Burlesque The Musical Reviews Round-up – Savoy Theatre London

"Christina Aguilera movie gets a gloriously ‘dirrty’ makeover"

"This adrenalised adaptation of the 2010 film is stuffed with superb voices and sensational moves"

"What a tremendous breath of fresh air. Amid the indefatigable rise of movies cynically re-spun for the stage, this musical adaptation of the 2010 film featuring Cher and Christina Aguilera goes its own eccentric way. With its monster sound, energy and blinding bling, it is no less than Burlesque 2.0."

"You could generate electricity with the combined sound of Orfeh, as burlesque club owner Tess, and Jess Folley as Ali, a small-town singer with a big voice. Ali still blows the roof off this burlesque lounge but the musical is grittier and less sanitised."

"So many of the plotlines turn new, unexpected corners."

"... it keeps old songs such as the signature tune Show Me How You Burlesque and Something’s Got a Hold on Me and adds fabulous new numbers, big and fizzing and hugely witty, including the rap-infused Call Mama Daddy and the jazzy Ammo."

"Todrick Hall’s choreography is a sensation, with jaw-dropping athleticism, balletic moves and circus acrobatics, while Marco Marco’s “more is more” costumes deserve an award. Hall, also the show’s director, is an absolute blast as a performer."

"It is over-adrenalised and messy in its plotting, but you forgive the blips. This is a production stuffed with personality, spectacle and wow factor. Come for the nostalgia, perhaps, but stay for the new kicks: bigger, naughtier and camp as hell."

"Christina Aguilera’s raunchy Burlesque musical is a cult hit in the making"

"Despite the rumoured chaos, this daft rift on the 2010 movie snatches victory from the jaws of defeat"

"Well, this is a surprise.... this knowingly daft riff on the 2010 Christina Aguilera and Cher movie emerges as a strange sort of triumph."

"... it is so cheerfully itself, so zestily camp and so sharply performed it somehow snatches victory from the jaws of defeat."

"Hall embodies the show’s meta-lite theatricality by turning the fact he plays both Tess’s queeny right-hand man Sean, and Ali’s vodka-swilling gospel teacher Miss Loretta into a running gag. He makes a virtue out of the show’s scrappy DNA and madcap, extemporaneous air"

"... sometimes it’s hard to know if the show is being wink-wink referential or simply derivative... Yet the buzz is infectious. Folley is formidable as Ali, easily Aguilera’s equal"

"George Maguire brings relish to the English upper-class comedy villain Vince. There’s lovely work from Paul Jacob French as Ali’s lazily charming love interest Jackson, and Asha Parker-Wallace finds prima donna Nikki’s sharp angles and soft core."

"Christina Aquilera show is a true spectacle"

"... Burlesque musical does not project the chaos of its production – running at two hours fifty minutes, it feels pacey, high-octane, and often funny, and is more slathered than sprinkled with incredibly eye-catching performances."

"The plotting feels thin and becomes increasingly confusing by act two, but Burlesque as a set of megawatt performances is so strong that you forgive the holes. Gravelly, funny Todrick Hall is particularly good at gluing together the messy parts of Steve Antin’s script with warmth and the odd schmaltzy trick"

"Everyone’s here for the production, which delivers. At points, the Burlesque musical feels like a massive Magic Mike production where shimmering torsos are the main characters, but away from the sensation, there is depth."

"The emotional payoff by the curtain also isn’t quite what you want, the result of the wobbly script as the second act becomes increasingly confusing. Don’t spend too much time worrying about that: this is the messy, chaotic world of burlesque and what matters is the vocals are in order."

"Camp, glitzy and hilarious"

"Burlesque is high-octane, high camp and unapologetically queer; an all-singing all-dancing fun night out at the theatre."

"a glitter-ordained marvel "

"this feast of sequins, spotlights and sultry striptease is a glitter-ordained marvel"

"With humour that is almost inconceivably up to date – the night is a flat-out riot"

"One of the most fun displays we’ve enjoyed on the West End in recent memory… a top notch romp"

" Burlesque is not likely to win any awards for originality or innovation, but it delivers on offering a top notch romp that will leave you grinning from ear to ear and beaming with enthusiasm about the “passion”, “fashion” and “emotion” of the wonderful world of burlesque."

"Car crash? Actually it’s rather compelling"

"Tales of backstage trouble were rife in the lead-up to Todrick Hall’s production arriving at the West End, but it’s full of vim"

"Connoisseurs of theatre car crashes are going to be disappointed... despite its rough edges — the book, by the film’s director, Steven Antin, gets hopelessly tangled in the second half — Todrick Hall’s production has more vim than that other recently arrived contender in the hen party stakes, The Devil Wears Prada. And in the pairing of Jess Folley and the American singer Orfeh (who is making her West End debut) the evening unfurls some powerhouse vocals."

"... whenever Folley gets her moment centre stage, she’s utterly compelling. You only wish, too, that the petite Orfeh had more opportunities to showcase a voice that’s a mixture of granite and bourbon."

"The sex is fairly sedate, the dancing tinged with louche Bob Fosse moves."

"Aguilera’s Express gives Act II an explosive opening kick as Ali discovers her inner vamp. It wasn’t always possible to make out the lyrics to the songs, but the ensemble’s sheer energy made amends."

