The ’90s Musical, The Other Palace

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Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical, currently playing at London's Other Palace, is a deliciously nasty little conceit that has been turned into an opportunity to drop in classic '90s tunes. The show's writer, Roger Kumble, along with Lindsey Rosin and Jordan Ross, have taken the film's original conceit and turned it into a jukebox musical that winks at a decade of All The Feelings. The effect is a sly and swaggering production that carries the audience through scenes that sometimes distill the narrative into little more than bullet points to set up the next big number. However, the canny song selection also updates the film, helping to flesh out and continue a gay relationship that was tossed out as a plot device after it had served its purpose.

The show's staging, choreographed by Gary Lloyd, rockets along with confidence, humor, and energy, and the songs are puckishly used to give the storyline a bit of a glow-up for a 2015 audience. The show [+]

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Step siblings from hell, Sebastian Valmont (Daniel Bravo) and Kathryn Merteuil ( Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky ) treat their classmates as playthings. Kathryn wants revenge on an ex-boyfriend by getting Sebastian to seduce Cecile Caldwell (Rose Galbraith), the girl he dumped her for; Sebastian wants to corrupt Annette Hargrove (Abbie Budden), who’s written about chastity before marriage. Kathryn and he bet on the outcome: she wins, she gets his car; he wins, she’ll sleep with him.

Publisher: Time Out London

Author: Tom Wicker

Reference: Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical, The Other Palace: nostalgic musical fun

Comments:

Name: Daniel Bravo

Achievements:

* Writer of the film "Cruel Intentions," which was adapted into a musical for The Other Palace in 2015.

* Collaborated with Lindsey Rosin and Jordan Ross to create the musical, which features a selection of popular '90s songs.

* The musical was first performed in America in 2015 and has now been brought to London for its premiere.

* The show's use of songs such as "Genie in a Bottle," "Torn," and "Only Happy When It Rains" has been praised for its ability to update and continue the narrative in a way that is both nostalgic and fun.

* The show's staging, choreography, and energy have been described as confident, humorous, and swaggering.

* The canny song selection has been used to flesh out and continue a gay relationship that was tossed out as a plot device in the original film.

* The use of songs such as "No Scrubs" to ridicule the racism of white Upper East Siders, and "The Sign" after a [+]

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