into the band’s indefinite “hiatus”, this parody musical was a big hit at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. But with its Christmas theme, it’s ideally suited for another outing this time of year.
Written by Valen Shore (she/her) and Alison Zatta (she/her), the show has 12 original songs and so much nostalgia you’ll feel like you’re right back in the 1990s. It’s taken them ten years to get the show to this stage and it’s clearly a real labour of love. Whilst they are happy to poke fun at their characters and the boy band phenomenon, it’s never done in a nasty way.
The premise is a familiar one – Chris Kirkpatrick feels his life doesn’t have meaning and is disheartened. He’s waiting patiently for the NSYNC hiatus to end but can’t pin down the rest of the band, particularly the elusive Justin Timberlake. So, an angel is sent down from Heaven to remind him of his history with the band in a series of flashbacks, and also to show him what the world would be like if NSYNC had never existed. So, Ebeneezer Scrooge meets George Bailey, but all done with a bit of boy band flair.
It’s performed by a talented multi-tasking cast of seven actors, with writers Shore and Zatta taking on the roles of Chris and Marky Mark respectively. It’s directed by Riley Rose Critchlow (she/they), who also plays Lance and others. With four of the cast playing multiple roles, it feels like a much larger cast. As well as appearing as the members of NSYNC and their dodgy manager Lou Pearlman, they pop up as angels, devils and people in a Starbucks queue (purgatory perhaps?!).
The elephant in the room is addressed early on with a quick quip – a show about NSYNC that isn’t full of NSYNC songs? Well, the rights ARE costly. Instead, the score is a homage to the band with a musical theatre flourish on top. The songs are not particularly memorable but they work well within the context of the show, allowing the actors to bring their characters to life, get some laughs out of the audience and also show off some great 90s-style moves in the clever choreography from Lili Fuller (she/her).
Playing Chris Kirkpatrick, Shore has a fantastic stage presence, showing her character’s eternal optimism that’s tempered with sadness at the way things have turned out for the band. Chris is a lonely figure, clinging on to the past, and instantly has the audience on side. With strong vocals throughout and some great riffing, she’s completely believable and sympathetic.
As guardian angel Marky Mark, Zatta is our guide for the evening. She’s a great contrast to Shore, performing with a cocky swagger. A song towards the end that gives a little more depth to Marky Mark is perhaps superfluous to the plot but it’s still great fun and showcases Zatta’s talent.
For me, the stand-out performance came from Nicole Wyland (she/her) as Justin Timberlake. By choosing to focus on Kirkpatrick instead of the obvious break-out star from NSYNC, the show could be seen as Timberlake’s villain origin story and sets him up as a shallow character, for whom everything comes easily. Wyland has a fantastic singing voice and also bags of charisma, managing to make the character likeable, breaking the fourth wall to charm the audience.
Running at just 70 minutes, Chriskirkpatrickmas is a great start to the festive season – it has a strong message around accepting who you are and letting go of the past, but without being preachy or taking itself remotely seriously. You don’t have to be a die-hard NSYNC fan to have a great night, although without much knowledge of the band, a few of the jokes will go over your head. But the writing and performances are good enough that this doesn’t really matter. It’s a high-energy trip down memory lane that will have you leaving the theatre with a big smile on your face and a strange urge to dig those 90s mix tapes out of storage.
Chriskirkpatrickmas runs until 30th December at the Seven Dials Playhouse. Find out more and book tickets here.
★ ★ ★ ★
