We round up the reviews for the musical based on the classic 90’s film.
WhatsOnStage: **** “Clueless fundamentally works, especially when Flynn’s gorgeous Cher is centre stage, and Tunstall’s earworm tunes, in Simon Hale’s sparkling orchestrations, are surging through the theatre. It’s not the greatest of musicals, but if you booked this as your big West End night out, would you feel shortchanged? As Cher would say, AS IF. Irresistible.”
London Theatre Reviews: **** “The heart of any Clueless adaptation lies with its Cher Horowitz, and Emma Flynn absolutely nails it. She embodies Cher’s ditzy charm and underlying good intentions with impressive vocal prowess and comedic timing. Flynn’s stage presence is captivating, making her the undeniable anchor of the show.”
The Standard: **** 1/2 “Great songs keep coming, accompanied by superior choreography from Lizzi Gee – a gorgeous swing routine and a brilliant pastiche of high-school dance numbers to the improbably named All That and a Bag of Chips, which I hummed all the way home. It sounds better in an American accent, honest.”
The Telegraph: *** “This perky stage-musical spin on the beloved 1995 romcom tries super-hard to please – but it’s more a ‘whatever’ than forever kinda affair.”
The Guardian: ** “Still, the performances are strong, full of grinningly nasal high-school energy. Flynn nails the comedy in Cher’s failed seduction of Christian, while Blake Jordan, as the stoner skateboarder Travis, is sweetly portrayed, too. There is also some consolation in Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams’s clever set design, which sees sofas transforming into cars and a backdrop of the LA skyline changing colours to suit the mood. But this is a paler version of the film, laden with the retro “naff” factor but having less creativity and soul. The theatrical deification of the 1990s evidently continues apace, for the worse.”
All That Dazzles: **** “Rachel Kavanaugh directs the musical with style, fun and a much-needed bit of campness in a match made in heaven. She creates a fine balance on bringing the original story to life while attempting something new and a great sense of what will delight audiences – the use of props turning into cars proving an ingenious recurring gag.”
Time Out: *** “Clueless is an amiable show that falls a little short of its potential. I wonder if more US creatives and a little more money generally might have mitigated its slight sense of weightlessness – it never really feels like ‘90s LA, and I imagine it would be stronger if it did.”
Clueless the Musical continues to play at the Trafalgar Theatre until the 27th September. To book tickets click here.