Wild About You, Theatre Royal Drury Lane Review
Written by Philip for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
The world premiere of a new musical is always an occasion. Sadly though, I don’t think Wild About You is necessarily an occasion to remember.
The story revolves around Olivia (Rachel Tucker) as she tries to regain her memories after suffering from amnesia. Bits of memory return piece by piece after some gentle prodding from Nurse Shae (Todrick Hall). You begin to find out about Olivia and the things that are important to her, but one thing she takes the whole of Act 1 to remember is the fact she has a son. Act 2 though slightly better takes us down a completely different route. Although it makes a difference from the first Act - it is a route that has been taken many a time before in the world of musical theatre. One gripe with the story is the questions that crop up throughout the story are just left unanswered.
The book by Eric Holmes is where most of the problems begin and end for Wild About You. For the most part of the first act, our protagonist Olivia is delightfully unlikeable. She makes a serious of decisions which seem to purely benefit her. The supporting characters are all underdeveloped with fleeting glimpses seen in flashbacks. Although this is potentially to show how Olivia is only gaining small sections of her memory back it really doesn’t help pique the interest of the audience.
The music and lyrics by Chilina Kennedy are definitely a step in the right direction when compared to the book. There are a few songs that are beautiful and give the characters meaning and life. However the placement of some of the songs is questionable in my opinion. The opening number of the show is a huge 11 o’clock number that doesn’t make sense at the beginning. What follows are number after number of belt songs. There is a distinct lack of light and shade within the first half of Wild About You. Although these songs are an excellent vehicle to show of the vocal talents of the cast, it does feel slightly draining for the listener and makes the act feel long. The pacing of the music is much better in Act 2 however.
The huge and I mean HUGE redeeming feature of this show is the cast. There is so much talent upon the stage it is fit to burst. Rachel Tucker is electric. She sings with so much passion and life. Her voice knows no bounds. Tucker is what gives Olivia life. She is magnetic to watch regardless of the material she is given. She is an absolute star. When paired with Oliver Tompsett as Thomas, and Jamie Muscato as Billy, you are in for masterclass of insane vocal technique and power. Tompsett has so much class and control in his voice. It is warm and strong - it soars and meets Tucker’s voice effortlessly. The moments in which Tucker and Tompsett sing together - you can feel the tension and the passion. Tompsett broods in all the right places and gives Thomas the lovable rogue angle that is missing in the book. Muscato has a voice that knows no bounds. There seems to be no end to his vocal talent. It gets higher and higher without ever failing. It is so silky smooth as he glides on the notes. Yet again, when Muscato and Tucker sing together you feel like you are witnessing a real moment. He plays Billy, the son of Olivia with some much care - you do really feel for him by the end. With every lyric and word, the three aforementioned West End superstars act through song and speech with as much truth as the material allows. Tori Allen Martin holds her own against the titans of musical theatre. She is fierce as Jess with gorgeous vocals and many a funny moment. Todrick Hall plays both Nurse Shae and Robin and is quite frankly criminally underused. He injects humour into every scene he appears in. If anyone is going to steal a scene, it’s Todrick and it is needed!
If Wild About You is to have further life in the West End or beyond - and I sincerely hope it does, then the book needs to be completely rewritten. I left the theatre feeling unsatisfied and with many an unanswered question. Hopefully one day we will get a new version of Wild About You and it will be as good as it supposed to be.
Wild About You played the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the 25th and 26th March 2024
☆ ☆ ☆
