Top 5 German Language Musicals

In case my last post wasn't any indication, it's safe to say I've been...fascinated by German language musicals lately to the point they've inspired me to learn German. So to sum up why I love them (and introduce you to something different), I decided to rank my favourite ones. To qualify they must've premiered in Germany, Austria or Switzerland first, so those which opened in another country & later had a recording in German don't count like Rudolf: Affaire Mayerling & Marie Antoinette (which premiered in Hungary & Japan respectively) while those which were made in another language in workshops & then translated to German for its premiere run do i.e. Schikaneder & Hunchback of Notre Dame (both workshopped in English). And if you're unsure about them due to the language barrier, I'll be adding three song recommendations from each show to check out.

1) Elisabeth. I'm going to honest, I wasn't sure about this show when I first came across it through a YouTube recommendation. I was scared that I would've found it too confusing and after looking it up and finding out it had numerous changes over the years, it made me feel like I'd never be watching the same show. That is until I finally watched it and was entranced by its beautiful score, compelling characters and tragic story about such a fascinating historical figure who ultimately led a tragic life after being romanticised by society for over a century. Showing her love-hate relationship with the personification of Death from her marriage to Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph at sixteen to her murder by the show's narrator Luigi Lucheni, it never fails to make me cry by the end. It may be easy to call it the Austrian Evita due to the similar structures, but Elisabeth stands out on its own and belongs in the ranks of shows like Les Miz or Phantom. If there's ever a revival in Vienna or around Germany, I'd see it in a heartbeat (or just head over to Japan where it's remained successful for over 20 years).
Song recommendations: Ich gehor nur mir (I Belong to Me), Die Schatten Werden Langer (the Shadows are Getting Longer), Der Schleier Fallt (The Veil Falls)


2) Tanz Der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires). Despite it being number two, this is actually the musical which made me fall in love with German language shows. I've already been through why I love this in my post about its Broadway incarnation's failure (less said about it, the better), but here's a quick recap: Jim Steinman's rock score is catchy and fun (along with a surprisingly effective use of Total Eclipse of the Heart), the story is hilarious while endearing, the characters are all lovable and some of the best dance sequences I've seen in a show. An adaptation of Roman Polanksi's 1967 vampire spoof, it's one of those rare adaptations which improves the material by taking full advantage of its silliness without sacrificing the story, characters and emotions. It's the type of camp that is entirely self aware and I bloody love it.
Song recommendations: Totale Finsternis (Total Eclipse), Starker Als Wir Sind (Stronger Than We Are), Die Unstillbare Gier (The Insatiable Greed)


3) Rebecca. This adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's classic novel genuinely surprised me. With enchanting songs, a gripping mystery plot and beautiful costumes & sets (with possibly the best set piece for a climax which puts Phantom's chandelier & Miss Saigon's helicopter to shame), it's one of those adaptations which may sound strange on paper, but in execution is amazing. Even if the planned Broadway production never happened due to one person scamming the producers millions through fabricating an investor, I still hope an English version will eventually come (there are English demos on Youtube featuring European theatre legends Pia Douwes and Uwe Kroeger as Mrs Danvers & Maxim de Winter on YouTube).
Song recommendations: Ich Hab Getraumt von Manderley (I've Dreamt of Manderley), Jenseits der Nacht (Beyond the Night), Rebecca



4) Schikaneder. The only issue with this is there's no live recording available anywhere, let alone one with English subtitles. Does that mean it's not worth checking out whatever clips there are or the soundtrack? Absolutely not. Telling the story of Emmanuel and Eleonore Schikaneder's turbulent marriage filled with infidelity, this quirky romantic comedy shows the two of them forced to work together as he writes the libretto for one of the most popular operas of all time, Mozart's The Magic Flute. Composed by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Prince of Egypt & Pocahontas), the score has sweeping melodies which feel reminiscent of Mozart while remaining unique and are guaranteed to make you smile. Topping off with an immaculate production design and two lovable leads even with their faults, it's honestly a shame it didn't last long in Vienna given how successful it was critically and financially. With rumours of a Broadway production happening, let's pray that Trevor Nunn will be back in the director's chair and won't let it be messed up like the other attempts to bring German language musicals across the Atlantic.
Song recommendations: Traum Gross (Dream Big), Mein Lied (My Song), Lezter Vorhang (Last Curtain)

