Barcelona stars Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins and Money Heist’s Alvaro Morte, both in their West End Debut. The big question is: is this yet another case of stunt casting? The answer is almost exclusively yes to that question but the pair prove nay-sayers wrong. They are electric on stage… considering the material falls short.
I managed to snag standing/obstructed seats for GBP20 as seated tickets are now going for more than GBP100. This pricing this not surprising with shows that carry big names on their marquee.
The Gist: The two Netflix actors feel right at home on stage but the material fails them.
The Material
It is evident from what I saw that this show doesn’t exactly know what it is. It is a romcom that hits its comedic cutes (thanks to the actors’ chemistry) while being frustrated as a dramarama that struggles to put its point across. While I resonated with the story and it did hit a chord with me emotionally, I struggle to find if anyone else would feel the same way. The material is lengthy and aimless. It is trying its best to hit your heart with shock value that doesn’t quite land as smoothly—not for me at least.
The comedy was well-written but the overall story fell short for me. It reminded me of a lot of shows my University Theatre group would write, not exactly what you want on stage in London’s West End. At some point I was thinking “Where is this going?” I honestly have whiplash on what this show was intended to be. Was it a comedy? A drama? A tragedy? A show can be all of these at once but this show missed the mark on all fronts. It felt dwindling, it felt unpolished, and unsure of itself. It was not worthy of the star-caliber of the casting. Morte and Collin’s carry the material on their backs effortlessly.
The Stage & Set Design
Being 1 hour and 45 minutes long with no interval, everything happens in this apartment overlooking the Sagrada Famila. It’s a pretty standard stage that gets spruced up with your usual lighting tricks. Nothing revolutionary and that’s perfectly fine.
The Actors
Lily Collins’ character, Irene, is an American. And that is all she is. There are a lot of jokes and all of them have one punchline: she’s American. She is basically Irene in Barcelona (akin to the ditzy Emily in Paris). Lily Collins’s being Lily Collins, she basically owns this role. She flourishes in these beautiful-but-ditzy roles effortlessly with class and perfect comedic charm. To that I say, good for you girl! Thrive and own it because you are amazing at that.
Alvaro Morte’s (Manuel/Manolo) does a lot of heavy lifting in this show. He works that stage with such finesse and gusto! You see him as the dreamboat that he is: mysterious, charming, thirsty. He does swipe his talent card HARD, he’s on that stage to prove himself as serious actor and not just the Professor from Money Heist. He perfectly nails the emotions expected of him be it a serious mystery man to a lovely Spanish hunk.
Be warned: there’s foot fetish moments and the show is giving… Freudian slip? But the chemistry between Morte and Collins is amazing, it just works. Bravo!
The Final Word
Both debuting in the West End, I believe that the Netflix stars made do with what they were given. Both of them were stunning on stage, the energy and chemistry palpable… Sadly, it just so happens that great actors can only do so much to save a script like this. I feel like their starpower was wasted but at the same time, their starpower was the only thing that made the show work.
I hope these two actors find their way back to the West End because they clearly enjoy being on stage… hopefully they return with a better script in hand.
3 out of 5 Stars for me.
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