Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical at Royal & Derngate Northampton Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Janine Rumble
Whether you are a fan of the film Cruel Intentions, a fan of all things 90s or you just love a good musical, then Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical is the theatre show for you. It is packed with ‘90s pop classics including the songs of Britney Spears, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, TLC, R.E.M., Ace of Base, Natalie Imbruglia, The Verve, *NSYNC and many more! I guarantee that you will be singing along and tapping your feet in no time.
Based on the iconic film and inspired by Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical, created by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble star, keeps very close to the original movie, the premise of which being two bored step siblings Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil who engage in a cruel bet: Kathryn bets Sebastian that he will not be able to sleep with Annette Hargrove, the new headmaster’s daughter before school begins. The musical then details all the conniving and manipulation that goes on between the pair and the poor unfortunate souls who find themselves tangled and ensnared in the devious and unkind plotting.
The set was fantastic; a grand house, which was transformed into different ‘venues’ with the use of props. The changes were easy to follow, meaning you could follow the story easily. The song choices were absolutely fantastic – absolute classics from the 90’s which you can’t help but bop along to! My personal favourite was the rendition of Bye Bye Bye. Performed in different styles from their original counterparts, these were intertwined wonderfully throughout, piecing together the musical, rather than just adding things in for the sake of it. The song lyrics became a part of the character’s speech and either made you laugh or smile and how seamlessly and cleverly those 90s song lyrics fitted into what was happening to the characters.
Will Callan was brilliant as the mean, moody and much misunderstood Sebastian. It was great to see the journey his character went on from beginning to end. It was also great to see his interactions with the other characters in the show. He gave me Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl) vibes. Nic Myers, who played the malicious and conniving Kathryn, sang brilliantly, but I felt she lacked the hard edge I expected to see from that character. Abbie Budden as Sebastian’s love interest, Annette Hargrove was very good as well.
Some humour was brought to the show by Lucy Carter, who played the naïve and innocent Cecile, she has great facial expressions and comic timing and also by Luke Conner Hall who played Blaine, his facial expressions during some of the naughtier parts of the play had me laughing.
The costumes they wore were very 90s in design and the many outfits worn Kathryn were a very big nod to the clothing that Kathryn wore in the original film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, who incidentally, cleverly introduced the beginning of the show through the power of narration, which I thought was a clever touch to the show’s proceedings.
Cruel Intentions is on at Royal and Derngate till Saturday 22 March and tickets, starting from £17.00, can be purchased from the Royal and Derngate box office or via the Royal and Derngate website www.royalandderngate.co.uk
There are Access Enhanced Performances being held, with an audio describe touch and tour on Wednesday 20th March and and a BSL Interpreted performance on Thursday 20th March.
I give this show a 5/5 stars.
What a brilliant and clever musical with a cast full of wonderfully talented performers, with exceptional acting skills, and extraordinary voices!
Rating: 5/5
For more information or to book tickets, visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk or call the box office on 01604 624811.
Royal & Derngate, 19-21 Guildhall Rd, Northampton, NN1 1DP