5) Mozart! Das Musical. It took a while for me to get used to its unconventionally modern production design (this is judging the 2015 revival recording I watched), but it's grown on me. With musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the centre, the show focuses mostly on his rocky relationship with his father, his romance with Constanze Weber and being restricted of his talent by patron Archbishop Colloredo, all while trying to live up to his image shown through his child form following him throughout the show. Even with his eccentric and impulsive behaviour, you still relate to Mozart throughout his struggles as the people around him try to control his talents. The emotions are strong in this show with some great songs and performances which are definitely worth checking out, and some sequences can look amazing when looking past the anachronistic production design.
Song recommendations: Der Prinze ist Fort (The Prince is Gone), Wir Zwei Zusammen (We Two Together), Ich Bin, Ich Bin Musik (I Am, I Am Music)

Honorable mention: Der Glockner von Notre Dame (Hunchback of Notre Dame). Yep, the stage adaptation of Disney's 1996 film started life in Berlin. The transition to stage was probably composer Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz's way of making the Hunchback adaptation they wanted by taking Victor Hugo's novel's darker elements compared to the film's Disneyfied elements with cartoony sidekicks and overly happy ending. The new songs and changes made sense plot-wise and the music fit very well in a theatrical setting with its scope and style. With all this praise, why is it an honourable mention? Because I feel it actually improved once it crossed over to America with its plot changes and improved sets and songs. And Germany were clearly aware of this as they used the American book and sets when it revived in Berlin. Regardless of which version, it's still an amazing show which will possibly remind you a that is better than you remember it.
Song recommendations: Someday, Flight into Egypt & A Place of Miracles

And here are a few few other shows worth taking a look at:

Rudolf: Affaire Mayerling. Frank Wildhorn's (Jekyll & Hyde) telling of Elisabeth's (yep, the same Elisabeth from above) son Rudolf and his romance with Mary Vestera with its political ramifications leading to their suicide pact in Mayerling. I know I didn't count it on the list as it opened in Hungary, but its Austrian recording is pretty good. Doesn't really have a compelling plot with the affair being far fetched in historical accuracy, characters who deserved more dimension hardly getting any and the production design not really fitting the tone or setting, but the performances were amazing (especially Drew Sarich in the titular role), there were some songs that got stuck in my head and the ending made me cry.

Artus: Excalibur. Another Frank Wildhorn penned show, this time about the King Arthur legend, I did find some YouTube clips and some of the songs are pretty good, but I can't really judge it as I'm not as familiar with it compared to the rest of the shows I've mentioned. It seems to have gained a cult following though, and what recordings there are do feature some of the most popular actors within the German language theatre community.

If you're interested in watching any of these on YouTube (most of which you can with English subtitles), don't be surprised if you see the same actors scattered around as the theatre community is very tight-knit compared to West End and Broadway (which I'll talk about another time). As for my thoughts on the failed English adaptations, I do have one suggestion of fixing the problem: bring them to England first. West End & UK Tour productions do have their mix of sophisticated aand guilty pleasure musicals with that experimental style Brits can resonate with compared to America's more mechanical way of producing shows which don't have much longevity in comparison.

Dance of the Vampires: A Nightmare That Bites the Dust

Based on the Roman Polanski's 1967 satire The Fearless Vampire Killers, the 1997 Austrian stage adaptation Tanz Der Vampire is still considered a classic around Eastern Europe. I know it's easy to joke that musicals based on vampire related media are terrible, but it's easy to see why Tanz succeeds: The story is a mix of romantic, hilarious and gothic while subverting and indulging Hammer movie cliches, the music has lyrics that are Sondheim levels of witty with awesome rock melodies (and yes, Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart is used) and the characters are surprisingly endearing while satirizing their stereotypical roles. It's pure camp and I bloody love it (no pun intended) and really hoping I find a way to see it some day despite the language barrier. The Broadway version...? Well, that's our topic for today.

An English adaptation of Tanz was announced in 1998 following its success in Austria after producers wanted to bring it to English speaking audiences. Initially planned for a West End run (which I honestly think would've been a better choice given that we Brits are more forgiving to cheesy rock operas with elaborate dancing), composer Jim Steinman believed Broadway would be a better route because of his background in New York theatre. Given that Polanski directed the German stage version and wasn't risking getting arrested for reasons I'd rather not address if he ever set foot in the US, Steinman announced he'd step in, a surprise considering the show had already been delayed from 1998 to 2001. Oh, and he never directed a musical before, let alone one of a massive scale.

