EDINBURGH 2010: BWW Reviews: OBAMA MIA!
Obama Mia! is a comedy musical which focuses on the events in the lead up to Barack Obama's election as president, but if you go along expecting to see a true account of events you might be in for a surprise.
The story follows the Democrats as they deal with a crisis just days before the election - Barack Obama has slipped into a hope-induced coma and they need to find an Obama look-a-like in order to fool the press into believing that nothing is amiss. Joe Biden is imagined as an unruly Ron Burgundy-type character (and is perhaps the most entertaining character of the piece) and is therefore unsuitable to be let loose in the public eye, so it comes down to a somewhat inept actor/singer to try and save the day for the Democrats.
The writing is sharp, witty and fast-paced, and on the whole the characters are well-written. There are plenty of references to real life politics (including a joke at Fox News' expense), funny lyrics and the performances from the cast were good, showing that they had understood and interpreted the material well. The production could, however, have done with some tighter direction to make the most of some very funny lines which were a little too throwaway to be appreciated.
The show's main flaw was the vocals, which on the whole were a little weak, but there were a couple of beautiful exceptions within the cast. It's also a shame that the venue afforded so little space on stage, because a screen with projected images which formed the basis of a number of jokes was blocked from view for one side of the audience due to a speaker being in the way. Somewhat unavoidable but a shame for those affected.
Despite its flaws, Obama Mia is a show worth seeing - a very entertaining parody of the frequent absurdity of American politics.
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