Inspired by the personal experiences of writers Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young, ‘Rehab The Musical’ is a brutally open and honest, dark comedy window into the world of addiction, the journey of recovery, and the bravery of the many different characters who check themselves into rehab.
Set in 1999, at the dawning of a new millennium, this new musical tells the story of young protagonist Kid Pop (Jonny Labey), a child star and manufactured pop artist, who as they often do, gets caught up in a hedonistic world of alcohol, drugs and parting, and ends up on the front pages of the tabloid press in a compromising situation. Up in court on drugs charges, Kid Pop is sentenced to 60 days in rehab, a punishment which, for Kid Pop anyway, is seen as a walk in the park. However, as articulated in the opening number, Kid Pop is a “‘Wanker” and he has no idea what his rehabilitation journey at residential unit ‘The Glade’ has in store for him, as he is introduced to several other service users, including a tanning addict, a compulsive overeater, and a sex addict, all of whom have their own story to tell and all of whom are keen to share with him their life lessons, be it comical or tragic within the relative safety of the therapeutic rehab setting.
Without doubt the strength of this production is in the concept, the story (Elliot Davis), music, and lyrics (Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young). However, there is something about this production that didn’t quite connect, and whist Gary Lloyd (Director) has done a fantastic job of directing the work, there are some questionable casting choices, some pacing issues and some stage design challenges.
For the most part, the cast of characters, brought together by Casting Director, Debbie O’Brien to share their stories of addiction and obsession, has been thought out extremely well, however some of the more well-known theatre and TV performers are lacking the vocal strength and talent required to stand shoulder to shoulder with the more accomplished musical theatre professionals.
A standout performance was given by Gloria Onitiri who is simply stunning in her portrayal of Lucy Blake, a desperate young mum who will do anything to get together the money to support her child. Her vocals during Act 2 number ‘Museum of Loss’ are nothing short of world class, a true delight to watch in every aspect. Onitiri is definitely the shining star of this production, but equally compelling is Phil Sealey as obsessive over eater and cross-dresser Phil Newman. His story is heartbreakingly honest, and his song ‘Ordinary Girl’ is a tearjerker, but at the same time Phil’s character is incredibly comical and quite literally cheesy, and Newman translates this with power and style with a stage presence that captivates absolutely.
Seasoned musical theatre performer, John Barr is also hilarious as Barry Bronze, an outrageously camp individual addicted to tanning. Barr offers some unforgettable comedy moments and brings joy to the stage throughout. Jodie Steele is also a delight to watch as PR Guru Malcolm Stone’s assistant, Beth Boscombe. She has a commanding presence on stage and dominates, with strong vocals, some of the lesser accomplished performers, as does Marion Campbell in the role of Martha Prosser, the Addiction Peer Support Worker.
Labey does his best in the role of Kid Pop, he is certainly a strong actor and is totally believable in this role, but his vocal range and skill are not on par with the other cast members. Ironically this was often the case for a lot of 90s male popstars, but unlikely a design choice by the production team. This goes also for Keith Allen, a strong, comedy actor with bucket loads of talent, but lacking in the vocal department. This distracts significantly from the expert writing and lyrics, and both of these key roles would probably be better suited for performers with a little more voice training.
The writing offers up some bold, extremely well thought out and memorable musical numbers, but the overall pacing of the book indicates that fine tuning, script development (and potentially some editing) is required by Davis to keep the audience fully engaged. A clear example of this is the scene in which Martha begins ‘Museum of Loss’, a haunting and beautiful vocal solo from Campbell that is disappointingly and abruptly cut short and simply handed over to another character. This is totally confusing for the audience and indicative of an underdeveloped plot line.
Similarly, whilst the design for set, light and sound (Andrew Exeter and Chris Whybrow) are modern and edgy, there are a lot of clunky, and seemingly unnecessary transitions between scenes, with set pieces and props dragged on by cast members in a manner more indicative of a low-budget fringe production than the mainstream success this production deserves to be. There is nothing here that some further development and investment won’t fix before this piece moves onto to potentially bigger venues.
Without doubt, ‘Rehab The Musical’ is one of those new musical pieces that you know is quickly going to develop a band of loyal followers, and that will develop cult status in no time at all with fans around the world. The writing is extremely edgy, current and there is a richness that is not often seen in larger musical pieces, as the challenging subject matter is handled with a personal sincerity. Equally, the songs are uniquely rude, and the characters are instantly relatable. Once the production is more developed and enhanced, this production will fulfil its future destiny as a true cult musical hit.
‘Rehab The Musical’ is at The Playground Theatre until 17th September 2022. Tickets are available here: https://theplaygroundtheatre.london/whats-on
Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin
Reviewed: 7th September 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★