 With an autumn 2001 release planned, Steinman and manager/producer David Sonenberg brought in co-director John Caird and playwright David Ives to write the book, leading to the show's biggest change: the tone. Or specifically, the comedy from subtle satire to a Mel Brooks over the top style where Steinman stated "we were told to put five jokes of every page." Why you may ask? Because apparently the original musical's style of storytelling wasn't considered acceptable for Broadway audiences...proven false when invitation-only audiences hated the new comedy. With Elizabeth Williams and Anita Waxman joining as producers, Steinman realized his and the creative team's visions for the show weren't working to the point he told the press ""I can't tell you how many things are the opposite of what I want, but I am part of a team". Firing Williams and Waxman as things got more heated from it's looming release and struggling to come up with investment money, you'd think things would get better if Steinman got his way, right?

Deciding a star lead would bring in investors, a number of people were considered to play Graf von Krolock including John Travolta, Placido Domingo and David Bowie. Ultimately, Michael Crawford was cast (ironic considering Steve Barton originated von Krolock in Vienna). However, that came with a big price. Considering he starred in a little production you might have heard of called Phantom of the Opera and lost the part in the upcoming film adaptation to Antonio Banderas (which obviously eventually went to Gerard Butler), he demanded creative control over Krolock to avoid similarities if he was sticking around for his planned three year contract. Simple enough, right?  Except he also demanded $180,000 salary a week (later claimed to be false and went down to $30,000) and the option to reprise the role in London and LA along with any film adaptation of the show. Also helping out with the book to add in more comedy, it got to the point that Ives felt like he was a stenographer than a writer. However, in reality, it was more adding in a "continental accent" and costume changes as the comedic tone was already evidenced in workshops. With rehearsals starting in January 2001 with a planned April 2002 release after 6 weeks of previews, things would finally run smooth for the show, right?

Except for one problem:

Yep.
Given that this was a comedy involving murderous vampires, it wouldn't have been the most appropriate musical to open in New York at the time. With logistical problems as most of the production team were based in London, Steinman announced the show would be delayed (again...) to October 24th 2002. With this delay, the crew finally had time to find other producers, investors and set designer David Gallo (who's designed sets for Memphis and Thoroughly Modern Millie and was hired as Steinman claimed he was the only American set designer to subscribe to Heavy Metal Magazine). However, because of long distance issues and increasing frustrations from producers to see names associated with comedy at the helm, Steinman and Caird were replaced by John Rando as director. Oh, by the way, he never directed a show like this either.

So with everything from the start being a huge mess, it's probably not a surprise when I say that rehearsals weren't without issue either. New choreographer John Carrafa just told cast members to "rock on" during the dance numbers, John Rando's mother died during production and had to be sidelined leading to no definite creative head for previews, co-author of the original production Michael Kunze felt it was too late to make changes he hated when brought in as consultant and Crawford insisted more comedic elements for Krolock while cast members secretly made fun of his weight sensitive costumes. Oh yeah, and some cast members left when they realized how much of a mess the whole thing was and Steinman stopped visiting the theatre possibly due to being fired and acknowledging the show was at war with itself to the press.

With previews (yet again opening late because of technical issues) doing decently in the box office thanks to Michael Crawford's name attached, other cast members included Mandy Gonzalez as Sarah in her Broadway debut, Max von Essen as Alfred (whose careers would mercifully improve after this), Rene Auberjonois as Professor Abronsius, Asa Somers as Herbert, Liz McCartney as Rachel, Ron Orbach as Chagal and Leah Hocking as Magda. So after the turmoil it lead to, Dance of the Vampires FINALLY opened on December 9th 2002 at the Minskoff Theatre, and well...

The show was panned for its clunky and tonally dissonant story, terrible humour and Crawford's performance. As for its financial losses? Oh boy...12 million dollars, eclipsing the notorious Carrie as Broadway's biggest financial flop. Number of performances it lasted? 56, as it closed on January 25th 2003. And to add insult to injury, Steinman didn't attend opening night, refuses to hear this production mentioned to this day and continues to bash it. So...this would almost guarantee an English adaptation would never happen again and should've been a reason why Roman Polanski was glad to be banned from the US.

How could I not use this gif?

While I find it a shame that an English version is likely never going to happen because of this mess (yep, watched a bootleg and it's painful with its obnoxious "DAMN IT, IT'S FUNNY" attitude and how much it ruined my favourite characters and musical numbers), my only recommendation is to watch the German version on youtube with English subtitles. Or somehow travel to Germany, Vienna or Austria if it happens to be running there after reading a wikipedia synopsis and make sure it has English subtitles on screens. Like I mentioned, the original show is still a darling around Europe, so the reasons why the Broadway version failed speak for itself. Nothing more, nothing less. Let's just ignore this turd and carry on loving the original.

Yeah...safe to say this sums up everyone's feelings towards the Broadway version. 

