I first saw this show publicised weeks ago, and it hooked me in with its clever title and its claim to be a new musical. I love puns and musicals! And having just finished reading Pride and Prejudice, I marvelled to think that the universe had created this show especially for my enjoyment. Well, the universe did no such thing. Penny Ashton created the show, and my associated enjoyment was fleeting.
At the top of the show, I was shocked to discover it to be of the one-woman kind. Ashton then proceeded to take on more characters than I cared to care about. To her credit, she gives each character distinct mannerisms and I was truly impressed with her physical, if not vocal, versatility. In doing so, though, I could not help but think her attention was diverted from giving said characters depth, and from keeping the jokes fresh.
The show is moderately funny, but the comedy becomes repetitive and I was ready for it to end half an hour before it did.
Considering that the new musical music was the main lure for me, I was extremely disappointed that the songs proved to be dramatically and lyrically awkward. The melodies were never especially interesting and often sounded like familiar songs with lyrics changed, but worst of all is that the songs were inessential to the story. I would rather have done without them.
I also felt cheated that I found myself watching a one-person show with no warning. I like one-person shows enough that it would not have deterred me, but in this case the device does not work. It is written as a regular play would be, so to witness one person taking on all the characters is somewhat unsettling. One-person shows require less dialogue.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and felt it would work with a cast of four or five. The songs were unnecessary, as the focus should be comedy. It would also be funnier with more actors to bounce off each other, and bring different comic flavours to the fore. Interestingly, Ashton was at her funniest when improvising and addressing audience members directly, implying she would be funnier with a fellow performer to play against.
Sadly, Ashton's promiscuity, in taking on innumerable characters, does not live up to its promise.
See this show if you are able to deconstruct the whole thing in your head and rebuild it in a way that actually works.
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