Interview: 'I'm Hoping Audiences Fall in Love With It!': Todrick Hall on Multi-Tasking and Escapism in BURLESQUE THE MUSICAL in the West End

After runs in Manchester and Glasgow, Burlesque The Musical is opening at the Savoy Theatre in the West End. The show is based on the 2010 film by Steve Antin, which follows the story of Ali Rose, a young woman who dreams of becoming a singer and leaves her small hometown to move to New York City. It has a book by Antin and additional material by Kate Wetherhead, as well as music and lyrics by Christina Aguilera, Sia, Diane Warren, Todrick Hall, and Jess Folley.

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Todrick Hall, who has not only written music and lyrics but is also directing, choreographing and playing the role of Sean! We discussed what it is like to be taking on so many roles in Burlesque The Musical, what the creative process is for a show like this and what Hall’s favourite song from the show is (at the moment!).

What made you want to be a part of Burlesque The Musical?

Well, I remember when I was in Memphis, the musical, on Broadway. In between a matinee and evening show, I went to the movie theatre on 42nd Street, and I saw Burlesque. I just thought that it was a gay man's dream. You can't get any more fabulous than Christina Aguilera, Cher and the costumes!

I remember being obsessed with the movie Chicago and the cinematography of it, and I felt like Burlesque was a cousin to that movie. It felt like it was giving me an extra dose of something that I loved. But I also just love the story, because I really identify with Ali a lot. I'm from a podunk town called Plainview, Texas - even people from Texas don't know where Plainview is! The idea of someone going to a big city, chasing their dreams and accomplishing great things, is a story that I identify with, that I gravitate towards - I can get behind that character emotionally. So I just really enjoyed it, not to mention that the music was spectacular! So when I got asked to be a part of it, it was a very quick yes.

So you have quite a few roles - you're in the show and then you're also taking on the roles of director and choreographer, as well as additional songs. What is it like to be taking on so many roles?

I've been in five Broadway musicals and a few West End shows, but this is my first time being in an original cast of a project. I've never been in a project from its inception to the stage! So this feels more like my YouTube era, or putting on one of my tours. I've directed, choreographed and styled a lot of my tours that have gone around the world, and I've done 700 videos. Sometimes I say that to people, and they think that I'm exaggerating, but I've legitimately done over 700 YouTube videos that require special effects, costumes, dancers, choreography and tonnes of hours in the studio getting the music right and editing afterwards. So this feels like that, like I'm juggling so many things.

I'm definitely starring in Overwhelmed the Musical right now! [Laughs] But I also find it really cool that as the director, I can say, “This song doesn't work, this lyric doesn't work,” and rather than going and explaining what I think to a composer, I am the composer, so I just switch my composer hat on, and I can address those issues themselves.

What has that creative process been like leading up to Burlesque The Musical opening in London?

It's been a big adventure every single day. At the beginning of last year, I made a vow when I was making my vision boards before the New Year's Eve Countdown to say that I was going to try to do things that challenged me and not run away from things that scared me. Because this is a terrifying thing to say yes to, and I got this job by default.

I am in love with Chris Gattelli, and we were talking with Chris, trying to get him on the project. But theatre is always evolving and changing, and at the last minute, we moved from one theatre to a new theatre that had a date open up earlier than expected, and so Chris was no longer available for those dates. By that point, they had no time to start the wooing process with a new director, so I got this job accidentally!

It was not something I ever thought was going to be in the cards for me in 2025. I've never directed a Broadway or West End musical, but I was like, “Well, no one has directed a Broadway or West End musical until they've done it!” So this is terrifying and scary, but also thrilling and fulfilling. I feel blessed and honoured, and I have such a great team of people around me who are supporting me every step of the way. 

Are there things that have surprised you about directing?

Directing with a team and with a brand and an IP that exists already, having people who are there to protect the reputation and the integrity of the piece that they made, is different for me. I've written Disney parades and fireworks shows, and it reminds me more of that. In my own world, I don't have to convince someone of an idea - I just have to believe it in myself.

In this process, I have to get everybody on board, to try to make sure that everyone's telling the same story. It's not enough for the choreography and the music to be telling the story if the screens, visuals, set, lighting, hair, makeup and costumes aren't all on the same page. And that, ultimately, is the definition of being a director - to get everybody to be on the same page with one vision and executing one vision. So that's been a difficult new task for me. I never really realised how hard it was to just make everybody see something that's inside your head, because sometimes there's not a visual representation for people to see, so that everyone can see the image as you see it.

