The US high school musical has become something of a phenomenon and this one has many of the elements you might expect. A sexual awakening? Check. Cheerleaders? Check. A boy-meets-girl romance? Well, not exactly.
Adapted from the 1999 film of the same name, the story follows Megan, the head cheerleader who appears to have it all. She’s popular, smart and has an American football-playing boyfriend. “Being 17 is swell,” she sings. But when her friends and parents suspect she is a lesbian, they ship her off to True Directions, a rehabilitation camp to get her back on “the straight and narrow,” where her future starts to become less clear.
Alice Croft gives a stellar performance as Megan. Twee and unassuming, she is initially reluctant to accept her sexuality. “I can’t be a lesbian, I’m a cheerleader,” she squeals to the audience’s delight. Her singing, at first aptly syrupy sweet, really starts to show its range in the second act. As she discovers her “new colours”, impressive belted high notes bolt out of her as if desperate to be released.
The cast of 12 could benefit from a little more space than they have on the relatively small stage at the Turbine. Squashed together on David Shields’s pink Barbie dreamhouse-like set, they quickly change costumes, multi-role and dance to the highest quality – but all their hard work appears a little rushed with so much for them to carry.
Too many indistinguishable, repetitive scenes mean that the musical doesn’t reach its potential. There are a few standout numbers: the song Step 2: Pink and Blue has a catchy chorus with some amusing choreography where the students are forced to learn a physicality for their birth genders. But the slower ballads written by Bill Augustin and Andrew Abrams are forgettable and hamper the pace of an already lengthy musical.
Still, this is a story that deserves attention. Gay conversion practices continue to be legal in the UK. Although the musical is rooted firmly in comedy, it shines a light on the horrors of such unethical treatments.
And entertaining it certainly is. Performed by a cast with boundless talent, you can’t help but want to cheer.
• But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical is at the Turbine theatre, London, until 16 April.
