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Let’s Do The Show Right Here!

If I had to consign a form of creative expression to my own personal Room 101, there’s little doubt in my mind that the first of the performing arts to go would have to be the utterly contrived and predicatable world of the musical. Unfortunately, with my parents visiting me this weekend on a rare trip to London (and having expressed a desire to “see a show”), I will tonight be taking them and Sally to see the utterly shabby (but hugely successful) cash-in that is Mamma Mia. I’m only now beginning to contemplate the true horror of what lies in store. Worse still, this was the one that started it all: the success of Mamma Mia is directly responsible for Ben Elton’s new career–the horrors that are We Will Rock You, Tonight’s The Night, and Madness the musical.

Somebody save me…

3 thoughts on “Let’s Do The Show Right Here!”

  1. Apparently Mamma Mia is supposed to be quite fun. I like some musicals (you can’t say no to My Fair Lady!) but some should be consigned to the fires of Hell for all eternity (Phantom of the Opera springs to mind).

  2. There’s also Billy Joel’s “Moving Out” which I saw on Broadway- twice. (it’s based on all his songs and choreographed by Twyla Tharp).
    I have the “Mamma Mia” soundtrack packed to take with me this week!
    Just remember though, the songs all fit b/c they made it to…

  3. Well, yes, I suppose it was ok (and my mum certainly liked it, which was sort of the point). I think the worst part was the way the audience would laugh (apparently with it, not at it) every time they would crowbar-in an ABBA song with some tenuous connection (“tee-hee, this one has a line about the wedding being tomorrow!”). Oh, and they completely wasted the gay-anthem potential of Does Your Mother Know That You’re Out?.

    I passed some of the time towards the end of the first half trying to work out the most ridiculous musical-based-on-a-pop-act/band I could think of. The best one I could come up with was Oasis: The Musical: the story of two brothers who used to be in a rock band that split up some years ago trying to get back together. Perhaps they’d reconcile their differences to Don’t Look Back In Anger (one of them would be about to marry a character called Sally). Of course they have to do their reunion gig–at which they’d play Acquiesce, and Live Forever. Throw in a sub plot involving trips to Columbia, perhaps a recollection of when they used to be younger, eating lasagne round at Digsy’s, and you’d have a huge hit on your hands faster than you can say “Ben Elton”.

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