"Burlesque The Musical takes a gay cult classic and turns it into one helluva show"

"Based on the messy source material of the 2010 movie, this show has a naked desire to give audiences what they want"

"In a West End that’s crowded with naff stagings of nostalgic films, from Clueless to Hercules, the Savoy Theatre’s Burlesque The Musical stands out from the pack for featuring significantly fewer clothes and a lot more sass."

"... it scrubs up surprisingly well, enlivened by endless queer in-jokes, spectacular burlesque routines from both male and female dancers, and a naked desire to give audiences what they want. The plot here is flimsier than a boylesque dancer’s thong."

"Everything about this story is deeply predictable. But oddly, it doesn’t feel boring, thanks to fantastic vocal performances and plenty of metaphorical and literal fireworks."

"... on current evidence, it feels pretty slick, full of crowd-pleasing moments"

"... most importantly of all, it’s genuinely fun to watch. It might be skimpy, but it covers all the bases it needs to."

"A daft paean to self-empowerment"

"This enjoyably absurd musical based on an enjoyably humdrum film is far better than I could have anticipated"

"Brimming with powerhouse vocals, tawdry razzamatazz and in-jokey sentiment, this musical... is also kind of fun. There’s self-aware snap in the self-consciously daft dialogue, energetic choreography and the songs – by Aguilera, Sia, Diane Warren and lead performers Jess Folley and Todrick Hall – are either great or mercifully short."

"I’d take this daft paean to self-empowerment through wiggling around in complicated underwear over many other recent stage adaptations of established cinematic properties, from Mean Girls to Clueless."

"The production is polished, whether spoofing or succumbing to established tropes."

"Folley, herself a graduate of TV musical talent shows, makes a wryly charming Ali in her acting debut, and exhibits a vocal range to rival Aguilera’s."

"This enjoyably absurd musical based on an enjoyably humdrum film is far better than I could have anticipated."

"Noisy and fun"

"Messy, over-extended movie musical adaptation with star turns from Jess Folley and Orfeh"

"For all the dramas on stage and off, Burlesque is an upbeat, sassy story packed with astounding vocals – extensively from Folley and Orfeh – and some genuinely exciting dance routines choreographed by Hall."

"As Ali, Folley is an absolute smash: naturally easy on stage with great comic timing, but possessing a powerhouse voice that soars through the auditorium. Antin’s script also places Hall centre stage as Tess’ right-hand man Sean, providing much of the comedy and occasionally breaking the fourth wall."

"It could all be much tighter and Hall, in his debut as director, loses focus occasionally. Otherwise, this is a noisy, fun show that actually stands head and shoulders above the source material."

"West End musical is a frivolous and flimsy frolic"

"Burlesque is now a perfectly fine musical. An entirely average, run-of-the-mill, engaging evening."

"It’s not helped by Steven Antin’s baggy storyline. A show like Burlesque isn’t meant to live or die by its plotting, which is why it’s so frustrating that there’s so much of it in between the big, heavyweight, crowdpleaser numbers."

"Things really do come to life during Hall’s choreo-heavy moments. Act two opener “Express”, when Ali finds her feet in the club, or Tess’ big 11 o’clock number, sufficiently brings the house down."

"Jess Folley, also co-composer on a selection of tracks, is a star-in-the-making as Ali: effortlessly blasting through the film’s famed staples in a scintillating mix of dance and vocal skill."

"For hen-dos looking for a hoot, or an office looking for an excellent team outing, neck a few rosés and head to Burlesque"

"But it’s a show broadly lacking in flare or heart – chugging through the motions like a well-oiled machine without the sweaty, grainy authenticity that made the film so memorable. There’s also little here that feels original"

"Christian Aguilera new musical Burlesque is a great big glittering bomb"

"Christina Aguilera and Todrick Hall combine to bring the cult film Burlesque to the stage - and I wish they hadn't."

"... the excellent cast of this noisy, frantic mess of a musical are an impressive explosion of vocal and dance talent, if not so great at the acting. But even that, I imagine, can mainly be put down to the disastrous writing and directing"

"At its heart is a fantastic debut performance by rising singer-songwriter Jess Folley, who is blessed with an outrageous voice and easy charm."

"A laborious theatrical rehash of an already lamentable film"

"How to make a travesty out of a travesty? Look no further than last night's West End opening of Burlesque The Musical"

"Our main man, Todrick Hall, even jokes that his back hurts from carrying the show. He wrote 20 out of the show's excessive 28 songs, all of them generic gospel-rap-pop mash-ups – including contributions from Aguilera (her again) and Sia."

"Antin's script, adapted from his film, is flat as an Iowa homestead and only fitfully enlivened by topical gags about Baby Reindeer, Coldplay and a TikTok meme."

"The best moments come from supporting actors – especially Paul Jacob French as Jackson, the cool, bone-dry barman, and Asha Parker-Wallace as the sassy but errant chorus girl Nikki."

"Punishing three-hour adaptation of the Christina Aguilera chick flick"

"... Burlesque isn’t totally inept, but it’s ultimately just bludgeoning, a clangorous three hour pantomime on steroids that makes the original film look like a model of tastefully plotted restraint."

"Anyway, it’s very silly and very loud: Folley is a sensational singer but across a three hour, 30-song night her weapons grade vocals are so piercing and so constant it feels like being trapped in a warzone. She is also saddled with some astonishingly unflattering wigs and costumes in the second half, genuinely some of the worst I’ve ever seen on stage."

"Basically if you’re a big fan of Todrick Hall, this show will be a real treat for you. Everyone else should approach with extreme caution."