What Went Wrong With Love Never Dies?

Now, Love Never Dies has been a subject of infamy for the musical theatre world and Andrew Lloyd Webber's long list of musicals. I despise the show myself, but its history has somewhat fascinated me. How could a sequel to ever come to exist? Why did Andrew think a follow-up do any service for people? In fact, I have a much bigger question for this post? Why did it become a massive failure? To get to that, I think it's best to look at the show's history from the small idea to the bomb it became, which is a thousand times more interesting than the final product.

Let's go back to 1990. With Phantom's worldwide success destined to make it a classic, the first was composer Andrew Lloyd Webber talking with costume designer Marie Bjornson. He got the idea that the sequel would take place in 20th century New York, at first in Manhattan before changing it to Coney Island after watching a documentary about its freak shows and carnivals, which he thought would make the Phantom's perfect playground. The first glimpse we got of Love Never Dies was through the song "A Heart is Slow to Learn," sung by Kiri Te Tanawa at Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday celebration at the Royal Albert Hall. Gradually, the song became "Our Kind of Love" for the 2002 musical The Beautiful Game, which he worked on with Ben Elton (who's best known for writing We Will Rock You, Blackadder and left-wing parody comedy sketches). If you don't believe me about the melodies being identical to Love Never Dies, then feel free to listen to both clips below. I think it's safe to say it's like Disney's bizarre tendency to recycle animation in their 70's movies.

When coming up with the story in the 90's, Webber collaborated with author and journalist Frederick Forsyth. However, Andrew soon realized the material they came up with wouldn't translate well onstage. Deciding to leave the Phantom sequel on the back burner, Forsyth eventually published a book version called The Phantom of Manhattan in 1999. I've never read it, nor do I intend on reading it, but I think it's safe to say the guy who was a former spy and wrote thriller novels wasn't the best person to collaborate with for a romantic stage musical. Despite the fallout, Forsyth was still credited as one of the show's writers when it opened.

As the years went on and moved onto other projects, Andrew decided to return to the Phantom sequel in 2006, working with numerous writers and directors who couldn't help him with translating the material onstage (sound familiar?). He was finally approached by Ben Elton in 2007, where they decided to focus on the original characters instead of the new ones created for The Phantom of Manhattan. When looking for a lyricist, that wasn't as easy as you'd expect. Approaching Glenn Slater (best known for his collaborations with Alan Menken including Home on the Range, Tangled and the Broadway adaptation of The Little Mermaid), he at first wasn't convinced. In fact, he called it a terrible idea. However, Slater but still decided to work with him and come up with the clumsiest lyrics ever.

Despite the plans to move forward in 2007, production was delayed. Why?  Andrew's cat accidentally deleted all of the music which he was halfway through finishing. Trying to compose from memory, even Andrew admitted he didn't believe he got all of it right. Given that some of it was recycled from the aggressively mediocre The Woman in White (believe me, the 2017 London revival I saw had no changes except for the improved visuals and ending where a heartbroken Marion has a grave erected for Anna), the aforementioned Beautiful Game and the 2004 Joel Schumacher film adaptation, it's safe to say Webber's streak of recycling music from previous shows hadn't changed. And as evidenced by the number of cut songs featured in the original cast recording, he clearly didn't know when enough was enough.

The first actual glimpse of Love Never Dies (then titled Phantom: Once Upon Another Time) was in 2008 during Andrew's annual Sydmonton festival, with Ramin Karimloo (who gained notoriety for his portrayal of The Phantom in the original show at the time) as The Phantom and Alistair Robbins as Raoul. The official announcement came during his 60th Birthday in the Park celebration, where he revealed the show was retitled Love Never Dies. A press conference followed at Her Majesty's Theatre in 2009, announcing the leads Sierra Boggess (who played the role in the Las Vegas Spectacular production) as Christine and the aforementioned Ramin Karimloo, featuring previews of the title song, Til I Hear You Sing and The Coney Island Waltz.

However, even the rehearsals and lead-up weren't without their problems. Various issues caused delays and tension for everyone including orchestration issues, Andrew being threatened a £20,000 fine for illegally painting the Adelphi Theatre black, re-recording the soundtrack, replacing actors (including Hadley Fraser as Raoul, which explains why played the role in Phantom's 25th Anniversary performance) and technical difficulties with the animatronics, it's safe to say the production on top of the development hell was The Room levels of a nightmare. In fact, it got so bad that it nearly caused Tony winning lighting designer Paule Constable to quit theatre work for good.

