“Expect some magic tonight… you’ll have bragging rights!” – that’s me paraphrasing what Sue – one of the producers of the brand new musical stage adaptation of Burlesque – said to the first ever audience of the show before it began at Manchester’s Opera House. So of course, the eager crowd all expect the musical’s executive producer and star of the film Christina Aguilera to make a cameo appearance at some point. But, I’ll spoil it for you now and dash your hopes like everyone else’s was – she didn’t. The only bragging rights we have are being the first to see it… What on earth were you on about, Sue?!
That major disappointment aside (seriously, everyone hung back after the finale as if they were waiting for her to step through to the wings and at least thank everyone or even give us a big “HEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY-YEAHHHHHH!!!”) Burlesque the musical is in fact – just as it says on the tin (in its motto) – fabulous. They must surely be referencing Xtina not being there as life not being fair…
If you read my previous blog post about this (hyperlink above and here again) in anticipation of the show upon its announcement, you’ll know some of the things I – and I’m sure many people – had hoped it would give us. And it certainly ticked four of them (yes the odd one out is Christina Aguilera appearing – this isn’t the last time I’ll lament that she didn’t):
1. A Christina cameo? NO.
2. An Ali and Tess duet? YES.
3. Actresses who don’t just mimic Cher and Christina Aguilera? YES (ok, they did in parts but not exactly).
4. An Ali who can replicate this riff? YES.
5. A bit of a beefier storyline? YES.
Burlesque’s stage adaptation plays around with the original storyline, refreshing it and yes, making it a little less cheesy and a bit more interesting. In it, Ali (the brilliant Jess Folley who certainly has the range to rival Xtina’s and clearly studied the star’s singing style – high falsettos and growls included – while still adding her own stamp), leaves her home in the Midwest to New York in search of her real mother after the death of her adoptive one. Her journey takes her to the dingy looking Burlesque Lounge where she tries to talk to owner Tess (shock horror! 2+2=?) and instead of falling in love with the idea of burlesque and wanting to be a star, she “accidentally” becomes a star when she steps in to rescue a failed performance. Rather than being about following your dream, Burlesque becomes about finding about who you really are and where you’ve come from.
Even though in spite of early rumours Christina would play the role of Tess (she hasn’t even mentioned it on socials let alone turned up), Jackie Burns (Broadway’s longest running Elphaba in Wicked) does a wonderful job of filling Cher’s boots and adding more humour and emotion to the character than the legend did (sorry, Cher) and throws in all the snappy, clichéd one-liners people know and love from the film. Todrick Hall ups the camp and sass as Tess’ right hand man Shaun and is perhaps the most famous member of the cast, who undoubtedly steals the majority of the spotlight when he’s on, especially in the new number in which he gives Ali a history lesson about what Burlesque is (and includes a shoutout to no-show Christina Aguilera). Additionally, Tess’ ex-husband Vince (George Maguire), gets the chance to have a bigger part as his character is changed from being almost an anti-heroic supporting cast member in the film to that of the show’s main sneaky villain.
Two other standout members of the cast include Nina Ann Nelson as Nikki and Lily Wang as one of the dancers who deftly takes centre stage for the iconic WAGON WHEEL WATUSI choreo. And yes, they are also ESEA, with Nina identifying as mixed Asian American of Filipino heritage and Lily being of Chinese ethnicity, the latter showcasing skills you actually rarely take notice of when they have no speaking lines.
The show absolutely goes all out in terms of production, with lots of moving stage parts, flashy backdrops, top notch choreography and show-stopping vocals from everyone, especially Jackie as Tess in the musical reworking of You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me, Ali and Jackson (instead of just Jack, played by Michael Mather) in the musical duet version of Bound to You and Tess and Ali in their tearful mother-daughter reunion duet that nobody got between the film’s two leads. Jess, as mentioned, shines in her numbers – both new and from the film – particularly the former ones in which you can tell were co-written by Xtina and can imagine her singing (you know, if she were there…).
Overall, the bedazzling Burlesque gives us pretty much everything the film lacked (thank you, Steve Antin) while retaining its pull as an iconic camp classic and adding to the already addictive soundtrack with more amazing songs or remixing others (cast recording please!). While it delighted audiences on opening night (before disappointing everyone at the very end), only time will tell whether its limited (though also quite large) target audience of the LGBTQ community and 30 to 40-year old plus women who loved the film and are Christina Aguilera fans (but probably haven’t supported her music since), will keep its popularity up enough to warrant either a full UK tour beyond Manchester and Glasgow or even a long-term presence in the West End or Broadway.
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