The London Palladium 29 June. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Choosing to perform a concert version of a brand new musical at the London Palladium rather than in a 50 seater pub theatre means that the producers have either HUGE faith in their show, or a huge contact list on social media. Looking at the crowds waiting patiently to enter the theatre, it may be a bit of both.
Either way, the gamble paid off with fantastic audience response and a well-deserved standing ovation – although that was partly down to the spectacular performances of the astonishingly stellar cast the producers managed to put together.
Before the show, I did wonder whether the world really needs an 80s geek musical, but Eugenius is so uplifting and joyous that I was rapt within minutes.
Eugene is a comic book writing high school geek (not a nerd – there’s a technical difference apparently) whose ideas are chosen to be adapted into a Hollywood movie. Eugene is uprooted to LA, abandoning his friends and falling under the influence of megalomaniac producer Lex. Meanwhile Evil Lord Hector, twin brother of Eugene’s hero Toughman, is searching the galaxy for his sibling, and the two worlds collide on the set of the movie. Will Eugene find the hero inside himself and save the day?
Yes, the plot is cheesy and predictable, but that’s exactly how most films and TV shows WERE in the 80s.
Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins embrace the cheese in both book and lyrics, creating a feel good nostalgia laden evening. The references may not resonate for younger audience members, but there is so much humour and energy on display that it just doesn’t matter. Perhaps they’ll go home and discover the wonders of He Man and The Fraggles through YouTube? The language does get a little fruitier in the second act, and there is one jarringly ill-judged line about stepchildren that caused a tumbleweed moment, but generally this is a show for all the family.
Every song is memorable, riffing on 80s classics and performed with panache by the cast, with Go Eugenius and Comic Book Kind of Love being the earworms of the show. (Handily distributed to the audience on cassette tape as they left.) Summer Strallen as Carrie / Super Hot Lady wowed with her “audition” piece – a super spoof of Flashdance’s “Maniac”, and David Bedella oozed malevolence as Lex. Louis Maskell (Eugene) and Amy Lennox (Janey) blended their powerful voices beautifully in their beautifully sweet duets, and Daniel Buckley as Ferris nailed his smoooooth 80s rap and inept dance moves – just hysterical. Stealing every scene was Samuel Holmes as Lex’s assistant – best character in the show – please give him more lines! And to cap it all, Brian Blessed provided the voice overs!
The choreographed numbers, inspired by the Paula Abdul/Janet Jackson school of dance, with shades of Legs and Co., were very funny. I think we were all longing to see what those Fish people will look like in full costume, and then there’s Kevin the robot…
There is still some work to be done polishing and pruning the promising script, but I for one can’t wait to see Eugenius! as a full production. Fantastic – I’m still grinning like a loon. Go Eugenius!