So with everything turning into a huge disaster behind the scenes, the show officially opened on  March 9th 2010 after two weeks of  previews starring the aforementioned Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess alongside Summer Strallen as Meg Giry, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry and Joseph Miller and Raoul, and...

The show was immediately panned from fans and critics, where despite strong acting from Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess (to the point they'd mercifully reprise their roles for Phantom's 25th anniversary concert), they couldn't make up for the clunky story on par with bad fanfiction, uninspired production design, music that didn't hold a candle to the original, and characters so unlikable that it made Lestat look like the Citizen Kane of musicals. Not only were the planned Broadway and Shanghai productions "indefinitely postponed," but Lloyd Webber closed the show for three days to rework the script with Phantom lyricist Charles Hart and choreographer Bill Dreamer. Rumours surfaced that the ending would be changed after backlash, but reopened again in December with invitation for critics. It was better received, but not by a long stretch. It finally closed on August 27th 2011 due to poor box office despite constant ticket discounts (including free for children. Yes the show with alcoholism, adulterous sex resulting in a child and prostitution allowed children). Believe me, even the performances (yes that was a plural, mostly because of Ramin who was literally the only thing worth watching this mess of a musical) I went to were uncomfortably empty and the changes did nothing to improve it. Andrew stated while he was proud of this production, he admitted it didn't completely work and that "something just went slightly wrong; I had cancer just before the production, and it was just that crucial 5% off-beam".

So after that disaster, you'd think that would be the end of Love Never Dies and Andrew Lloyd Webber would move on to his next projects, right?

An Australian production opened in Melbourne on May 21st 2011 with a vastly retooled set design and further script rewrites, this time directed by Simon Phillips. Responding to the negative feedback, he believed it was due to the fandom's anger at the musical not being literary, and that Andrew was making a sequel to the original novel...except the original musical made significant changes from the novel that are explicitly referenced in this, and Love Never Dies has several musical & narrative callbacks to the Phantom which immediately makes that remark invalidated! Starring Anna O'Byrne, Ben Lewis, Simon Gleeson and Sharon Millerchip, it received better reception than the London production to the point that it was filmed and released on DVD in 2012. However, it was still a financial disappointment and closed in December that same year, transferring to Sydney in January 2012 and closing there three months later. Andrew stated this was the production he was most proud of, and the same incarnation later opened in Tokyo in 2014 and Hamburg starring Gardar Thor Cortes in 2015 with further lyrical rewrites.

So now that the definitive version of Love Never Dies was made, it's not like the show needed reworking again, right?

Another retooled production opened in Copenhagen in October 2012 and lasted until April 2013. Not long after, a concert production was held in Vienna in October 2013 starring Drew Sarich as The Phantom & Millica Jovanovic as Christine. So now living in infamy with Phans, audiences and critics and fading into obscurity, this when Love Never Dies finally dies, right?

Fast forward to 2016 when a US Tour that nobody asked for was announced and opened in New York 2017 with the same production design as the Australian version & rewrites as the Hamburg production. Unsurprisingly, the show bombed critically and financially, but Webber still expressed hopes of a limited Broadway run. Announced a return to the UK with a tour which would feature the retooling. but was delated due to the COVID-19 pandemic (as is pretty much every show at the moment).

Now that we've gone through the trainwreck of a musical from idea to stage show, we can go into when and why did it fail? Was it when his cat deleted the music? Nope. Because the score still would've been hacked and recycled. Was it when Andrew refused to listen to Glenn Slater's doubts? Partly, except Slater still got involved with the show. Was it when all the collaboration with Frederick Forsyth fell through? Not really, because his book is still credited as the basis for the show. Was it because of the production issues? Hmm...kinda! All of these contribute to the show's failure, but I have a three main reasons why this show failed.

One is the timing. Keep in mind that Phantom was only open for four years when the idea of a sequel was conceived, and Love Never Dies opened one year short of its twenty-fifth anniversary. Someone's creativity is guaranteed to change in such a long time, and given what Webber did within that time span with his TV talent shows, increasingly mediocre stage projects and bout of cancer, that amount of stress couldn't help but have an affect on the finished product. Also, given that Phantom's legendary status grew over time compared to the late smash hit it was when Love Never Dies was conceived, a sequel just felt unnecessary and redundant (not to mention ruined the ambiguity of the ending by revealing that the Phantom and Christine became terrible people within ten years). It doesn't really help that despite being around for a decade as of 2020, not one production has lasted longer than eighteen months. The lack of longevity compared to its massively succesful predecessor highlights the lack of interest the audience had on top of the bad reviews it received.

