Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 24 May 2025
Reviewed by Alex Sykes
5*****
Set in a time before social media and sexting, and when the ‘M’ in MTV still stood for music, there was the 90s.
Cruel Intentions tells the story of Sebastian (Will Callan) and Kathryn (Nic Myers), step siblings living on the Upper East Side. After reading a copy of Seventeen Magazine, Sebastian and Kathryn make a bet, Sebastian will try to sleep with Annette (Abbie Budden) who is new in town. If Sebastian succeeds, Kathryn will sleep with him as she is the only girl he can’t have, if he fails, Kathryn gets his car.
Along the way, Kathryn and Sebastian also meddle in the love life of Cecile (Lucy Carter) and her music teacher, Ronald (Kevin Yates). With Cecile’s mother (Gabriella WIlliams) playing doing a memorable dance to No Scrubs
With a soundtrack of some of the biggest hits of the 90s, including Genie in a Bottle, Wannabe and Bitter Sweet Symphony, this musical is a brilliant night out whether you have seen the film or not. The band deserve a round of applause for their amazing talent.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, the original Kathryn in the film, provides a voice over at the start of the show, telling people to turn off their “sub par cell phones” and informing the audience that this musical doesn’t feature flying cars, green witches or boy wizards.
My mum was a bit dubious about seeing this as she thought it was going to be another teen girl rom com musical, but by the end of the first act she was absolutely in love with the whole show and although the story is about Kathryn and Sebastian, Nic Myers as Kathryn is the true star of the show.
Whether you see this show in Darlington or elsewhere on the tour, grab a ticket, grab a friend and enjoy a night of 90s nostalgia with an epic soundtrack.