Forgotten Musicals: 'Bring It On ! - The Musical' (2011)

Forgotten Musicals: ‘Bring It On ! – The Musical’ (2011)

Music by Tom Kitt & Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lyrics by Amanda Green & Lin-Manuel Miranda

Book by Jeff Whitty (Inspired by ‘Bring It On’ by Jessica Bendinger)

History

Bring It On: The Musical is a musical with music by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda (‘Hamilton’), lyrics by Amanda Green and Miranda, and a book by Jeff Whitty (‘Avenue Q’). It is loosely based on the 2000 film of the same name and focuses on the competitive world of cheerleading and over-the-top team rivalries.

The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2011, featuring "award-winning competitive cheerleaders from across the country". It was also the first Broadway musical to feature a transgender high school character, La Cienega, originally played by Gregory Haney. A national tour of the musical played in major U.S. cities from November 2011 to June 2012. The screenwriter of the original movie, Jessica Bendinger, sued in 2011, arguing that she had rights in the licensing of the theatre production. She said she would allow the Bring It On musical to proceed if she was properly credited and compensated. In November 2011, an out-of-court settlement was made. The touring stage production began previews on Broadway in July 2012 at the St. James Theatre, before opening for a limited engagement on August 1, 2012, to December 30, 2012.

The musical was due to make its UK and European première with a UK tour starting at the Palace Theatre in Manchester from 6th September 2017. However, in August 2017, it was announced that the tour has been postponed until 2019. Therefore, the UK premiere was at the Southwark Playhouse, opening on 2nd August 2018, as a student production by the British Theatre Academy.

Story

Campbell is cheer-royalty at Truman High School, and her senior year should prove the most cheertastic – she's been named captain of the squad. But an unexpected redistricting forces her to spend her final year of high school at the neighbouring hard-knock Jackson High School. Finding it difficult to fit in, particularly as Jackson has no cheerleading squad, and suspecting foul play in her transfer, Campbell needs not only to make friends, but convince them to form a squad to get her revenge at the National Championships.

In A Nutshell

Is cheerleading always only about the winning ?

Production

I went to see the Southwark Playhouse production, a fortnight into its run. Yet again the seating had been redistributed meaning that there were stewards with clipboards directing people to their seats. In fact the man originally sitting next to me had to move, when it became clear that the ‘E’ on the stage block that we were sitting on should have been ‘D’.

I enjoyed the performance, and the differing musical styles between songs set at the two schools (with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hip-Hop influence clearly visible in the Jackson High numbers). The show was anchored by Robyn McIntyre as Campbell, but I would wish to make special mention of Kristine Kruse as Bridget, considered dorky at Truman and sexy at Jackson, and Sydnie Hocknell as Eva, the new Captain of Jackson’s squad who may have not gained her position fairly. The rest of the cast threw themselves into the demanding dancing and cheerleading moves with gusto. Definitely recommended.

The only sour note was the very smelly food that the woman in the seat next to me was eating prior to curtain up. I don't know what is was - but for the whole of Act One I couldn't get the stench out of my nostrils.

Bring It On ! The Musical runs at the Southwark Playhouse, London from 2nd August 2018 to 1st September 2018.

Favourite Song

Another difficult choice, I am placing 'It Ain't No Thing' (for Bridget) and 'Killer Instinct' (for Eva) in joint first place, closely followed by 'Something Isn't Right Here' and the title song, 'Bring It On'.

Links

Production Website: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/bring-it-on/

‘Bring It On !’ on Miranda’s website: http://www.linmanuel.com/bring-it-on

YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN8EjkTpwXMAjuGjWAc9nDF7IvR2FkxrN