This revival of Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach’s 2007 musical – based on the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon – doesn’t give the best first impression.
The staging looks odd and a bit flimsy, and the costuming rather tacky and predictable – we’ve come to expect an extremely high standard from productions at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park over the years, and our initial impressions didn’t align with expectations.
Thankfully, when the show gets under way, the situation improves rapidly. Lucy Moss – co-creator of SIX the Musical – directs this updated version, which has a few tweaks to the book to include references to Instagram and the Kardashians.
The casting impresses – there’s some exceptional talent on stage, and it’s rare to see such a genuine diversity in a major production – this level of visibility from actors of all backgrounds is genuinely just such a joy to watch.