BWW Reviews: BRING IT ON Should Have Brought More
For those of you who loved the 2000 film of the same name, this is NOT a adaptation of that breakout hit, but rather "inspired by," choosing to jettison almost every element aside from the fact that it's about cheerleaders. I can see that the creative team, with music by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, lyrics by Amanda Green and Miranda, and book by Jeff Whitty, wanted to put their own stamp on the musical, but by doing so, they seemed to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, and retained little of the charm, spunk and cleverness of the film. "Legally Blonde," in contrast, when it was adapted for the stage retained most of elements of the movie, but re-imaged certain scenes and sequences, and actually improved upon the film in those moments (for example, Elle's "admission video" was restaged as a great group number, "What You Want.")
Instead, "Bring It On: The Musical" manages to have an even thinner and more absurd plot, with characters so clichéd they lack any sense of layered, nuanced personality other than their most dominant trait. It's ironic that a 3D live stage show could comes across as more two dimensional than the film that inspired it.
In the musical, Cheerleading Captain of the Truman High Squad, Campbell, gets transferred in a strange school re-districting to the more urban Jackson High, seemingly on the other side of the tracks. There, though she is the outsider, she rallies the school's dance crew to form a cheer squad to challenge her former alma mater.
The plot, though, falls apart almost immediately, as there really is little at stake for either school, other than Campbell's own personal revenge on her protégé, Skyler, who (spoiler alert) orchestrated the whole re-districting in a conniving power grab to be Truman's new captain. Laughable as it is ridiculous, there's no real rivalry established, or the notion from the film that the creative and underfunded underdogs finally get their moment in the spotlight, and get recognized for bringing something new to the sport. If anything, this musical adaptation whitewashes the social progress established in the film, and seemingly leaves one with the idea that only a white girl can rally a school of minority students and lead them to victory in a championship.
The music and lyrics do the show no favors either. There is no incredible ballad, no truly incredible group number, or even a heartfelt duet. While not suggesting that a musical always has to have these things, unfortunately for something as American as cheerleading, you would think that the musical would have a number of catchy tunes that you'd remember days after you heard it. The musical styles of Kitt, who did an amazing job with "Next to Normal," and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote "In the Heights", simply don't lend themselves to this kind of subject matter. Both are highly skilled at a certain type of song, but the world of cheerleading just doesn't play to their strengths. As I look at the song list, I read the titles and sadly can not recall how a single one goes -- even the title song, "Bring It On." That's a problem.
As for the performances, while the company does work their butts off, and sing and dance their hearts out, many of the leads simply don't have the kind of stage presence that commands the audience's attention and makes one take notice. One standout, though, is Ryann Redmond, as Bridget, the chubby cheerleader wanna-be, who nails every scene she's in despite the one-note way in which the character was written.
The world of competitive cheerleading IS an amazing subject for a musical, and luckily the cheerleading sequences do give the show a real pulse and energy that is lacking in some of the smaller scenes. But even these sequences pale in comparison to those you'd see on ESPN's coverage of the National Cheerleading Championships.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, the opening night audience seemed to truly enjoy the evening, laughing at the jokes and reveling in the cheerleading acrobatics, culminating in a immediate standing ovation for the cast. But while it may be a people-pleaser, I would say for a show with a title like "Bring It On," from an artistic point of view, it simply didn't.
Bring It On: The Musical is running now through December 10th at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are available by calling Center Theatre Group Audience Services at (213) 972-4400, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office or on-line at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.
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