The Theatre Royal Brighton was transported back to the 90s last night with the opening night of Cruel Intentions – The 90s Musical, and the packed audience joined with the enthusiastic cast, all eager to relive the era.
The musical, inspired by the film Dangerous Liaisons, follows the story of life at an exclusive Manhattan high school where step siblings Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil engage in a cruel bet, their attempt to subvert the teenage world and create havoc for their own amusement. However, this is the 90s and the clothes, the hairstyles and the drama are all set to match.
Throughout the show, the music of the 90s drew the plot through, mixing in some classics with other lesser known songs from the American charts. These were sing-a-long tracks, each given a new significance through the plot lines, the script cleverly weaving them into the narrative. Particularly well done was the introduction to ‘The Sign’, the song taking on a new significance and making the audience laugh.
The cast was impressive throughout with many members taking on lead vocals. They were relentless in their energy, with the strongest elements in the show the ensemble pieces with slick choreography. Will Callan (Sebastian Valmont) was particularly well cast, with his chiseled jaw line and bad boy attitude and Nic Myers (Kathry Merteuil) gave a full on pouting sexpot performance whilst hitting all the notes with some very exposed solo performances. They both knew how to control the stage.
We also enjoyed a number of other cast members. Abbie Budden (Annette Hargrove) had an extremely pure voice, tackling difficult numbers like ‘Torn’, and delivering a great counterpoint to the story line. Lucy Carter (Cecile Cladwell) used great physicality throughout, adapting her powerful voice to add comedy to her lines and Gabrielle Williams (Bunny Caldwell) was hilarious in her take on ‘No Scrubs’.
The staging was simple but very effective, giving variety to the way the cast could deliver their lines and enough space for them to really dance. The standout scene for us was a piece of group dance based in a railway station to the track ‘I Don’t Want To Wait’ which evoked the feelings of the song and gave a different take on 90s dance moves. With live musicians adding to the tracks, it produced a show that was visually very engaging.
This show is more than just a 90s jukebox. For fans of the original, it had all the elements they will remember, brought slightly up to date, but still retaining the feelings of the era. And if you weren’t around in the 90s, or can’t remember them, you can still join in and enjoy the performance.
A night of feel good fun, a bit of attitude and songs we were still singing the next morning.
Performance Dates:
Tue and Thu at 19:30
Wed and Sat at 14:30 and 19:30
Fri at 17:00 and 20:30
Tickets can be booked at:
Theatre Royal Brighton ATGTickets.com/Brighton
Song List
Act 1 Act 2
Livin’ La Vida Loca The Sign
I’m The Only One No Scrubs
Genie In A Bottle I Don’t Want To Wait
Just A Girl I’ll Make Love To You
Wannabe Torn
Kiss Me Sometimes
Lovefool Colorblind
Sex and Candy Sunday Morning
Bye Bye Bye Iris
Breakfast At Tiffany’s Foolish Games
No Scrubs Bitch
Only Happy When It Rains Losing My Religion
Bitter Sweet Symphony
