The cast of the 2022 off-West-End production.
A musical based on the 1999 film of the same name, featuring songs composed by Andrew Abrams with lyrics by Bill Augustin. It was originally presented as a staged reading off-Broadway at the Theatre at St. Clements in 2005 before a reading in London in 2013 and another London presentation at MT Fest in early 2019. The full musical received its official world premiere off-West-End at the Turbine Theatre in 2022, where it ran from February 18 to May 8, extending from its original slated closing date of April 16.
The cast was as follows:
- Alice Croft as Megan
- Evie Rose Lane as Graham
- Tiffany Graves (February 18-April 24); Gina Beck (April 26-May 8) as Mary
- Lemuel Knights (February 18-April 24); Kurt Kansley (April 26-May 8) as Mike
- Jodie Steele as Kimberly/Hilary
- Edward Chitticks (February 18-April 16); Ross Harmon (April 19-May 8) as Jared/Rock
- Jodie Jacobs as Mom/Lloyd
- Oliver Brooks as Dad/Larry
- Aaron Teoh as Dolph
- Damon Gould (February 18-April 24); Leslie Garcia Bowman (April 26-May 8) as Andre
- Kia-Paris Walcott as Sinead
- Harry Singh as Jalal
- Lauren Soley (March 22-May 8), Owen Mc Hugh (March 25-May 8), Carolyn Maitland (April 15-May 8) and Billie Bowman (April 29-May 8) as understudies.
Provides examples of:
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Acting for Two: In the 2022 production, the multi-roling was as follows:- Jodie Steele played both Kimberly and Hilary, as well as the unnamed woman Megan dances with in the gay bar (which led to a comically fast quick change as both she and Kimberly were present in the bar).
- Edward Chitticks (and later Ross Harmon) played both Jared and Rock.
- Oliver Brooks played both Megan’s Dad and Larry Morgan-Gordon.
- Jodie Jacobs played both Megan’s Mom and Lloyd Morgan-Gordon.
- Lemuel Knights (and later Kurt Kansley) played Mike, André’s Dad, and a drag queen at the Cocksucker.
- Damon Gould (and later Leslie Garcia Bowman) played André, a drag queen at the Cocksucker, and a cheerleader on Megan’s squad.
- Aaron Teoh played Dolph, a drag queen at the Cocksucker, and a cheerleader on Megan’s squad.
- Kia-Paris Walcott played Sinead, Jalal’s Mom, and a cheerleader on Megan’s squad.
- Harry Singh played Jalal and Charlie, a bullied student at Megan’s school to whom Jared gives a wedgie.
- Hell, even Tiffany Graves (and later Gina Beck) - Mary - briefly doubled as Amber, the prostitute Megan knows through community outreach.
- In fact, the only two actors who didn’t multi-role at any point in the show were Alice Croft (Megan) and Evie Rose Lane (Graham).
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: In the movie, Megan and Graham run away from the camp together and it’s only in the post-credits scene that we see Megan’s parents at their first PFLAG meeting. In the musical, however, they come around to accepting their daughter’s sexuality by graduation, starting a petition to shut down True Directions, and Graham apologises and tells Megan she loves her in front of everyone - all of which culminates in Sinead and Hilary making out, Mike kissing Rock, and all hell breaking loose. Even Mary recognises by the end of the finale that she has to change her attitude.
- Adaptational Sympathy: Megan’s parents are a bit more sympathetic in the musical, helped enormously by their earlier acceptance of her. Jared and Kimberly, whose roles are greatly expanded on from the film, are also made much more sympathetic through their quest to find and save Megan from the camp and them also coming to accept and love her for who she is.
- Adaptation Name Change: Megan's surname is changed from "Bloomfied" in the movie to "Williams" in the show.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the movie, Dolph and André don’t interact very closely. In the 2022 version of the musical, they fall in love.
- Adapted Out: Jan does not appear in the musical and has never been present in any form of it. In the 2022 London production, Joel also does not appear, and the new character Jalal is introduced in his stead. Clayton’s character is also cut and his relationship with Dolph is given to André. Interestingly, Clayton and Joel had been included in the musical in all readings and public workshops until then.
- All Gays Love Theater: André is a dancer and has a line during “A Whole New Me” about wanting to still be himself but in a straight musical.
- All Musicals Are Adaptations: Based on the 1999 film of the same name.
- The Alleged Car: Jared's car broke down because he decided to drag race a bus full of senior citizens so Kimberly ends up carrying him the rest of the way.
- Almost Kiss: During Megan’s dream sequence, Graham almost kisses her but stops short once they become aware of everyone watching them.
