Blonde The Musical

 "Blonde - The Musical"

by Kristian Thomas Company.

"Blonde" is a new musical written by Adam Howell and Paul Hurt and covers the last nine years of the life of Marilyn Monroe. She was everyone's wife, everyone's lover and everyone's fantasy, but what a dark side of her life was hidden from her adoring public. This musical brings out that darker side of her life.

The musical starts back in May of 1962 as she delivers her breathy rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" to President Kennedy, and straight away we get the sense of her not being as punctual as many would have liked, most of the time she was forgiven for her tardiness, but in the world of making movies, time is money and no Director wants to be losing money.

We discover her lovers, her husbands, her friends and family. Her frustration at her not being offered more serious roles, and the stress that she was under while making her films, as well as the way that the men in her life had seriously let her down. All of these composites to her spiral into drink and drugs, through to her final demise.

"Blonde", while being serious in it's story is not short of comic moments and there are some great upbeat numbers throughout.

So let's talk about the soundtrack. The big opening number, "It's Marilyn" is a big song and dance number which sets the tone for the quality we have to come. I loved the romantic "A Good Old Fashioned Love Affair", a duet between Marilyn and her then husband, baseball star, Joe DiMaggio. "Two Heads Are Better Than One" is reminiscent of the songs that Marilyn would have had written for her for her films, so feels completely at home here. "Blonde" is a well-matched duet between Marilyn and her former self as Norma Jeane (no I didn't realise that there was an "e" at the end either!). 

Act Two opens up with another big number "Running The Show" as Marilyn takes control of her life along with her business partner/photographer Georgie Gifford. A wonderful piece of accapella from the cast in "Hail To The Actor's Studio" with an excuse to name check some big names of the time. And then comes two big ballads, "Daddy  Please Come Home" and the wonderful "Be Wonderful".

I knew with Kristian Cunningham in charge of choreography and staging that this show would be as sharp as a pin when it comes to the dancing, and I was not disappointed.

The three-piece musical accompaniment sounded bigger than it was and created a big sound for a big production. Musical Director Tom Bond (drums), Josh Kemp (keys) and Marcus Cain (bass).

Produced by Kristian Thomas Company and Tom Hopcroft, who also directed the musical and also appeared as Monroe's first husband, Jimmy Dougherty.

Verity Power (Marilyn), didn't need to look exactly like Marilyn as she brought her characteristics alive, switching from doe-eyes to a harder business-like look. She filled Marilyn's shoes as well as Monroe's halter-neck dress perfectly. There was no attempt to sing like Marilyn, which I was really pleased about because Verity has a gorgeous voice, packed with power and emotion.

Anna Bond (Norma Jeane) is an actor I have seen several times and love her voice and in the duet, "Blonde", her voice blends so well with Verity's, and when she belts out the ballad "Daddy Please Come Home", you can feel every emotion the young Norma Jeane feels.

Photographer Georgie Gifford is played by Finlay Paul, another actor who can really turn in an emotive performance, just wait until the end to see how emotional he can get!

Natalia Brown (Hedda Hopper) plays the radio announcer who gets to present many nods to several of Marilyn's past films and song titles in her broadcasts.

Maison Kelley gets to play a dual role as Darryl Zanuck, who at one stage I was certain was going to burst a blood vessel with his angry tirades. He also plays the part of Laurence Olivier. Who'd have thought Sir Larry would have such a potty mouth!

Charlie Ellerton also got a dual role as Joe DiMaggio and also as Arthur Miller, and can I say what a great voice he has, which was highlighted on the duet "A Good Old-Fashioned Romance".

Louise Grantham played Monroe's acting coach Paula Strasberg, as well as a completely opposing character in Marilyn's mother who suffered from dementia. The scene with Marilyn and her mother was one of the most touching scenes of the musical.

A completely non-evasive ensemble of Tom Samuels, Chloe Hopcroft, Becky Wrench, Sam Holden, Chelsea Hawkins and Jinny Gould completed the excellent cast.

As with knowing that the choreography was in good hands, the same can be said for the lighting and sound. In the hands of Stephen Greatorex and Harry Greatorex respectively, it was a given that these areas were well executed and gave maximum effect.

I must also mention the wardrobe, under the guidance of Karen Millward, as every costume was spot on including the iconic Marilyn white dress.

One thing I also noticed were the props, sourced by Claire Collishaw as, yet again, they placed the musical in the era. I especially loved that phone.

The staging was sparse but as it was supposed to be set, probably, back stage, the rails of clothes, props etc were all that were needed. This is the kind of set that can be sparse as the characters themselves are what you are supposed to be buying into, and not the set or surrounding.

"Blonde" was filmed at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton and the filming (Stephen Greatorex and Rob Hill) and the video editing (Stephen Greatorex) give a feel of a well polished feature film production.

You can stream "Blonde" anytime from now up to 16 May 2021 by visiting Derby Live to get a ticket to stream. In the words of the final song, this whole production is "wonderful".