Gil Hates Everything

This is a strange show. Based on a 1967 movie telling a pastiche 20s story and featuring period songs, it was turned into a stage musical in 2000 (with original music by Jeanine Tesori, who later brought you the “Shrek!” musical). It features some pretty good Ira Gershwin-style comedy lyrics, one complete steal from Gilbert & Sullivan (“The Speed Test”), and, attached to a plot about a young girl trying to forge a totally modern life for herself in the big city, a white slavery ring and some Chinese henchmen (who do, to be fair, get to sing songs in Chinese).

… wait, what? White slavers? Well, 20s musicals had bizarre plots (1926’s “Oh, Kay!” featured rum bootleggers, and the Gilbert & Sullivan influence would let you get away with pirates, fairies, Dinkblogs, whatever you want really) so it actually fits. The Jazz Age was obsessed with crime.

But I’m a bit headscratchy about the purpose of the show. It seems too accurate, as a pastiche; full marks for that accuracy, as I say, with songs like “What Do I Need With Love?” (“Peter Rabbit’s missing footsie means I roll without a tootsie” – brilliant)… and the less thrilling but still authentic “How The Other Half Lives”. There’s a jazz version of The Nutcracker, which no doubt is accompanied by stage action… “The Speed Test” is funny, if a little… long… and the songs are all well-orchestrated. But much of the second act kinda slid past me.

So personally I don’t think this is an essential show, but it’s done well, and it’s so clearly out to be fun rather than seriously meaningful that it would be churlish to punish it too much for that. I’m still a bit confused that it’s such a recent show… “Yes! Let’s do a spoof 20s musical!” … errrr, okay… but as an exercise, a proof-of-concept that the team can write to order, it seems like a success on its own terms.

Random Panda awards “Thoroughly Modern Millie” six out of ten pieces of bamboo… I teetered about giving it five, but that felt harsh, so just call me Generous Panda this morning.

So next up – and you just know how horribly wrong this could go – a musical of “The Three Musketeers”…

(originally published in 2009)