British Musicals: 'Eugenius!' (2017)
Book, Music and Lyrics by Ben Adams & Chris Wilkins
History:
Written
by former A-1 star, Ben Adams and voiceover artist, Chris Wilkins,
‘Eugenius!’ has been described by its creators as the most hotly anticipated new
musical that you've never seen. Following a long development phase with several workshops, and one
'concert' performance - a sold-out, queues-round-the-block,
one-nighter at the London Palladium in June 2017 (featuring Adams
himself, Warwick Davies, Amy Lennox, Joanne Clifton & Sharon D.
Clarke), the show finally opened for a run at ‘The Other Palace’
in Victoria, London (spitting distance from ‘Hamilton’), in a production
executive-produced by former Evil Lord Hector (the comedic villain of
the piece), Warwick Davies.
Plot:
Eugene spends his
nights drawing comic books featuring ‘Toughman’ and his sexy
sidekick ‘Superhot Lady’ whose adventures fighting against the
Evil Lord Hector fill his dreams. However, life in a 1980s American
High School is no dream for Eugene, and his fellow geeks, Janey and
Feris. If only someone would make a movie of his comics in Hollywood,
then surely all his problems would be over. Or would they ?
In
a Nutshell:
If rather than shooting for the stars, you shoot higher, could there be a superhero
in everyone – even a geek ?
Production:
Having ummed and ahhed
about the one-nighter, it was not until the run at ‘The Other
Palace’ (which I had attended several times before when it was
called ‘St. James’ Theatre) that I booked a ticket for my second 80s Superhero Musical in less than a month (see Bananaman - The Musical). The press
night had been a few nights before, and reviews were mixed to say the
least. I therefore went with limited expectations. However, by the
interval it was clear that the core fan base was ‘children of the
1980s’ and G.E.E.K.S (to slightly misquote the second song of the
night). Therefore as a proud 1980s Geek, I absolutely loved it. In
fact on leaving the auditorium after the final curtain call, I went
straight to get a copy of the CD of the one-nighter that they were
selling in the foyer, rather than waiting to see if any of the songs
were online to listen to.
I was pleased to see
two actors that I recognised from previous productions – Cameron
Blakely (who I last saw as Gomez in the touring ‘The Addams
Family’ musical) as Lex Hogan (if you get these references,
definitely go) and Daniel Buckley (who I last saw playing a
very similar role in the equally excellent ‘Loserville’, also
co-written by a boy-band star, James Bourne of ‘Busted’) as
Eugene’s comedy sidekick, Feris. Eugene was played by Liam
Forde, seemingly the only true American, whilst Laura Baldwin
was exquisite as his love interest and voice of reason, Janey. The
ensemble was amazing, and I must also highlight the amazing work of
Ian Hughes (Knibbs in Doctor Who story, ‘Empress of Mars’)
as Harry Hill-esque Evil Lord Hector, who managed to amazingly combine comedic
campness with evil, and Scott Paige as Theo, the even camper
assistant to Lex. Mix in pre-recorded verbal cameos from Brian
Blessed (as Narrator) and Mark Hamill (as Kevin, Lord
Hector’s ineffectual robot) and it couldn’t have been better
cast.
I particularly
enjoyed the scene of the origins of ‘Toughman’ and ‘Lord
Hector’, which I felt appropriately sent up the genre. The songs
were all very catchy, and I was singing the final number to myself as
I left the theatre. If the names ‘Zoltar’, ‘Megatron’ or
‘Fraggles’ mean anything to you, or you know what a ‘truffle
shuffle’ is or why a band in it is called 'Flock of Eagles', then book a ticket as soon as you can. Cannot
recommend this enough !!!!.
Eugenius!' runs at ‘The Other Palace’ in London from 22nd January to 3rd March 2018.
Signature
Song:
I have real problems
choosing – I love ‘G.E.E.K’, ‘The No Pants Dance’, ‘Happy
Endings Don’t Exist’ and ‘Comic Book Kind of Love’, but I
suppose that the title track is my favourite, being called ‘Go You
Genius !’ on the first time it is sung and ‘Go Eugenius !’ as
the rousing final number.
Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?
Yes, on CD (before leaving the theatre).
Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?
Yes, on CD (before leaving the theatre).
Links:
