Director / Writer / Lyricist: Miranda Larson
Composer: Barrie Bignold
With 236 episodes spanning ten seasons and ten years there were a lot of Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler and Monica between 1994 to 2004 – about 87 hours of TV to be precise. Cramming all of this into one show is about as touch as knowing what Chandler did for a living but is the premise behind Friendsical – A Parody Musical About Friends: a whistle-stop rush through a decade of coffee, relationships and hairstyles.
Creator Miranda Larson has capitalised on the most successful sitcom ever broadcast. With its resurgence from a new generation the show that attracted an American audience of over 52 million for its final episode is still incredibly popular eighteen years after it came off air. Shrewdly, Larson has spotted a gap in the market to create a theatre show that will tap into its enduring popularity.
Ross (Nelson Bettencourt) is the narrator and ‘creator’. Leaning heavily on theatrical license he explains that he is allowed to ride rough-shod over the linear structure, mixing timelines and jumping between seasons in order to get as much of the story that took a decade to tell into one show. On top of this feat, Friendsical also attempts to shoe-horn in a celebrity guest as a nod to the many cameos Hollywood stars who queued up to be in the original show. Drag queen and star of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Ella Vaday, pops up throughout in this performance – the premise being that she is searching for the best minor character to play.
The cast have an enormous task. With such well-known characters, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The style is big and bold with terrible wigs and exaggerated impressions: caricature rather than character. We are taken back to the very first episode as Amelia Kinu Muus’ Rachel enters fresh from jilting Barrie the orthodontist at her wedding. Sario Solomon shrugs ad eats his way through a passable Joey. Ally Retberg has fun adopting the mannerisms of kookie Phoebe (hopping from leg to leg) as well as the dreaded leopard-printed Janice. As Ross Nelson Bettencourt has a tougher challenge recreating Ross’s nuances. However, as Chandler and Monica, Tim Edwards and Sarah Michelle-Kelly excel. Their impressions of the couple that get together late on in the show are spot on.
It seems the ambition of this show is a ‘Reduced Shakespeare Company’ style musical sprint through all 236 episodes. However, with a running time of nearly two and a half hours it doesn’t achieve this. Although there are some nice gags about what plots they have omitted due to time restraints, Miranda Larson hasn’t cut nearly enough. The use of the red pen is tough but this is a show that would benefit from it – concentrating on quality and not quantity. The show relies heavily on recreating iconic lines from the show, wearing identical outfits and waiting for the laugh of familiarity from its audience. However, the laugh out loud moments are too few and far between. Whilst it does satisfy an audience of enthusiasts it can become tiresome in a show that should be short and snappier.
Friendsical is a bright, colourful show that has bold ambitions and a ready-made audience base. It does what it says on the poster but it misses the opportunity to create something that doesn’t rely on tropes and classic lines lifted straight from the TV show.
Runs until 5 November 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Stuck in 2nd gear
