Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 29th November 2025
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
5*****
Anyone who grew up in the 90’s (and millions since) will remember Friends fondly or be unfashionably in the minority! Personally, I loved the show, so was really looking forward to Friends The Musical Parody.
After “warm up guy” played by Edward Leigh had whipped up the crowd, the show literally exploded with “Friends Like Us” and “Typical Day at Central Perk” setting the scene nicely – basically replaying lots of moments from the show in roughly the original story arc, though in highly condensed form, hitting many key points.
The writers Bob and Tobly McSmith must be massive fans as they weaved in some clever allusions to what the audience thought (or critics perhaps mentioned – such as in the song “495 Grove Street”; a song about suspending disbelief in the show’s premise. This song, btw, gave Alicia Belgarde (playing Monica) the chance to display a vocal performance that was stratospheric – what a rock voice!
All the cast were spot on with their characterizations. Amelia Atherton captured Pheobe’s weirdness, Enzo Benevuti got Ross’s geekyness, Ronnie Burden inhabited Joey’s special brand of charm and Eva Hope was a dead ringer for Rachel. But Daniel Parkinson… Wow! As Chandler, he really captured the character’s mannerisms – to an incredible extent.
The first half was good, the second even better. Launching with another superb song based around a very familiar catchphrase “We Were On A Break”, this song served to fast forward through the series. Edward Leigh again proved himself a crowd pleaser, this time in a rather fetching “outfit” with “I Am Marcel”, which had us in stitches.. There was also some very clever fleshing out of Gunther’s character with a fantastic song which broke the heart; “Part of Their Gang” (by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary). If I were in this show, Leigh’s parts are the ones I would crave – either that or Chandler, whose actor returned in “OMG It’s Janice”, this time to even more hilarious effect than before since he was accompanied by a killer track and a winning dance routine on. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the entire show!
I hope I’ve given enough examples of the thrilling spectacle on offer in this show but, in case not… With so many wonderful moments from the show making an appearance – some fleeting (like 7 erogenous zones popping up in song) and some (like Ross’s leather pants) that have more stage time; but all wonderful… If you still have doubts then the touching ballad “Could I Be Any More In Love With You” is all you’d need – believe me, it’s worth seeing the show just for that track alone!
I loved the way the show’s creative team (including composer Assaf Gleizner) weaved the title song into the show at various points – sometimes using just the opening line of the lyrics to launch off into an original lyric. Very inventive.
In short, this is a brilliant musical that will appeal to everyone – particularly if you loved the original show. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Indeed, why not take your Friends along? You (and they) won’t regret it.