Second, the fanbase (at least certain portions). Because a number of Phantom/Christine shippers tended to romanticize the Phantom and focus on his seductiveness and tragic backstory, they seemed to forget his arc in the show was not to kill people, force a woman to marry him against her will and terrorize everyone with his childish demands. Because of this, it felt like the story had to cater towards them shippers by turning it into a fix-it-fic, otherwise it would be a flop. Backfiring horribly, the fans still cried foul play on the script once it was revealed to the point that there were blogs devoted to hating on the show (notably Paint Never Dries and Love Should Die). It got so bad that Andrew tried to shed the blame the show's failure onto them instead of admitting Love Never Dies was objectively a terrible show. While I think there was blood boiled on both sides and was blown out of proportion, the haters ironically gave Love Never Dies the attention it didn't want because it meant (the few) people wanted to see if it just as bad as they said it was (something Netflix seems to have taken advantage of in its programming lately).


Third, the creative team (of which there's thousands). Because Andrew was the only person involved with the original and sequel until Charles Hart came in for the rewrites, none of his collaborators could help him agree on a single vision for the show. With his tendency to be perfectionist from the score to the visuals, it doesn't really help that none of the writing team, were suited for the stage work, let alone a romantic gothic musical that was a follow-up to arguably his greatest work. It's honestly not hard to see why there have been so many incarnations, and they feel like they've been ways to make up for the terrible writing no matter how many times they try to convince us it's worth reviving over and over again. The worst part about these rewrites is they're all surface level. When you look at the bigger picture, every production has identical story beats and that's because of Webber's refusal to change. Smoke and mirrors aren't going to nor constantly mining in on the nostalgia of its original is just remind people of how much better it is. The most egrgious being the musical cues including the latest incarnation featuring the vocal riff from The Phantom of the Opera song which is what causes the Phantom to suspect he's Gustave's father alongside pl(so long 'TEN YEARS OOOOOOOOOLD!') as it's a piece of music only he & Christine know & Gustave claims never heard it from anyone else. Apparently music is a genetic trait. Further tensions and production problems being highlighted in the media couldn't help but have a negative light on the show, no matter how much everyone tried rationalizing it. And given how rushed the story felt with its plot holes, filler musical numbers and continuity problems, it's pretty clear nobody took Andrew to the side to tell him there's a reason why any form of writing has things called cutting, editing and feedback.


So with everything said and done, now we have the real question: How do you make a worthy sequel to a classic book and musical? Well, that's actually simple:

Walking On Sunshine

Well, given that Mammia Mia 2 is taking the world by storm, why not review the crappy rip-off to its predecessor? Released back in 2014, this came right out of nowhere until I saw the trailer in cinemas where everybody and their mum rolled their eyes over its shameless to copy despite the six year time gap. Directed by Max Giwa and responsible for British Step Up knock-off StreetDance 3D (because everything was 3D at the time), can this bring the same campy charm as Mamma Mia, or does it deserve to fade into obscurity like the Asylum movies?

The story follows book shy Taylor (Hannah Arterton) reuniting with her wilder sister Maddie (Annabel Scholey) in Puglia, Italy after graduating university. Discovering that Maddie's marrying her old summer fling Raf (Giulio Berruti), she decides to hide the relationship for her sister's sake  despite obvious chemistry still lingering between them. Meanwhile, Maddie has to put up with her ex Doug's (Greg Wise) advances while friends Elena, Enrico, Mikey and Lil try hiding Taylor and Raf's relationship leading up to the wedding. Oh and it has an 80s soundtrack, did I forget to mention that?

I'd rather not discuss the "similarities" with Mamma Mia when critiquing the plot because they speak for themselves. What little there is of the plot outside of the musical it desperately wants to emulate is ill conceived and tiresome. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for rom-coms involving weddings, but the ones I enjoy have heart, characters worth rooting for and believable romances with pacing and chemistry. This on the other hand feels more like the writers had a jar of cliches to pick out of, but decided to smash them all into a blender out of obligation rather than logic or reason. Most notably of this is the set-up of Taylor and Raf still having feelings for each other despite being engaged to Maddie. Already ridiculous and contrived, it also fails because we know nothing about their relationship nor why they ever bothered contracting each other despite perfectly viable ways in today's technologically mad society. And considering the unfortunate implications, it With emotional scenes feeling more manipulative, the sisterly bond which should have been the focus also feels unconvincing and is hardly touched upon because of the subplots we don't care for vying for attention.. Ranging from bland to downright creepy (which I'll elaborate on in a minute), it's safe to say that the

