Theatre Review: Girls Night The Musical - Gaiety Theatre Dublin
Girls Night: The Musical
Gaiety Theatre Dublin
Tuesday 17th April: To the men of Dublin and further afield who have been wondering where their better halves have been this past week, they should head straight to the Gaiety Theatre where throngs of women, young and old, have been spending their nights. The Gaiety is home, until Sat 21st April, to ‘Girls Night: The Musical’ a musical which does exactly what it says on the tin – a musical aimed directly towards women (although a handful of brave man could be spotted amongst the oestrogen-filled crowd last night).
The show opens with the narrator Sharon (Jacinta Whyte) entering dressed head to toe in white with fluffy wings. As you can guess, she is dead, after her life was cut short at the tender age of 16. She leaves behind a daughter, Candy Rose, who has since grown up and has recently become engaged. The show focuses on the prenuptial party held by Sharon’s four best friends; Anita, (Sorcha Furlong) long-time sufferer of bipolar disorder who is never far from her stash of prozac; Liza,(Lorraine Keane) a well-to-do woman terrified that her husband will leave her; Carol (Hilda Fay) a two time divorcee and aging party girl and Carol’s little sister Kate (Sharon Sexton), a geeky ‘tag-a-long’ in the eyes of her sister.
The play is set in a karaoke-bar which caters for each of the ladies taking turns at the microphone belting out empowering, if somewhat predictable, anthems such as ‘I Will Survive’, ‘It’s Raining Men’ and “We are Family’. While the storyline is a little thin it does touch on slightly deeper issues but these moments are rare and not fully fleshed out or resolved. There are some laugh-out-loud moments and witty one-liners (very often coming from the excellent Hilda Fay) and the jokes involving the more sensitive and private parts of a woman’s life are delivered with remarkable honesty and solid comic timing.
One of the highlights of this musical is watching the trials and tribulations of Carol and Kate’s tempestuous relationship. Both Hilda Fay and Sharon Sexton are a delight to watch and do their best to flesh out their characters within the constraints of the script. Vocally, all five women triumphed and created surprisingly nice harmonies on all the familiar songs. Sorcha provided us with excellent renditions of ‘The Love of My Man’ and ‘I Am What I Am’ showcasing her strong vocal range and power. However, it was Sharon’s unusual and unforgettable interpretation of ‘Cry Me A River’ that received the biggest applause of the night.
This musical certainly has its flaws where at times it feels a little stagnant and the humour a little cliché. However, these issues were far from the minds of the audience last night whose rapturous applause filled the theatre.
Review by Jane Hurley
Listings Info
Girls Night The Musical
Gaiety Theatre Dublin
Until 21st April
