Monday, 25th March 2024 at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reviewer: Charlotte Dawes
A new musical, Wild About You, roars into the West End for its world premiere in concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Based on Eric Holmes’ book and with music and lyrics by Broadway’s Chilina Kennedy, Wild About You follows Olivia (Rachel Tucker), who wakes up in the hospital with very limited memory and attempts to recall the identity of her emergency contact. As Olivia delves through her past loves, she comes to a series of realisations about the role various loves have played in her life. Olivia eventually channels her epiphany into reconnecting with herself and, more importantly, with her son, Billy (Jamie Muscato).
The first act focuses on Olivia’s relationship with her high school sweetheart, Michael (Eric McCormack), and her two other loves, lovelorn college roommate Jess (Tori Allen-Martin) and sweet talking artist, Tom (Oliver Tompsett). Without giving too much away, the second act shows how Olivia’s loves have impacted Billy as she observes him from an unexpected perspective.
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s huge stage risks overwhelming the six-character piece, but Director Nick Winston does well to fill the stage, with set designer Justin Williams using various ‘scenes’ to help differentiate the many facets of Olivia’s unfurling memories. While the plot shows promise of delving into nuanced topics surrounding love, the material itself is overcomplicated in places and sometimes feels like a re-hash of the musical Carousel.
Among the heavier topics, light relief is provided in the form of inquisitive nurse Shay (Todrick Hall), who, at times, feels like a mirror of the audience as we both work out Olivia’s past. It is difficult to know whether we are meant to root for Olivia in the first act, but by the second, we have a much better idea of who she is. That said, it is important to remember that this show is still being developed and this is a concert performance. It really does feel as though the creators are on the cusp of something really special that has the potential to become the next cult musical.
With a unique pop/folk score, the music isn’t entirely new to audiences; a concept album was released last year with the likes of musical theatre powerhouses Alex Newell and Lea Salonge lending their vocals. The titular ‘Wild About You’ is the standout number, but unfortunately, the majority of the songs lack a musical theatre earworm.
It is the cast that elevates Wild About You to a 4-star musical. Rachel Tucker’s performance is hypnotic. With seriously impressive runs, Tucker provides depth to Olivia in a way that is entirely unsurprising, given that her endless talent is well-established.
All the stellar cast were up for the challenge of competing with Tucker’s star-power, but none more than Oliver Tompsett, as painter Tom. Tompsett is correctly described in the show as ‘intoxicating’. His effortless vocals are always a complete joy to listen to. Both Tori Allen-Martin and Jamie Muscato also bring dimension and flare to their characters, despite Muscato’s vocal talent being criminally underused.
This show takes a unique look at the various loves we experience in our lifetimes and how, in trying to make everyone happy, you can wind up doing the very opposite. If this is Wild About You in the development stage, audiences can feel very excited about what is to come.
Wild About You has completed its current run – more information about the show and future plans can be found here.
Images: Mark Senior
Always Time For Theatre 
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