Burlesque The Musical at Savoy Theatre Review
The talk of the (theatre) town raises its curtain to a chaotic evening of pop fizz
‘Life’s not fair. It’s fabulous.’
On ‘fabulous’, Burlesque has plenty to unfurl from screen to stage; despite an extended developmental journey that encountered continuous turbulence behind the scenes, attracting emerging public attention, the stage musical adaptation of the eponymous 2010 film starring Christina Aguilera (who also serves as Executive Producer) and Cher has eventually touched down on its West End opening, following try-outs in Manchester and Glasgow.
The story centres a young, gifted vocalist Ali Rose, who moves to New York from Iowa in pursuit of her birth mother. Unbeknownst to her the complex past and troubled present of Tess, a struggling burlesque club owner who happens to have a long-lost birth daughter, Ali soon finds herself the club’s newly inducted singing waitress, before being swept into a whirlwind of drama that sees fame, fortune and family collide. Standing on the cusp of closure and shadowed by an entangled web of tense relationships, the Burlesque Lounge’s headline act attempts to save the day by spiralling into one final Burlesque act.
The book by Steven Antin, who also wrote and directed the film, with additional material from Kate Wetherhead (who also penned the stylistically similar stage adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada), does a great job at providing character context, but it sometimes still felt lacking in heart; where it attempts to juggle the latest gags to keep the mood light (Coldplay was mentioned at one point – improvised or otherwise) and supposedly more sincere scenes, only for the trio of heroines to chase antagonist Vince out through the auditorium with a handheld camera in the final moments of the show, before jumping minutes later into the signature glitzy finale. Though delivering on its crowd-pleasing aspects, abrupt cuts from one musical number or burlesque segment to the next and in some cases, omitting scenes entirely – inevitably distance the plot from tonal cohesiveness, in writing style that feels more at home on screen.
Through a mix of the original film soundtrack from Christina Aguilera, Sia and Diane Warren and new material from Todrick Hall (just one of his four hats on the production as actor, songwriter, director and choreographer) and lead Jess Folley, the resultant soundscape is fit for purpose and overflows with eclectic styles from pop to jazz. While richly layered and gloriously orchestrated (credited to Tom Curran’s work), the musical material at times overshadows the story in performances that felt detracted from the central arc.
That being said, the cast remains the vigorously beating heart of this production; Jess Folley is exceptional as Ali – while managing a beautiful impression of Christina Aguilera with a striking vocal entrance in ‘Tough Lover’, she fully owns and embraces the character arc with fierce prowess into the second act, gracefully navigating Ali’s character with a strong head and a side of sass. Starring alongside Folley is a joyous duo that is Orfeh and Todrick Hall, whose chemistry together resembles the down-to-earth dynamic between Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’s Margaret and Ray; Orfeh’s Tess, albeit headstrong on the outside as reflected once again by a familiar impression of her movie counterpart Cher, opens up into further emotional depth with vocals met with heartfelt, eleven-o-clock applause; while last seen on the London stage as the Donkey in Shrek (with one out of two entertainingly written biography in the programme: ‘see his serious bio under Creatives...’), Todrick Hall proves to be a multifaceted creative who shines in comedic presence as Sean, hitting one-liners with a knowing wink, entertaining the theatre kids in the audience too with an easter egg or two.
Fresh out of drama school and into the West End, rising star Asha Parker-Wallace makes a lovely first impression in her professional debut as Nikki, forming unspoken trauma bond with Ali from the stereotypical Vince (brought to life somewhat comedically by George Maguire with a thick British accent); while opposite as Ali’s love interest Jackson, Paul Jacob French continues his lineup of charismatic roles following An Officer and a Gentleman and Midnight Cowboy. Whilst the characters do not make a lasting impression, the actors behind them, alongside an energetic ensemble, deliver committed performances worthy of credit.
We think you'll also enjoy
The musical promises to be big, bold and fabulous, and strobing its way through Nate Bertone’s smoky, atmospheric set, concert-like lighting by Rory Beaton infused with Pixellux’s stage-high video design fulfils this promise and then some on the visual front, achieving moments that just like the real burlesque club, flash between stunning and blinding.
By the time confetti shoots out across the auditorium to a standing ovation of elaborately dressed theatregoers, it is left to the audience whether the adaptation is a lavish night-out, overly ambitious or, in the case of a bit of both as the reviewer finds it - a brim-full glass of bubbly that overflows with disorienting commercial spectacle.
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burlesque The Musical plays at the Savoy Theatre until 6 September. Find more information and book tickets here.
Tickets and Accessibility
🎟️ Tickets were kindly gifted by the press representatives for the production, with expectation of an honest, non-biased review. All opinions remain those of the writer, without any input or approval from the producers or venue. Standard tickets are priced from £25 (a £3.95 transaction fee applies on all online and phone bookings made via the box office), with £30 Rush tickets released on each performance day via the TodayTix app.
♾️ The production is highly sensory overstimulating, with extensive use of strobe lighting, consistent loud and bass heavy music and frequent concert-like lighting states (including audience blinders and moving lights)/full blackouts throughout. Specific sensory moments are as follows (all timings approximate):