Yes, yes, we know – the West End probably doesn’t need yet another musical based on movies that we grew up with. We’ve already had Mean Girls and The Devil Wears Prada open in the last year, and now it’s the turn of iconic 1995 camp classic Clueless, which opened this week at London’s Trafalgar Theatre, marking the movie’s 30th anniversary.
Fans of the film will be pleased to learn that its writer and director, Amy Heckerling, is a key part of the creative team involved in this stage adaptation – she’s written the book. Music is by pop singer and songwriter KT Tunstall, with lyrics by Glenn Slater, and the show is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh.
It’s quite impressive. This probably goes without saying, but being a new musical, Clueless needs some banging tunes; thankfully, it has a fair few. The songs really pay homage to music of the era: we spotted a few nods to Alanis Morisette, or the pop punk stylings of Green Day or Blink 182, and one song is essentially built around the riff from Hanson’s ‘Mmmbop’ – it’s wonderfully nostalgic stuff. The highlight arrives surprisingly late: midway through act two we’re treated to a boyband-esque number called ‘Reasonable Doubts’ which legitimately sounds like a lost NSYNC classic – it’s a brilliant and inspired piece of songwriting, and humorously staged, too.
There are strong performances throughout the cast. Our leading pair, Emma Flynn as Cher and Keelan McAuley as Josh, both have great stage presence and impressive vocal prowess. It’s a talented ensemble cast too – we particularly warmed to Chyna-Rose Frederick as Dionne and Isaac J Lewis as Christian, but we enjoyed watching everyone do their thing. The band is tight and there’s some decent dancing as well – the Trafalgar Theatre stage isn’t quite big enough for huge choreographed numbers, but there’s an energetic dancehall-inspired song which really utilises the available space effectively.
We enjoyed a thoroughly entertaining evening with Clueless. It’s not perfect – it’s all somewhat cheesy and predictable, not every song is a banger, some of the sets look a bit cheap – but all the important ingredients are present and correct. We have some catchy tunes, solid performances and a healthy dose of humour, which all adds up to a terrifically fun night out.
GAY TIMES gives Clueless – 4/5
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