Reviewed by Catherine Joyce
Last night we went to The Lowry theatre in Salford, Manchester to see the opening night of Little Miss Sunshine – A Road Musical. The Lowry is a modern theatre with plenty of parking and a wide choice of restaurants and bars for pre-show entertainment. As we arrived a little early we sat in the bar area and enjoyed a drink looking out over the waterfront, it was a beautiful evening and the perfect way to pass the time whilst we were waiting. There are two main theatres at The Lowry and Little Miss Sunshine was in the smaller Quays theatre that has comfortable seats and plenty of leg room.
Little Miss Sunshine is based on the 2006 film and is a comedy about a dysfunctional family who take a road trip across America to enable their daughter Olive to take part in a beauty pageant. We hadn’t seen the film, so I did a quick internet search to find out the plot which helps me follow the story more easily. There are plenty of twists and turns along the journey and it was a brilliant show, we never stopped laughing from start to finish!
The story begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico where the dysfunctional Hoover family live. They are a real mix of characters and very entertaining to watch. Grandpa Hoover has been kicked out of his retirement village for inappropriate behaviour and drug taking. Sheryl’s gay brother Frank is an unemployed scholar of Proust who had recently tried to commit suicide following a failed romance. Son Dwayne, a follower of Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence until he can become a pilot and communicates via his mobile phone. Dad Richard is desperate for a book deal and has pinned all his hopes and the family’s future on its success. Daughter Olive wants to be a beauty queen and is being coached by her Grandpa and Sheryl is an overworked Mum trying to keep food on the table and support her family.
When the family receive a telephone call telling them that Olive has qualified for the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant in California in two days time, her family want to support her. After quickly realising that no one is fit to be left at home the whole family sets off on an 800 mile road trip across America in their old yellow Volkswagen T2 van.
It isn’t long before we get the usual “are we there yet” question from the back of the van and we embark on a voyage of discovery for the family. The two-day journey is filled with plenty of incidents, I won’t spoil the story for you, but suffice to say it is a very eventful trip and very entertaining!
The entire cast was really strong, Mark Moraghan as Grandpa was fantastic to watch and his “Sex Song” the musical highlight for many. Lucy O’Byrne as Sheryl, was fantastic and I could have listened to her singing all night as she has such an amazing voice.
The star of the show has to be Olive (Evie Gibson) with her dance at the end receiving the greatest applause of the night.
The set design is quite simple but works incredibly well, with the production titled Little Miss Sunshine it was fitting that the whole stage was yellow! It was always going to be tricky taking a film about a road trip onto a stage but we felt that the scenes inside the VW van had been well thought out and worked really well. Anyone on a road trip these days uses the sat nav and the Hoover’s are no exception, their sat nav, aptly named the “map bitch” provided plenty of laughs for the audience.
Musical accompaniment is provided by the on stage orchestra, they were upstairs in the motel set and it was a nice change to see them on stage.
This is a brilliant show and definitely worth seeing, it is at The Lowry until Saturday 1st June 2019
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £21.50 to £29.50 (booking fees may apply).
Little Miss Sunshine – A Road Musical is at The Lowry in Manchester from 28 May to 1 June 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.thelowry.com or call the box office on 0843 208 6000.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
