CRUEL Intentions: The ’90s Musical, is a 2015 jukebox musical based on the 1999 film of the same name.
The musical’s book is by Roger Kumble, Lindsey Rosin and Jordan Ross Schindler; Kumble was the writer and director of the original film.
The Cruel Intentions film is itself a modern-day recreation of the 1782 French novel and 1988 film Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Picture by Pamela Raith Photography. s
The plot concerns Sebastian Valmont (a multifaceted cool dude performance from Will Callan) and Kathryn Merteuil (engaging superbitchery from Nic Myers) who are stepsiblings living in New York City’s Upper East Side and attending Manchester Prep, a posh co-educational private school. Kathryn is reeling from being dumped by fellow student Court Reynolds (Ben Fenwick) and plots revenge on him, by asking her stepbrother to seduce Court’s new girlfriend Cecile Caldwell (a delightful comedic vignette from Lucy Carter).
Sebastian, who prides himself on being a Casanova (he even keeps a conquest journal) ups the ante by challenging himself to take the school’s incoming headmaster’s daughter’s virginity. This is Annette Hargrove beautifully played and sung by she/her Abbie Budden. If he succeeds, Sebastian will get to sleep with the one woman he cannot have – his taboo stepsister. If he fails, Kathryn gets his vintage Jaguar.
Picture by Pamela Raith Photography. s
The rest of the story is classic sexual philandering, skullduggery and true love getting in the way of 100 per cent lust until it all ends badly.
Act one left me feeling nebulous – it lacked lustre. After the interval it was as if fairy dust has been sprinkled over the company because they came out like gladiators – loud, proud and making each word and movement so much more meaningful. This is when we saw the show that Director Jonathan O’Boyle and Choreographer Gary Lloyd intended.
Picture by Pamela Raith Photography. s
The Cruel Intentions tour is from the late Bill Kenwright’s stable who was of course the originator of jukebox musicals. In fairness, the book lacks the cleverness of similar genre musicals ‘Heathers’ and ‘I Evan Hansen’, but it’s a meaty catalogue of 90s classics coming thick and fast from ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ to ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. All performed to a cracking band under musical direction from Will Joy.
Cruel Intentions runs until Saturday, May 3. Click here for times, tickets and more information.
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