While anywhere in Italy is beautiful to watch, the uninspired directing and low budget costumes ruin the experience of. With obnoxious lens flare during Raf and Taylor's romance on the beach in the opening, I was expecting them to break into Summer Nights while cross cutting between Taylor at university and Raf in Puglia. The dance sequences don't help either because they're filmed so flatly and feel as robotic and arbitrary as the story. They don't have a function in giving the characters a chance to express themselves, and it's so distracting when you see the background extras getting ready to boogie the night away, that they make mall flash mobs look more sporadic. The Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go dance party ending is especially horrible as it makes the dance party ending in From Justin to Kelly look like the dance numbers from the 2016 Half a Sixpence revival (I know, an oddly specific comparative, but the choreography was some of the best I'd ever seen and needed to give it a shout out because I've always been bitter over its Olivier snubs and early closure) and doesn't really help wrap the story up.

I, like possibly everyone else, have the same question regarding the soundtrack: Why is it 80s hits? I have no clue other than there wasn't another pop group from the past 30 years with appropriate songs to fit the story or characters! While Mamma Mia had a few songs with narrative function, none of them in Walking on Sunshine connect to the plot or segue properly to the point that you could take them all out and nothing would change. Some confusing numbers include Venus after Taylor and Lil compare Maddie to a goddess, Faith when Doug sneaks into a drunk Maddie's bedroom trying to sex her up after her hen do (not creepy or rapey at all), The Bangles' Eternal Flame as Taylor ogles Raf while on the beach, If I Could Turn Back Time during the climax despite relationship qualifying as "true love" and Maddie shipping immediately after calling off the wedding (Christ, I don't care about revealing spoilers over immediately and the titular song during a tomato throwing festival (which takes place in Spain, not Italy) as Raf and Taylor snipe at each other over their relationship. With every cliched 80s hit you could think of, the awful singing doesn't exactly want to to make you sing along when everyone sounds like they're doing it drunkenly in a karaoke bar.

I probably would've been forgiving if the movie had a likeable cast to bring some charm, campiness and self awareness to the stock story and characters, but it doesn't even have that. Everybody is the Aldi equivalent of other high profile actors with terrible singing to boot. Hannah Arterton as Soph-I mean Taylor, has no personality other than sniping at Raf and supporting her sister with mediocre singing to match her blandness. While Maddie has a bit more personality with her sporadic decision to marry Raf after five weeks (who the hell does that?), her lack of development until her last minute decision to not get married because she realized she went to Italy to "find herself" comes right out of nowhere and doesn't match her character besides being the best way to resolve the love triangle to avoid any hard feelings with Taylor. Raf is just a very sexy and well chiseled blank slate we know nothing about and feels more like an object for the audience to ogle. However, the worst of them has to be Greg Wise as Doug. Despite attempting to emulate Pierce Brosnan, he comes across as a creepy douchebag while pursuing Maddie, which begs the question how did she put up with him for five seconds, let alone five years? The rest of the cast are just useless best friend stereotypes who are terrible liars to Maddie despite her obliviousness. The closest to star power among the friends (and the entire movie) is X Factor winner Leona Lewis as Elaina, who has the best singing from the cast, but her acting doesn't have much to be desired and has a pregnancy subplot that is quickly forgotten until the very end. Behind her would be comedienne Katy Brand as Lil, who does nothing but to be a Rebel Wilson knock-off and make sex jokes because of her job as an erotic fiction writer (and hopefully not friends with EL James).

Walking on Sunshine is such a shameless attempt to Mamma Mia, it hinges on being so bad it's good because of its laughable attempts at being on par with its  namesake. A bargain bin version in every aspect with a tone deaf cast in acting, singing and dimensionality, a cliched plot even by rom com standards and uninspired musical numbers, they can't bring the charm and campiness to. With, this movie is a complete waste of time unless you're looking for something to laugh at with your friends.

Rating: * 1/2

Murder Ballad

As promised, here's my review of the indie rock musical, Murder Ballad! The minute I had heard who was in this show, I knew I had to get tickets as soon as I could! Seriously, how could I miss seeing 4 of the greatest West End actors on stage together in a show about passion, lust and a murder most foul? So, will this  indie musical be so sexy that it gives RENT a run for its money, or is it just gonna kill me inside for the wrong reasons?
Murder Ballad
Starring: Kerry Ellis, Ramin Karimloo, Norman Bowman, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt

A love triangle set in New York, this murder mystery focuses on the rebellious downtown Sara (Kerry Ellis), her dogged-nice-guy uptown husband Michael (Norman Bowman) & bad boy ex-lover Tom (Ramin Karimloo) along with the Narrator (Victoria Hamilton-Barritt) who frequently interacts with the characters. While having a bout of depression from monotonous years of married life & being a mother, Sara & Tom rekindle their love as Michael struggles to help his wife. All of this of course leads to a mystery of which of the 3 lovers will die at the end & how (not exactly a spoiler given the title & it's mentioned at the beginning).

