Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (West End) will win the Tony Award for Best Musical

[qolbinau]

Just posting this because it will be funny to dig this up in a couple of years if it does (or indeed doesn’t) happen. But right now there is a show on the West End selling incredibly well with strong reviews and word of mouth that, if/when it transfers to Broadway, will be an unstoppable force to win the Tony Award for best Musical.

The last time I felt so strongly about a West End Musical (which are often awful) is Matilda. Jamie is a 16 year old camp gay boy that wants to be a drag queen. The show is a complete star vehicle for the lead role, with the show’s laser focus (for the most part) on how he navigates this dream within the context of his relationship with school, his family (a dead-beat father, a lovely but somewhat conflicted and emotionally scarred mother), an unlikely friendship with a conscientious Muslim girl who has a conservative father, and an attractive tormenting but stupid school bully.

The show is funny and heart warming - it manages to balance incredibly fun campy moments and choreographed production numbers with some genuine dramatic and emotionally honest moments.

The score is the catchiest I’ve heard in years. An opening number where Jamie starts fantasizing in class he is a star but people “Don’t Even Know It” (yet). Jamie exploring conflict within himself about his dreams “Wall In My Head”. Some great honest moments between Jamie and his best friend (the Muslims girl). “Spotlight”. “It Means Beautiful”. A high-energy number where the school exclaims after Jamie’s first drag show that “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”.

There is also an dramatic/emotional/diva/belted 11’o clock number that is sung not but Jamie but his mother - one that does feel earned given the context of the story and character, called “He’s My Boy”. The kind of thing that would seek the attention of the Tony Nominating committee.

Overly critical people will dismiss the show as a mishmash of Spring Awakening, Matilda and Kinky Boots. They will find the score a little too poppy for their tastes, notice the music probably soars a little more than the lyrics, find the story a little predictable and notice the show is annoyingly PC at points. But don’t let this impact your enjoyment.

There is an awful recording on iTunes that doesn’t represent the show well (a concept recording sung mainly by the composer - and not the greatest quality). Think the Spring Awakening demo. But it does at least give a taste. I hope they record something proper. Start with:

Don’t Even Know it
Wall In My Head
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
It Means Beautiful
He’s My Boy

My request to the producers: don’t become overly ambitious or carried away with the initial success. This is still a little off-Broadway style show that could. Choose your theatre in New York wisely.

[rjm516]

I've been putting off seeing it because, like you said, West End originals are usually awful. (Matilda was amazing though.) Cringing the whole time usually. But if you can recognize that AND you think this is so fantastic then maybe I have to see it. 

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Seriously?  Everybody?  This statement comes off as awfully overreaching.  Blessing it with a Tony Award while the show is in the West End is a bit much.

[qolbinau]

The show is called “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” I’m not claiming that literally everybody is talking about it, lol.

[Phantom of London]

If you guys can get the Elaine Paige Show on BBC Radio 2, the show just before Christmas and you have Josie Walker at BBC house, singing ‘He’s My Boy’, where Elaine correctly observes that Josie uses every part of her voice. This is at the end of the show a about 1hr 45 in.

qolbinau great review, the best one I have read so far and I totally include the British print media ones in this and also glad you loved the show, I enjoyed it too.

[Lot666]

I've been monitoring this show for a while now and I believe if they bring it over to Broadway, it will be a smash.

[thebookofwhizzer]

If the show does transfer, the actress playing "Pritti" (his Muslim friend) will be the first actress to wear a Hijab on Broadway, no? I know practically nothing about this show but seeing a new kind of representation on Broadway is something I want to be part of and will make me buy a ticket. 

[TheSassySam]

To be honest, this sounds similar to Trevor, a "pre-Broadway" musical that tried out in the Chicagoland area last Fall. 

 

I wonder who will make it to NY first, whether it's on or off-Broadway.

[RippedMan]

The recording is on Spotify, and I tried to give it a listen, but it all kind of sounded the same bland pop to me. Nothing specific, and nothing particularly exciting. Perhaps it's better live and in the context of the show. 

[Lot666]

RippedMan said: "The recording is on Spotify, and I tried to give it a listen, but it all kind of sounded the same bland pop to me. Nothing specific, and nothing particularly exciting. Perhaps it's better live and in the context of the show."

I may be wrong, but I don't believe that recording is by the cast of the show. They apparently did one of those "let's have pop stars record the songs from this show" collection CDs, like when they did this CD for Whistle Down the Wind.

[RippedMan]

Oh gotcha, you'd think for pop singers it'd be better? I don't know. Found it a bit "eh," but in the times of DEH, Come From Away, The Band's Visit, it would probably do well on Broadway. 

[dramamama611]

"If the show does transfer, the actress playing "Pritti" (his Muslim friend) will be the first actress to wear a Hijab on Broadway, no? I know practically nothing about this show but seeing a new kind of representation on Broadway is something I want to be part of and will make me buy a ticket."

 

No, there are a few women in Come From Away that (briefly) wear  hijabs.   (And apologies if what is represented in CFA isn't actually a hijab)

 

 

That alone would get you to buy a ticket?  Really?   It certainly wouldn't KEEP me from doing so, but for that to be the soul reason seems a bit odd.   

[Lot666]

RippedMan said: "Oh gotcha, you'd think for pop singers it'd be better? I don't know. Found it a bit "eh," but in the times of DEH, Come From Away, The Band's Visit, it would probably do well on Broadway."

