REVIEW: I Should Be So Lucky at Mayflower Theatre

You should be so lucky because ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ the musical is on its World Premiere and has stopped in Southampton! This new musical from the wonderful mind of ‘Debbie Isitt’ (creator of the major motion picture, ‘Nativity!’), is a jukebox musical with the soundtrack of a generation from pop royalty such as ‘Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley & Jason Donovan’. This is the official musical of Stock Aitken Waterman, using their chart-topping songs to create a brand new story – following in the footsteps of musicals such as ‘Mamma-Mia!’ (ABBA), ‘We Will Rock You’ (Queen), and ‘& Juliet’ (Max Martin). Non-biopic jukebox musicals follow an original story with popular songs intertwined within to help tell that story. This isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and the story isn’t always very strong; but one thing that it definitely is, is super fun, entertaining and enjoyable. Everything ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ was!

I was incredibly impressed by the sheer size of this production. Everything about the show was grand and incredibly smooth; they hadn’t skimped out on anything. As well as writing the show, ‘Debbie Isitt’ was also the director and seeing her vision come to life was amazing. The set was huge, the lighting was huge, the choreography was huge – literally everything was huge. This is definitely a serious production with potential for so much to go wrong. And I’m happy to say that nothing did! The story takes us from a cancelled wedding at the altar, to the honeymoon of all honeymoons in Turkey. We follow two star-crossed lovers, Ella and Nathan, through a heart-warming love story. Will they be ‘Together Forever’, or will we see ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’? It’s not only about lovers, but also about family and friends being there when it matters most. It’s advertised as heart-warming and rib-tickling and that’s exactly what it is. 

This was a very strong and deep cast… perfect for a new show

Something that helped make the performance so big was the cast. They were all incredibly energetic and just looked like they were having fun! I think a special shoutout needs to go out to choreographer ‘Jason Gilkison’ (creative director of Strictly Come Dancing), as he has encapsulated the music of Stock Aitken Waterman perfectly through dance; this is of course helped by the cast leaving everything out on the stage. The role of ‘Ella’ was played by Lucie-Mae Sumner and she was outstanding. As Kylie said, she was a pop-star. She is a perfect triple threat who had a fantastic on stage bond with every character she interacted with; especially Billy Roberts who played the role of ‘Nathan’.

Giovanni Spanò played the role of best man ‘Ash’, and he was fantastic! Every time he came on that stage, you just knew the whole audience was going to be laughing. This is very much the same as Jamie Chapman, who played the role of ‘Spencer’. Nobody however, got a bigger reception every time they walked onto the stage than Scott Paige, playing the role of ‘Michael’. Scott was hilarious, energetic, and fabulously camp; again another performer that I think we can call a perfect triple threat. This was a very strong and deep cast, with all of them having an individual part to play, each having their own moment in the spotlight. A cast perfect for a new show on its World Premiere.  

As I’ve already mentioned, the set was everything you would expect from a major musical. ‘Tom Rodgers’ (set and costume designer) has done an incredible job. I have seen more well established shows which have been running for years having sets that don’t even come close to this one. The use of flats, physical sets coming on/flying in are proportionate to the stage and fit the aesthetic of the show perfectly; for example the house being in the shape of a heart. The over hanging hearts just added to the enormity of the set and acted as the perfect frame to the show. The lighting mixed in with the set was also really impressive. It was bright and colourful, and they hadn’t fallen short with the use of their projections. ‘Howard Hudson’ (lighting designer) has clearly worked very closely with ‘Tom Rodgers’ and ‘Andrzej Goulding’ (video & animation designer), to make sure they get the best effects they possibly can from combining physical set with lights. In particular I really liked how the ‘yacht’ and ‘hot air balloon’ scenes looked. 

The music is timeless

I can’t not mention the involvement of pop royalty ‘Kylie Minogue’ either. She does play a fairly big role in this musical, and that role is as herself. Not in person (not so lucky for Kylie fans), but in mirror form instead. Without giving too much away, I think the best way to describe her is basically a mirror fairy godmother? I have to say that the mirror effect was extraordinary. Something so simple with the potential to go very wrong again, but I think they smashed it. We all should know by now that live music gives any show that extra edge, and it has again here. We know Stock Aitken Waterman’s songs and it could’ve been very easy just to use a soundtrack for something like this, but ‘John Hodgson’ (musical director) and his band have given us those same songs in a reimagined way with a fresh new twist. 

Overall, this show has a lot going for it! The story I have to admit wasn’t the strongest. I was really rooting for it in the first act, no matter how predictable it was. However when it came to act 2, it felt like they had finished writing the story but wanted to fit in some more songs, making the ending feel a little bit like a yo-yo. Having said this, I don’t think the story is really the main reason anybody goes to see a jukebox musical (especially a non-biopic one). People will see this musical if they have an interest in music from Stock Aitken Waterman’s back catalogue. As I mentioned earlier, this musical has a soundtrack of a generation; and I believe that, that is the generation this musical is truly marketed for. Of course anybody can watch and follow along, and I think they should – the music is timeless, and the story is something that I’m sure will be the same (much like Mamma Mia!). The comedy is hilarious, and at times very raunchy, but that’s what makes it so fun. This is the epitome of a feel-good, fun musical.

I can see ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ going a long way and following in the footsteps of its jukebox predecessors. Who knows, it could one day have its own major motion picture too. But until then, you can catch ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ on Mayflower Theatre’s stage until January 27th before it continues on its World Premiere tour. I wish the whole company, creative crew and production team all the success and luck going forwards.