A brand new production of the 2013 off-Broadway show, this really is a much more character driven piece. From the summary of the plot alone, it's easy to tell that it's very simple. While not bad in the slightest given how relatable it can be, it's also admittedly a double-edged sword as it can get up to the point that it's cliched. From the get-go it's easy to predict what's going to happen, although you could argue that it's intentional & it didn't stop me from being intrigued with what plot thread would come next. Undeniably sexy (not as much as it's been built up to be admittedly), it helps that the characters themselves are interesting rather than being one dimensional cardboard cutouts. They can all have their inner demons throughout and while their actions are undoubtedly questionable, it is understandable why they do what they do. I'll explain a bit more once I discuss the characters/actors, but what I'm trying to say is while the story may seem cliched on paper, the execution is definitely what saves it from being boring or tedious.

The visuals in this are really minimalist. Rather than using elaborate sets to portray New York, this would rather use very limited props with tables, chairs, boxes & a duvet & pillow for the characters to use, similar to the off-Broadway production all being set in a bar. It does incorporate video projections of either locations, images to convey atmosphere or to show Sara & Michael's daughter, Frankie. While it may have been a bit difficult for me to understand what was going on during certain parts because of the limitations, it wasn't up to the point that it ruined the experience for me. Although given the fast pace up to the point that the actors get changed on-stage, it does sort of make sense in the context. And hey, if at any point it gave the excuse for Ramin to take his shirt off, that's fine by me!

Rather than relying on visuals, this musical prefers to let the music and actors tell the story. The 4 main actors (the only actors who appear other than 2 swings who occasionally appear) are each phenomenal in their roles as they give these stock characters dimension. The incomparable Kerry Ellis was especially a stand out as Sara as while she easily could have been portrayed as a pariah who takes her life for granted, she gives her much sympathy as she struggles with giving in to her lust for her old life through Tom's free spirited & rebellious nature while staying dutiful to her loving husband. Norman Bowman's Michael, while appearing perfect on the surface as a poetry enthusiast, still has his own demons after he realizes Sara isn't as happy as she could be in their marriage & what he could do to help her. Of course, Ramin was ideal casting as Tom. As a bit of a cad who convinces Sara to bring back the good old days, Karimloo shows a controlling side to him while not portraying him as a complete monster. While they (and for that matter Ellis & Karimloo) have such smoldering chemistry that would make them seem like a perfect match, it's clear Sara knows how toxic their relationship really is. Although, this admittedly gave me Phantom of the Opera flashbacks given that they pretty much play the same role as a seductive yet incredibly possessive man who pines for a woman who has fallen for another...Victoria Hamilton-Barritt was equally as interesting & entertaining as the smarmy Narrator with her husky voice and reactions to what was going on without feeling too intrusive on the narrative.

The musical numbers all stand out, with witty lyrics and cleverly metaphorically comparing the plot to a pack of cards. Going for an indie rock genre, it helps both drive the plot forward & express how the characters are feeling. Instead of coming across as pretentious or distracting, they feel natural and fit very well with the manically fast pace. Entirely sung through with absolutely no spoken dialogue, it's incredible how much stamina the actors have to be able to sing so flawlessly in this 90 minute show. Hearing them all sing rock compared to your typical broadway sounding musical numbers all the more showed that they all have a very wide range. And given that Ramin also has a background in indie/rock music with his former band The Sheytoons, it just felt to good see him finally perform in this genre for a show and he clearly felt right at home singing it.

Murder Ballad is a sexy, provocative and surprisingly deep show. Filled and ear wormingly catchy indie rock songs, a creative set and phenomenal performances from such incredible actors, this REALLY is something worth watching for those in need of a more...adult musical or something quirkier than the average West End show. And given that Lin Manuel-Miranda of all people went to see it recently, that just shows how good of a show it is! But if I were you, I'd get your tickets fast because this closes on December 3rd!
Rating: ****

And yep, I did get to meet all four actors after the show and I must say, they're all so lovely! Seeing THE Kerry Ellis in person was incredible after and seeing Ramin again after five long years and how much success he's had since then really was an eye opener for me. And funny enough, before the show started, a few of us waiting for our tickets got quick glimpses of Ramin and Norman coming in through the cafe as they headed in to get changed for the show.