Clueless The Musical Review

Bromley’s Churchill Theatre are currently playing hosts to brand new musical, Clueless, written by Amy Heckerling and composed by THE KT Tunstall.

The show is based on the iconic film of the same name, directed by Amy Heckerling in 1995. It follows main character Cher, a rich high-school student who is struggling to handle adolescence. When new girl Tai joins the school, Cher takes it upon herself to give her a makeover and play Cupid by matchmaking her with popular boy Elton, but in the end 'Cupid' is struck herself and falls in love with someone very unexpected!

The first thing I liked about the show was how before it even started composer, KT Tunstall, came out on stage to introduce it. With this being a brand new show, she gave a word of warning of how it is a work in process and they were making adaptations each night, so we may never see the same show again … though from what we saw I’m not sure there was any need for improvements!

Emma Flynn led the show as Cher. The American has appeared in many shows in the states, but was making her UK debut in Clueless … and wow did she impress! Flynn was in most of the scenes and the show was very vocally demanding with most of the dialogue being sung, but she really did rise to the occasion with her stunning voice and was the perfect leading lady.

It was impressive to see how good the cast’s chemistry was after just having one week of rehearsal and starting performances just three days prior to our show. Flynn had lots of interactions, but the ones that stood out were with co-stars Madison McBride (Dion), Annie Southall (Tai) and Keelan McAuley (Josh). The latter had fantastic stage presence particularly during his solo which was made even better with the humourous choreography.

The choreography by Alison Solomon was amazing … and ironically Solomon Davy was a standout performer in the dance scenes, perhaps it's in the name, he was once again phenomenal. Alison cleverly portrayed humour through dance, particularly in McAuley’s scene previously mentioned, and also managed to bring the 1990’s vibe to life. This was also assisted by the wardrobe by Nettie Johnson and Mary Nguyen.

The ensemble were brilliant, true triple threats, having opportunities to impress with their acting, dancing, and singing skills.

KT Tunstall and Glenn Slater are lyrical geniuses, the show flowed so well even though there was a mixture of spoken and sung dialogue. The music was all done in house by six talented musicians under the stage.

I was really impressed with the set by Mikiko Suzuki Macadams. Going into the show I thought it would be basic as it’s only a two week show, but I was very wrong. The set was extremely detailed, it consisted of many different backdrops and props. I particularly liked the dressing room design … it really was a teenage girls heaven! The set was complimented by Liam Wise’s lighting, particularly in the car scenes.

Coming into the show I didn’t know what to expect, being a fan of rom-coms I enjoyed the film so was excited to see how it translated onto the stage. Overall Clueless is a fantastic musical, that I would easily give five stars. I absolutely loved the show, it was so funny, but not to the point where it was cringy, and had the audience laughing throughout. Clueless will surely be moved to the West End soon enough after having such a good reception during their opening stint. It will be interesting to see how different the final show is compared to the one we saw, so I for one will definitely be returning.

Clueless is only in Bromley until February 24th 2024, so be sure to get your ticket to see this iconic film on the stage while you have the chance!

I would like to give a huge thank you to venue manager, Ellie Wells. Ellie got me a signed programme from the cast with a special message from Solomon Davy. I also met Solomon after the show, he was lovely and even agreed to be interviewed by me … so be sure to look out for that!

Access at the Churchill Theatre

The Churchill Theatre is located in Bromley, it is my local theatre so we drove and parked nearby!

I have been to the Churchill Theatre many times so have sat in different spots, but for this performance we sat in row F of the stalls. We had to be escorted down by the friendly staff via a few lifts, the second lift is a little small so may be tight for larger wheelchairs but for me it was fine.

Our seats were on the end of the row, normally they remove a seat but they hadn’t this time, the staff were prepared to take it out but I actually had a much better view and wasn’t in the way of people walking past.

Stage door, where I met Solomon and Jack Bromage, was directly opposite our seat so was easy to access via a fire door. There was no way back to our car from that exit butt the staff were understanding and let us back through the theatre.

Overall the theatre’s access was great and the staff were really helpful, the only disappointment was the lack of merchandise but I understand it’s because the show is new!