Burlesque, Glasgow review: 'a spectacular musical'

UP, Tron Theatre, Glasgow ★★★★

Life’s not fair, but it’s always fabulous, runs the mantra of the leading characters in the new stage musical version of the 2010 Hollywood film Burlesque; and it certainly wasn’t fair, over the weekend, to co-composer and star Jess Folley, who missed the show’s opening Glasgow performances because of illness.

The rest of the cast stepped up in fine style, though, with Nina Ann Nelson taking over the leading role of small-town Iowa girl Ali Rose, and Alessia McDermott in Nelson’s role as Nikki, fiery blonde star of the New York burlesque club where Ali finds herself working as a waitress. And after a 24 hour delay, the self titled “Big New Musical” was up and running, with Broadway star Jackie Burns in terrific form as brilliant, hard-bitten cabaret owner Tess, and online phenomenon Todrick Hall attracting roars of love and applause from the audience, as Tess’s super-camp showbiz partner, Sean.

First seen in Manchester earlier this year, Burlesque certainly is a spectacular new musical, crafted from the 2010 movie by a team that includes original writer and director Steve Antin, and original star and songwriter Christina Aguilera. In this version, Ali Rose is a young diner owner in her Iowa home town, and star of her local gospel choir, who travels to New York after she learns that her birth mother is alive, and living there.

To her surprise, her mother’s address turns out to be a burlesque club; and after a disastrous first encounter with a stressed-out Tess, Ali Rose finds herself trapped in a series of half-truths and silences, unable to tell anyone exactly why she is there, even as her singing talent propels her into a starring role in the show.

It’s all terrific backstage-drama stuff, in other words, full of love for the radical freedom and glamour of the burlesque tradition; and the story is told in an impressive playlist of songs, including film favourites Something’s Got A Hold On Me and Welcome To Burlesque.

Visually, the show is spectacular, with Soutra Gilmour’s simple gantry set brought alive by astonishing film and video effects, from sweeping New York streetscapes to swirling showbiz backdrops. Nick Winston’s direction and choreography is razor-sharp and sometimes thrilling, the 12-piece band is superb; and if the storyline is sometimes less than credible, and the songs a little schmaltzy - well, that’s show business, folks, and the stuff of which successful musicals are made.

Visible Fictions’ UP, by contrast, is about as modest a piece of epic storytelling as theatre can offer; a tiny disaster movie told through two appealing performances, and a quiet illustrative use of a few small objects - dolls, a toy aeroplane, small pieces of hand-luggage.

Co-created and performed by Zoe Hunter and Martin McCormick, with director Douglas Irvine, UP tells the story of unlucky Jamie - whose life has been dogged by accidents both ludicrous and tragic - and lucky Jay, who seems to have wandered almost by chance into a life of wealth, privilege, and unrelenting good fortune.

Jamie and Jay meet on a plane - he a frequent traveller, she a nervous first-time flier. And when the flight runs into trouble, they eventually experience a strange shared epiphany, in which they begin to understand that good luck can be a curse, while bad luck is not always what it seems.

In the end, UP is a slightly confusing show, which tries to say something profound about the tensions between positive and negative that run through all our lives, but sometimes seems slightly unsure of its metaphors. There is, though, something hugely engaging about its studied theatrical modesty, and sheer emotional honesty; in a show full of heart, and quietly backed by the talents of a formidable creative team, including designer Becky Minto, lighting man Kai Fischer, and music and sound designers Andy McGregor and Kevin Murray.

Burlesque is at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, until 28 September; UP is on tour until 5 October