Review: Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical

★★★☆☆

Confused and problematic film becomes confused and problematic musical in Cruel Intentions, now playing at the Atheneum Theatre before embarking on an Australian tour.

Some of Australia’s best musical theatre voices have been assembled to play the oldest 17 years olds you’ve ever seen, in a musical one can’t help wondering, what on earth is its relevance, and why on earth is it on stage, in 2022?

Essentially about step sibling ‘incest’, the original film had so little plot development of characters, their motivations and why on earth sociopathic step-siblings would be hell bent on destroying other teens – the show is complete with outdated racist stereotypes, gay stereotypes, coercive behaviour, issues of consent, forced outing, the only diverse casting being for the ‘token black character’ and their understudy, all to just make some outdated racism work – the list of problems with this show far outweigh the phenomenal cast, winning soundtrack and gorgeous vocals, and I have to ask – what place does such a problematic show have on our stages, following covid, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter?

Act One and Act Two might as well be different musicals – about halfway through Act One it seems like the book writers have given up, as it’s back-to-back sung through 90s bangers, with no chance for the talented actors to bring the characters to life with dialogue and nuance. Act Two brings some of the light and shade Act One so desperately was missing, and allows Francine Cain as Cecile Caldwell, to bloom and poke fun at the musical – Act Two has much more of the parody feel the show had at Edinburgh, and uses vignettes or sections of the songs, rather than the full number, to give the feeling of nostalgia while also having space for the characters to play and make fun of the content, rather than the seriousness and unironic nature of Act One.

More rock concert than musical, the sound mix and the little to no work done to transpose any of the songs from their original keys means the performers spend much of the show belting or shout singing, which has concerned long term effects - if the cast spend every night pushing themselves above the overpowering band mix, how will they make it through the extensive tour planned without vocal injury or illness? The sound levels are overwhelming and the lyrics indecipherable more often than not, with solo moments lost in the rock and roll power. Moments when the chorus and the band are together, with the cast in full voice, sparkle and shine and stand out so well, but so many moments are lost across the show.

Don't get me wrong - there are still great elements to this show despite all its problems. Some of the greatest hits of the 90s get the musical treatment, so it's 90s nostalgia with musical theatre harmonies and chorus moments. Stand out songs and moments come from everywhere – Kirby Burgess as Kathryn in her break down number ‘Sunday Morning’ by No Doubt is incredible, Euan Fistrovic Doidge and Joseph Spanti as iconic gay couple match each other perfectly, and their vocals suit the pop music vibe their characters get, and Drew Weston’s vocals are powerful and move between the (very little) character journey of seduction and arrogance to endearing and caring with ease. But these incredible performers are done a disservice by being overpowered by the music, and with so little character material to play with to show off their talents.

The lighting and stage design lend themselves again to that rock concert vibe, which is brilliant, and projections are used to bright the show to life, but over overused in Act One and completely distracting, and the set movements are still clunky as the show settles.

An affordable ticket price, some of Australia’s best voices and the nostalgia trip back to the
90s just aren’t enough to save this deeply problematic show, which just reinforces
behaviour that was taboo and unseemly 23 years ago when the film was released. While
production values are good across the board, the truly insensitive nature of the show makes this one a no-
brainer to not get FOMO if you miss it.

This review was from the Saturday 28th May performance.

This review first appeared on Theatre People, which has since closed and become Theatre Matters.