Can you tell us a bit about what it's been like to bring Burlesque from the screen to the stage?

It's been really exciting! I am a person who has lived on social media for a long time, so I've heard a lot of the feedback from people who've come to see the show, and people who enjoy not just the movie Burlesque, but the art form as a whole. So I really tried to go and talk to some of my friends who live and breathe in the world of burlesque, and try to see what they would want to see if they came to see this musical. So we've added a lot of burlesque acts to the show, or things that are inspired by it, moments where people are doing an actual strip show, which we didn't have in the Manchester and Glasgow runs of the show. I'm trying to give the audience what they want, what I would want to see. 

I get inspired by little things here and there. I analyse and break down why some shows don't resonate with me, and also, on the flip side, I break down why shows do work for me, and I try to implement that into the show to make it entertaining for our audience. 

Speaking of audiences, you have experience on both Broadway and the West End. What is it like performing to those different audiences?

I think that they are very different! The Brits are quite polite. They give a very royal applause after a number. And in America, we love to hoot and holler like we're at a rodeo when we're at a Broadway show! I tend to love when people are screaming, but when I was here doing Chicago and Shrek the Musical on the West End, I said the audiences need permission to scream and dance and sing along, because that's not what they would typically do based on the cultural etiquette. So I have built in moments in the opening number that let the audience know that they are allowed to be as loud as they want - to clap along, to scream, to have a really great time.

Are you able to tell us about the additional songs that you've written for the show?

As of now, I've written nineteen original songs for this show, and I've rearranged some of the songs that were already pre-existing. It's really fun! A lot of them are very short numbers that are interludes, because the transition moments in a show can make or break a musical. So I came up with an idea to make there be burlesque moments that highlight some of the featured ensemble characters in the show. And so there are a lot of songs that are forty seconds to a minute long that happen while the audience is waiting for the next scene to happen. They are getting a little burlesque side show performance, which is a really exciting way to tell the story. 

Do you have a favourite character from Burlesque The Musical?

Probably my favourite character is Ali, the lead character that was originated by Christina [Aguilera], who's now played by Jess Foley, who's also contributed to the score of this show! She wrote her own “I Want” song, which is very rare. But her character is just so fun, because you fall in love with her immediately. You think she's just some country girl from Iowa who's wide-eyed, ignorant and naive, but then you get to see her fall in love, and she has great comedic chops that you're going to see in this version of the show.

What has it been like to see the show change, and to be contributing to those changes yourself? 

It's exciting because, for me, when I write a song, I imagine what the costumes, the choreography and the lighting is going to look like, and it never meets that expectation. Sometimes it supersedes it.

Sometimes I'm blown away because I would’ve never imagined my song to be brought to life in that way. But sometimes I wish I could have gotten into the ear of that person and said, “Don't sleep on this accent, because it's really cool!” So this has been exciting for me to be able to go into some numbers that existed last time and say, “This is how I imagined it to be.” I don't know that the way I've imagined it to be is necessarily going to be better, but it's definitely different. The show feels like a completely different production, and I'm hoping the audiences fall in love with it, just as much as we have fallen in love with making it.

Do you have a favourite song?

My favourite song changes every single day! But there's a song that I wrote as one of the interludes called “Pretty Girls Only,” that is sung by the incredible Charlotte Jaconelli, who plays Queenie, one of the featured ensemble characters. She has a song that embodies what Burlesque is. It's very sexy, but it's also very funny and witty, and her vocal performance of that song is one of the highlights of the show. Even though it's only 45 seconds, it's one of my favourite moments in the show! 

What do you hope audiences take away from Burlesque The Musical?

I hope that audiences are able to escape, because right now the world is in a very scary place. It was in a scary place when we started this process, but an even scarier place now.  

Our show is so much fun. This music sounds like pop music that, if I were a musical theatre person coming up today, I would want to add twelve of these songs to my book! But most importantly, I think it's just a really fun night that is needed right now.

Artistically, we're doing something that feels very different from what I've been seeing on Broadway, and definitely what exists on the West End - it's its own show. In a world where Cabaret and Moulin Rouge! exist right across the street from us on the West End, we have to be able to identify our show and say, “Why should someone come and see Burlesque?” As a person who has had his hands in a lot of different pots in this production of the show, we've really accomplished something that feels like a completely different experience, and I'm excited for people to come and see it.

And finally, how would you describe Burlesque The Musical in one word?

Fabulous. That's the easiest answer ever!

Burlesque runs until 6 September at the Savoy Theatre, London.