REVIEW | SuperYou Musical in Concert
Written by Annie
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
An early closure of a show is not something anyone wants to see happen – but, with Aspects of Love taking its final curtain much earlier than expected, it’s left the Lyric Theatre with the rare opportunity to house an abundance of staged concerts. A bittersweet closure but is actually giving new shows the opportunity to appear on the West End, potentially a lot sooner than they perhaps would have otherwise.
On Wednesday evening, the Lyric housed the electric concert of Super You. The show centres around Katie – a shy, isolated girl who uses writing comic books with her brother as an outlet for the hardships in her life. Her superheroes embody everything she wishes to be, and they create a perfect escapism from her normal life.
Self-labeled as a rock musical the songs are powerful and bold – but we are also opened up to a whole range of musical styles; from pop, rock, country, and jazz. The score is wonderfully strong and has some amazing tunes which I can see becoming fan favourites. As the show is so focused on inclusion, each superhero and character has their own song, which is a nice level of equality. However, with so many styles, and so many varying songs, there is very little room for any real character development, leaving the show feeling quite confused and rushed.
The cast is a powerhouse of strong women, and the vocals are out of this world. The score really enables their voices to shine individually, however, the harmonies in the ensemble numbers feel very clashed and don’t mix very well, which is a shame as much of the wonderful lyrics are lost as a result.
The storyline has real potential, but it feels as if there are almost too many themes in the show, mixing the superheroes and Katie’s personal growth with a love story, and a traumatic family storyline. It unfortunately leaves little room for any storyline or character to really grow in the show and the overriding message starts to lose its prominence.
Super You was set as a staged concert, and unlike other recent concerts – it felt a lot more like a workshop than a concert production, with the cast all standing at music stands. There was however some movement and it was beautifully choreographed. The role of the mother who is mute throughout, was choreographed so beautifully it really created some lovely raw moments.
Super You is a story of love, acceptance, and finding comfort, which is a hugely important message for younger audiences, however, I feel the show has a way to go before it is the smash it holds the potential to be. I hope that the show continues to develop and hope to be able to see it again on its future journey.
★ ★ ★
