Wild About You: An Unravelling Love Story

New musical Wild About You had its stage premiere at London’s iconic Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the 25th-26th March, with a cast stacked with some of the West End’s finest. Whilst there is promise there, it didn’t quite hit the mark and make the audience wild about it.

Written by Chilina Kennedy (Music and Lyrics) and Eric Holmes (Book), Wild About You is a story in two halves. We meet Olivia (Rachel Tucker) in a difficult moment of her life; she’s been admitted to hospital and she can’t remember why… or very much about her life at all. With Nurse Shae’s (Todrick Hall) help, Olivia begins to piece her life together through a series of flashbacks prompted by an exploration of texts and emails on her phone.

It is never explained how Olivia ended up with amnesia, nor what happens to her at the end of the first act. This explanation is needed, seeing as it serves as the catalyst for the journey Olivia undertakes throughout the show. Tucker was in fine form and voice, imbuing Olivia with charm despite the serious flaws we learn about as the story progresses. The rock-tinged score full of belty moments may not prove sustainable for an eight-show week should Wild About You go on to have a full production, but it served to highlight just what makes Tucker’s voice so special as she soars through the songs effortlessly.

Eric McCormack, best known for playing Will Truman for eleven seasons on Will & Grace, plays Michael, Olivia’s high school sweetheart who she eventually marries. McCormack has a pleasant voice, although he somewhat fades into the background during duets and group numbers. Like with Olivia, we see Michael from his high school years to his twenties, and then to middle age, and McCormack traverses the passing years well. One thing that didn’t quite work with the character was the frequent mentions of his religious beliefs, which despite the numerous references, failed to have an impact on the plot. Little would have been changed had these been removed.

Playing Olivia’s lovers are Tori Allen-Martin (Jess) and Oliver Tompsett (Thomas). Allen-Martin’s Jess is arguably the most fully formed character in the musical, as well as the most likeable. Allen-Martin and Tucker’s duet, I’m Wild About You, was the highlight of the first act. The scene between Jess and Billy in act two was particularly touching and is a glimpse of a ‘what if’ had Tucker’s Olivia made different decisions in her life. Tompsett plays Thomas, a painter and a summer fling of Olivia’s during her time in New York. Thomas is charming but flighty, suffering from a lack of substance from the writers. Tompsett, however, does what he can to provide the role with some depth.

Act Two features the stronger portion of the book, although the songs fail to stand out. It centers around a now eighteen-year-old Billy, Olivia’s son, as he is preparing his college application. Jamie Muscato, mostly unseen until act two, is vibrant in the role as Billy sets out on his journey to find out more about the mother he barely remembers. Had this journey been the through-line of the show, it would have made for a stronger plot and emotional connection, as the Act One hospital scenes pale in comparison as a narrative frame.

As with Tucker, Muscato’s voice is shown at its strengths with the score and he is every inch a leading man. Billy is at the heart of the story, and Muscato has wonderful chemistry with the rest of the cast, deftly navigating the varying relationships Billy has with Michael, Jess, Thomas, and Olivia.

Todrick Hall plays Nurse Shae in the first act, and receives some of the biggest laughs of the night with his witty delivery as Shae finds himself drawn into Olivia’s unravelling past. Hall’s character of Robin in act two certainly doesn’t work as well, and the choice to have him play the role as a woman is an awkward one. Robin, as a spiritual guide for Olivia as she follows Billy, could serve as a good point of context, explaining to both Olivia and the audience just what happened to her. However, this is overlooked in favour of a sassy attitude and some jokes that don’t quite land the way they are intended to. With some work, Robin could be a brilliant addition to the show in its second act.

Like with several other concert productions that have been put on in the West End in recent years, this production was more of a staged piece, with a simple but effective set design by Justin Williams that wouldn’t look out of place in one of the many fringe venues such as the Southwark Playhouse or the Menier Chocolate Factory. This was only to the show’s advantage as it helped to ground the piece and allowed the audience to get a better sense of it as opposed to a bare stage with music stands.

Ultimately, whilst Wild About You does have its flaws, it is so refreshing to see a new musical that isn’t an adaptation of a popular (or obscure, in some recent cases) film. In this case it has been adapted from Kennedy’s debut album. Original work should be uplifted, and Wild About You has a promising future ahead of it. This production certainly serves as a brilliant try out to see what strikes a chord with an audience and what may need revision. It will be exciting to discover how the show continues to develop in the future.