Have you seen/heard this? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiWyYkEvYqU

[CT2NYC]

It appears that the recording features the show's creators, Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae, with the show's stars, John McCrea and Josie Walker, featured on select tracks.

[Lot666]

CT2NYC said: "It appears that the recording features the show's creators, Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae, with the show's stars, John McCrea and Josie Walker, featured on select tracks."

Oh, is that what they did? I knew it was something odd. It's like releasing a Dear Evan Hansen CD with Pasek and Paul performing the songs. I'm not sure how successful such a thing would've been. 

[BuddyStarr]

Sounds interested even though I hated Maltida.  Witches of Eastwick never made it to NYC and I thought that show had promise. Priscilla didn't do well either here. 

[John Adams]

Hmmm...

From the material that is currently available to view regarding this show, I find no appeal in it for me. The music and lyrics are very "expected" (that's the best word I can think of). The choreography - looks more to me like an ensemble doing strings of very common hip-hop moves.

The video that made me certain I don't want to see this is the West End Live performance, and especially the You Don't Even Know It number. As the star, I wonder why John McCrea wasn't given something more visually interesting to do onstage, other than the (stereo)typical posing seen in a Gay Pride parade.

In my case, I found myself watching the boys in the ensemble to be FAR more entertaining than focusing on the star. He's "fabulous" (no doubt), but "fabulous" in the way that if someone said, "Show me 'fabulous'", this is what they would also imitate.

 

 

 

[BWAY Baby2]

Will see it in London in March- along with Long Day's Journey, Mary Stuart, Julius Caesar and a few others. Will give a review- for me, Matilda was too complicated to be a musical- I would have enjoyed it more as a drama- I could hardly follow it- and the casts British accents were hard for me to understand. The show Jamie sounds interesting- and the reviews are uniformly strong. It is a hit in London- but not a smash- like The Ferryman--a drama that I thought was one of the best I had seen in a long time 

[thebookofwhizzer]

dramamama611 said: ""If the show does transfer,the actress playing "Pritti" (his Muslim friend) will be the first actress to wear a Hijab on Broadway, no? I know practically nothing about this show but seeing a new kind of representation on Broadway is something I want to be part of and will make me buy a ticket."



No, there are a few women in Come From Away that (briefly) wear hijabs. (And apologies if what is represented in CFA isn't actually a hijab)





That alone would get you to buy a ticket? Really? It certainly wouldn't KEEP me from doing so, but for that to be the soul reason seems a bit odd."

 Of course it wouldn't be the soul reason, just something that would make me want to buy a ticket. If the score isn't good (I haven't had a chance to listen yet) then I definitely won't be attending. But the plot sounds good, campy but good and with good representation I think I would buy a ticket. It definitely does depend on the score. Sorry if my previous post seemed weird, I did not intended it to.

[BWAY Baby2]

Hijab means literally- curtain or obstruction- which Muslim women wear so as not to offend God in the presence of men. Men do not have to obstruct- but women do. That is their tradition- fine. But as a western man who believes in women's total equality- I do not think highly of this tradition- nor of many traditions present in western religions- for instance women not allowed to be rabbis in certain sects of Judaism- etc. etc. I personally would not be drawn to any production of a play where a woman wears a hijab- I would not avoid it either- but I certainly would not be drawn to it for that reason. I find that strange- like saying I am drawn to a play about the Amish because the women will wear clothes that show no skin. I really do not understand your reasoning.

[qolbinau]

Yes, one of the most annoying lines in this show is that they try and pander to the left-wing gymnastics that the Hijab is more about feminist empowerment when in reality/ideologically it's the exact opposite. However, to give the show credit they don't blindly pretend that Islam is not a right-wing, conservative ideology - making several references to the girl's 'conservative' father.

The youtube clip of the opening number as staged does a reasonable job at conveying it - thank you to the person who posted it (just posting it again in case there is confusion about the one I'm referring to):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiWyYkEvYqU

[BWAY Baby2]

Personally, I find the garb of enslavement and subservience not attractive. Obviously, many people, world wide, men and women, like it. Not me.

[thebookofwhizzer]

i apologize again if saying that I would like to see an actress with a Hijab on broadway offended or confused anyone. I also would like to apologize again because it seems that i didn’t do all the research, and the actress who plays “Pritti” doesn’t actually wear a Hijab in real life. I thought that if the show transferred she would be the first actress to wear her own Hijab. See my second post where I explained what I meant in my first post. I really hope nobody felt offended or whatever.

[Scott19]

I saw Everybody's Talking About Jamie in December during my trip to London. Loved it.

Incredible energy and great heart.

@qolibinau, i didn't see this in your original post (forgive me if I'm repeating), but the musical is based on a true story, and the documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 which aired on the BBC back in 2011.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/04/a-lad-in-a-frock-the-gay-teen-who-inspired-a-west-end-show

[darquegk]

Just chiming in for a minute on the subject of professional "creator demo recordings." We've had mention of the Spring Awakening demo here- I personally think it's better than the official cast recording, and the indie folk/trip hop elements of the score fit more in the sparser demo than they do in the more ornate baroque-pop vocals and orchestrations of the stage show. I wish he would formally release the album instead of just a bootleg release, the way Sara Bareilles put out her "pop album" version of Waitress and Pete Townshend eventually released his solo demo version of Tommy (about forty years later).