As an exercise in showing you really can make a musical about anything, Rick Pearson and Roger Dipper’s show excels. Taking Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial as a topic is one of those crazy notions that turns out to have plenty of potential (another company, Awkward Productions have their show, Gwyneth Goes Skiing, on tour until the end of the year). Pearson and Dipper’s ideas are good, their cast great, and if all the efforts end up a little thin, the show is still fun.
Of course, it’s really a show about celebrity, as Gwenny P’s presence at a small Utah Court creates a circus that Dipper’s book can exaggerate as much as he likes. The action might have been made clearer for those who didn’t follow the trial, but what goes on is swift enough – the show is only an hour – and Shiv Rabheru‘s direction effective.
The cast embrace the spirit of the show with plenty of mannered gestures and a good effort to engage the audience (predictably, we are the jury). Diana Vickers takes the role of Paltrow and is joined by Marc Antolin as her opponent in court. Tori Allen-Martin is the single lawyer (and fangirl) while Idriss Kargbo is judge and… drag queen (why not). The signing is strong and the choreography by Arlene Phillips a giggle, we even get the splits and a cartwheel.
Despite the effort from the cast, there isn’t quite enough to excite. The jokes aren’t bad, but you can see most of them coming a mile off. And there’s a lot of repetition, in particular about security on the internet and Paltrow’s lifestyle website (renamed Poop). Pearson’s music is competent but unexciting; take the riff on another courtroom musical Chicago, a good idea but one that goes on too long.
While the makeshift set and costumes have appeal, the production feels a little lost in the West End. It’s easier to imagine it as part of a big night out, with a drink or two before and after. The show is easy on celebrity, and our obsession with it, so there isn’t much satire. Being even-handed toward Paltrow and her opponent (who of course also wants fame) might be admirable but it doesn’t leave the show with far to go. Although I Wish You Well is enjoyable, there just isn’t much to it.
Until 12 October 2024