Review: Burlesque The Musical at Sunderland Empire

“…a truly amazing night…”

Burlesque The Musical by Steven Antin, Sunderland Empire

By Lauren Powell

The suspense has been killing me. The press night for Burlesque The musical has been changed more often than my hair colour when I was a teenager. So let’s address the elephant in the room: various technical issues and a slew of illnesses has caused this show no end of hassle. The irony of a show about the backstage difficulties of putting on a big show being plagued by its own, similar but different, was juicy gossip for one kind of drama lover, but frustrating and disappointing for the other. Let me set your mind at ease – the show must go on and it is going on now! Do not let any past date changes put you off.

Apparently this musical is based on the 2010 film starring Cher and  Christina Aguilera – who knew? I will hold my hands up, I did not.  Will I watch it after tonight? Of course I will – but if the original surpasses the stage show I will eat the complimentary tote bag they furnished me with at the box office (bribes appreciated but unnecessary). The influence of Christina Aguilera in the music and general vibes is very noticeable. I often found myself transported back the first time I heard her songs or watched her music videos. I feel it’s almost too obvious to draw the lines connecting her “Lady Marmalade” era.

The plot is almost the least interesting part of this extravaganza of a show: a small town girl, goes to the big city to find her mother, confronted by a catty cast, she finds friends, she finds love and succeeds beyond her wildest dreams. It’s not the plot you see a show like this for – it’s everything else. The costumes and choreography, the glitz and the glam – you go and see it to feel your heart swell with the music you’ll be humming for days. I was not disappointed. This production strikes the perfect style note of burlesque; it’s cheeky, it’s funny, the choreography is fast and fluid, sexy but not slutty, queer but in a female gaze kind of way. It balances polished performances and humour by winking at the audience in a subtle breaking of the fourth wall. On stage the cast may be in New York, but they know that the stage they are on is the Sunderland Empire. I rarely give props to the prop team, but I want to shout out the Greggs bag – it was such a nod to Sunderland. Gold star to Kirsty Durman, the props supervisor, for that one. The script is similarly replete with references to modern things like Labubu dolls, alongside ’90-style boy-band dance homage and dated ringtones.  

The staging and the lighting were an absolute triumph. For a show that is maximalist in every way, they managed to be exciting and luxurious without being overpowering. I love the way that they evoked a sense of nostalgia but this could have been set at any point from the ’90s to now. The stage had a border around it which reminded me of the aforementioned  “Lady Marmalade”  music video.  There was some clever use of screens and projection to keep the set changes seamless, and some very stimulating video projections designed by Duncan McLean. I could gush on for hours about the costumes. They were fabulous, a cocktail of sequins and S&M, hit after hit from designer Marco Marco. I found the final outfit for Ali particularly memorable, a scaffold of gold crinoline tubes spun around a corseted dress. I would kill to wear something so impactful.  

Speaking of Ali, tonight Ali was played by Macy Dermoody-Blythe. Macy, who was originally cast as Queenie and was not even the first understudy for the lead. If Macy was the third choice for Ali, I have no idea how, because she absolutely nailed the Christina Aguilera singing voice, and I had no idea she hadn’t been rehearsing the role as much as the rest of the cast because she took the lead seamlessly. I should say that I had the pleasure of sitting close to her family, who were positively vibrating with pride and shock. Apparently, the last minute promotion was kept a surprise for them. It is hard to pick out more favourites because absolutely every single character was dialled up to 11. Ryan Carter (Sean) was genuinely a fountain of charisma every second he was on stage. Davide Fienauri plays the baddie Vince and I loved to hate him, and his tango inspired moment with Tess and Ali was perfection. Tyler Davis playing the love interest Jack, took a character that could have been a bit bland and then totally embodied the cheeky side of burlesque in a sequence that started with someone from the audience screaming “Drop your towel!!”, and ended…well, lets just say the towel was dropped and he made a well-choreographed scene feel almost improvised, it was so natural and titillating.    

I don’t normally review the merch at productions, usually because by the time I’ve decided I want it the stand is closed. However, I was kindly provided with a goody bag and I was very impressed. My favourite part of the bag was the fan, which I thought was a nice nod to them being a regular prop in burlesque dances, but also because it’s something I’ll keep and use during the next heatwave. There was also a T-shirt included in the bag, which impressed me with the quality: both the print and fabric have a nice thickness to them and it strikes a nice balance between being something you’d actually wear and being relevant to the show. There was also a nice fridge magnet in there too, quite simple in its design, just the word “Burlesque” in that gorgeous pink and black. 

I could go on, but I won’t. If you haven’t managed to deduce by now that I had a truly amazing night tonight, then I don’t know what to say to convince you to attend. Burlesque The Musical is brilliant from about 10 minutes before it starts (you’ll see) and all the way to the end where you’ll be part of the standing ovation, just like I was. The quality of every aspect of this production is rare. If you even have the vaguest inkling that you’ll like any one part of this, I think you’ll like it all. It’s campy and retro and, for a show with more than its fair share of behind-the-scenes problems, it is polished so well you’d never know. You don’t have to be familiar with the film to enjoy it, and my plus one informs me that there are some different songs to enjoy. If you’re a bit of a prude and not a fan of attractive people in skimpy outfits, I still think you should give this a try. It might convert you. *wink*

Burlesque The Musical plays at Sunderland Empire until Saturday 22 August. Tickets are available here.

Lauren Powell is a recovering academic from the North East of England. Currently residing in South Shields with her partner and two malevolent gerbils. Lauren is a short form writer who writes fiction as well as reviews. She has loved the theatre since childhood, and many years ago volunteered back stage with an amateur group, Stage Focus.  From one man readings to musical and beyond, Lauren can not get enough! You can find her on Twitter/X here.