Cruel Intentions – The ‘90s Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, 03 June 2025, ‘till 07 June 2025, then touring, 3☆☆☆. David Gray & Paul Gray.
Photo Credit: Pamela Raith.
Cruel Intentions – The ‘90s Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, 03 June 2025, ‘till 07 June 2025, then touring,
3☆☆☆. David Gray & Paul Gray.
“A brilliant performance – but of a flawed show.”
On the plus side, this is a slick, smart, good-looking production, performed with style by a talented cast. On the minus, there is a problem with the show itself.
This derives from its format: a juke box musical. The trick with any musical of this type is to find songs that seem to have been generated by the narrative, and to the emotions of those characters as they react to situations.
For musicals with an original story, this is easier; the story can be tweaked to accommodate the chosen musical material. Cruel Intentions is an established story, that allows little wriggle room to work around the songs. As a result, a lot of the songs seem disconnected from the situations in which they are placed.
Musicals with light, feel-good, bubble-gum stories can still work without a strong emotional connection between the musical and dramatic material. Cruel Intentions is not that kind of story: it is a dark exploration of human cruelty, and redemption, and it demands emotional involvement; when the songs don’t connect, it matters.
So, we have naïve young lovers, Cecile and Ronald, clumsily exploring their new feelings, and singing Deep Blue Something’s’ ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’; a song which looks back from the end of a relationship to its naïve, gauche, clumsy beginnings. We have ‘Kiss Me’ by Sixpence None the Richer, because there is a kiss in the story. However, little further thought seems to have been given to what the song actually means.
On a more positive note, the push-me-pull-you emotions of The Cardigan’s ‘Lovefool’, and its breezy melody work, was well sung by the characters Sebastian and Annette as they start to explore their feelings for one another.
But on the whole, too many of the songs in this show simply do not fully connect. As a result, the music becomes an unfocused emotional wash that fails to move the story on, or add to our understanding of the characters. In reality, the show gradually loses its emotional interest, engagement and momentum.
This is a shame because the performers are very good. Will Callan perfectly captures Sebastian’s transformation from spoilt-brat man-child to the beginnings of becoming a rounded, worthwhile adult. Nic Myers pulls no punches in her depiction of the thoroughly detestable Kathryn. Lucy Carter gives a deliriously unhinged performance as Cecile. And Abbie Budden brings warmth and depth to the role of Annette. All the minor characters are just as well realised.
The choreography is sharp and tight, and - in purely musical terms - the show is a triumph. All the young singers deal admirably, and fearlessly, with an enormous range of musical styles. There are some brilliant mash-ups, particularly at the end of the first act. Here, almost all of the major musical moments are brought together in an epic finale, which feels almost operatic in its clever melodic weavings.
But taken on the whole, as a piece of musical theatre, it just doesn’t hang together.
Cast
Will Callan – Sebastian Valmont
Nic Mayers – Kathryn Merteuil
Lucy Carter – Cecile Caldwell/Marci Greenbaum
Abbie Budden – Annette Hargrove
Kevin Yates – Ronald Clifford
Luke Connor Hall – Blaine Tuttle
Joe Simmons – Greg McConnell
Gabriella Williams – Mrs Bunny Caldwell/Dr Greenbaum
Creatives
Created by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin, and Roger Kumble
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle
Choreographer – Gary Lloyd
Sets & Costumes – Polly Sullivan
Lighting – Nick Richings
Music Director – Will Joy
Orchestrations – Zach Spound
Sound Design - Chris Whybrow