Review: WAG! The Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre

WAG! The Musical

Charing Cross Theatre

Reviewed on Wednesday 24th July 2013

I am still a little speechless after seeing WAG! The Musical, I'm not quite sure what to think. The new musical follows a day in the life of Jenny and Sharron, two best friends who work in the cosmetics section of a department store. The show sees Jenny and Sharron deal with a wide variety of customers as well as come to terms with personal problems - Jenny is having an affair with a premier league football player.

Due to the stunt casting of Lizzie Cundy, I have not been able to open a magazine or turn on the television without being bombarded with publicity for the show. The producers have clearly decided that hype is more important than quality as from the second Lizzie walked on-stage her inexperience was evident. Lizzie was not sure whether to acknowledge the audience's response to her entrance or whether to be professional and carry on. She often looked lost on stage and clearly struggled to express emotion, despite being a "trained actress" (according to the programme). Lizzie sang out of time and needs to learn the lyrics to the company number 'Always Tomorrow' which is performed towards the end of the second act.

The strongest performance comes from Katie Kerr as Blow-Jo. Katie clearly knows how to bounce off an audience as within seconds of her first entrance the entire theatre had erupted into fits of laughter. Unfortunately the part is rather small and if the show is further developed, Blow-Jo should become more of a central character - I couldn't get enough of her!

I secretly loved Alyssa Kyria, whose established comedy character, Ariadne the Greek Wag, has been incorporated into the new musical. Although Alyssa rarely sang in tune, she seemed to be having the time of her life and didn't take herself too seriously (phew). Some of her comedy routines, particularly the comparison between kebabs and Greek men, were extremely funny.

Poor direction creates organised chaos on stage, there are so many big personalities fighting for their moment in the spotlight. The choreography is disappointingly basic and at times needs to be slicker and tighter. 

Grant Martin, Thomas Giron-Towers and Tony Bayliss' score is incredibly catchy. The musical numbers are slotted in well, there is a good balance between scenes and songs and the sound has an identity. While I enjoyed the ballad 'Always Tomorrow' it felt a little out of place, perhaps more context is needed beforehand. I also enjoyed Daisy Wood-Davis' rendition of 'How Could I Not Leave a Scar' although the actress, who plays Jenny, appeared a little nervous which could just be down to the pressures of press night. I would love to hear a stronger cast perform the entire score as I do not think the current cast do it justice.

For what it is, Wag is OK. I made the mistake of having just one glass of wine before the show... I needed more. It is such a shame that certain aspects of this production let the musical down. The whole experience is so bizarre and there is far too much to take in. I am still in utter shock and do not have a clue what to make of Wag. Some will despise the musical while for others it will become a guilty pleasure. 

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

WAG! The Musical runs for six weeks only, closing on Saturday 24th August 2013.
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