New Wimbledon Theatre, London – until 1 March 2025
By Emily Smith
3***
Based on the cult-classic movie released in 1999, Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical, tells the story of wealthy, manipulative stepsiblings Kathryn Merteuil (Nic Myers) and Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan). This touring production follows a short run at The Other Palace last year with a largely new cast.
Staying true to the ‘Gen Y’ setting of the film, the audience are transported back to the 90s through the costumes, staging and songs. The show starts with an (inexplicable) rendition of Livin’ La Vida Loca and goes on to cover all genres from the 90s – from ballads such as Iris to upbeat classics like The Sign and Lovefool. However, the use of 90s hits interjected into the dialogue felt forced and did little to add to the storytelling. There are so many well-known 90s hits shoe-horned into the 1 hour 55 minute running time that the majority felt misplaced and inopportune, breaking up the plot rather than adding to it.
I began to question if this was a serious musical or satire when the actors started to play into the breakout nature of the songs. For example, when Cecile Caldwell (Lucy Carter) is speaking to Kathryn and discovers she had an orgasm, Cecile launches into a well-timed version of The Sign, which got several laughs from the audience. However, this comedic edge was not consistent and left me feeling confused about the tone of the show. This was made more disorienting by the presence of backing dancers when perhaps having the main vocalist(s) alone would have given greater effect.
In both the film and musical, Sebastian is challenged by Kathryn to seduce Annette Hargrove (Abbie Budden), a Christian girl who was saving herself for marriage, and in exchange Kathryn agrees to sleep with him. I felt the (admittedly strange) stepsibling sexual chemistry from the film was somewhat lacking in this musical production. Given the storyline has been maintained, with the script remaining largely true to the film, either the sexual chemistry needed to be fully present, or removed. However, some of the other controversial moments from the film, such as the sex scene between Sebastian and Cecile, have been made more appropriate and consensual than perhaps the film portrays.
The true standout of the evening was Will Callan who played Sebastian Valmont. Will’s voice is absolutely gorgeous – reminiscent of musical icon Ben Platt at times – and his rendition of Iris, which started acapella, was one of the best of the evening. Abbie Budden also showcased her beautiful vocals with Abbie and Will’s duets, Lovefool and Torn, being two of the more memorable performances of the evening.
The relationship between gay lovers, Blaine Tuttle (Luke Conner Hall) and Greg McConnell (Joe Simmons), is given a more prominent role in the musical than in the film. Their performances were some of the highlights of the evening, with songs like Wannabe proving to be real crowd pleasers, despite the fact their relationship didn’t really feature in the narrative.
The final number of the evening Bittersweet Symphony was a real throwback to the film which ends with the same song. At the final curtain call, the cast performed a medley of songs which was a great way to end the show and, in some ways, was what the audience wanted all along – a 90s concert!
Polly Sullivan’s set and costume design felt appropriate for the show. The stage was set inside an elaborate mansion house throughout, with props dropping down or being wheeled on to change the scene. The costumes were authentically 90s and true to the film. The use of colour-changing panels within the mansion walls helped change the atmosphere of each scene and was well utilised in the lighting design (Nick Richings).
Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical is a fun night out, packed full of 90s hits, yet it feels confused and incohesive at times with a questionable tone.