- Amicable Exes: Jared isn’t upset when he sees Megan kissing Graham, simply being relieved that she’s alive and well, and he makes clear his support for her near the end of the show, dancing with her during “In the End”
- Ascended Extra: Jared and Kimberly are given a lot more character development and stage time in the musical compared to the film.
- Awkwardly Gay Dream: Megan’s dream from the film is adapted into a Dream Ballet sequence here, which culminates in not only Megan and Graham dancing together, but all the other campers (plus Rock) paired off dancing in same-sex couples. She wakes up with her hand between her legs and is a little panicked about this development.Megan: OH GOD NO.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Graham gives one of these to Sinead when she remarks that Megan's probably just there to rat on them.
- The Beard: Graham and Jalal pretend to have crushes on each other in order to ease Mary’s suspicions about the visit to The Cocksucker and the nature of Graham and Megan’s relationship.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: As in the film, Megan and Graham’s relationship has serious shades of this until near the end of act one.
- YMMV on how much is sexual tension and how much is just Sinead being belligerent, but she goes from fighting with Hilary to making out with her by the end of the show.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Megan and Graham get one of these as they officially derail the graduation.
- Shortly after, Mike saying, “Screw this shit” before kissing Rock in front of everybody definitely counts too.
- Bow Chicka Wow Wow: “Step Five” has some very distinctive-sounding instrumentals in it.
- Brick Joke: Megan asks Graham for help writing her cheer, saying she’s stuck at “5, 6, 7, 8, God is good—” Graham sarcastically suggests “God is straight” and Megan writes it down. In the gay bar we hear the full cheer up until this point, and sure enough...Megan: 1, 2, 3, 4, I don’t wanna be gay anymore. 5, 6, 7, 8, God is good, God is straight.
- BSoD Song: “Seeing New Colors (Reprise)” for Megan after she is expelled from the camp and Graham volunteers to stay.
- Canon Foreigner: Jalal is a new character who is first introduced in the 2022 production.
- Cast Full of Gay: The only track that doesn’t involve playing at least one confirmed queer character is the Mary track.
- Childhood Friends: Kimberly mentions having known Megan since the start of first grade, thinking that Megan surely isn’t a lesbian after all because she’s never tried anything with her.
- Composite Character: Musical!André takes on most of movie!André’s story (apart from being sent home after step four) but also takes on Clayton’s plotline of falling in love with Dolph and being put into solitary after he and Dolph are caught together.
- Confession Triggers Consummation: Megan tells Graham she loves her shortly before the two have sex for the first time.
- Culturally Sensitive Adaptation: The scene in the film where Mary takes the campers to picket the Morgan-Gordons’ house with homophobic signs is not included in the musical.
- Cure Your Gays: Mary’s ultimate goal for the campers, which backfires spectacularly at graduation – Megan/Graham, Sinead/Hilary, and Mike/Rock all start making out, with André and Dolph coupled up too.
- Dark Reprise: “Seeing New Colors” is the act one finale and is relatively upbeat and filled with hope and nerves and possibility as Megan debates internally whether to step foot in the gay bar and what it will mean for her. The motif comes back early in act two after she and Graham kiss for the first time. The actual reprise, however, coming two-thirds of the way through act two after she and Graham are caught and Graham volunteers to stay at the camp, is downbeat, hopeless, and sung by Megan on the verge of tears.
- Drag Queen: The Friends of Dorothy, a drag trio who perform at The Cocksucker.
- Final Love Duet: “How It Feels” is sung by Megan and Graham about halfway through act two as they have sex.
- "Gaining Confidence" Song: Both “Seeing New Colors” and “Graham’s Kiss” are this for Megan at different points in the story.
- Gospel Revival Number: "The Intervention", in which Mike and everyone else at Megan's intervention sing about how she can be "saved" from her queerness by True Directions.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Jealous and angry at Graham choosing Megan over her, Sinead goes as far as filming Megan and Graham having sex and bringing the footage to Mary in order to out them and get revenge.
- Hakuna Matata: “In the End” is sung by Larry and Lloyd (later joined by Dolph, Jared, and Kimberly) near the end of the show to reassure Megan that things will get better.
- Hypocritical Humor: Mike tells Dolph how disappointed he is in him when he gets caught with Andre... while he and Rock have appeared each wearing one half of a matching pajama set.
- "I Am Becoming" Song: "Wrestling", which is about Dolph overcoming his internalised homophobia when Mary expels him from True Directions.
- "Seeing New Colors" and "Graham's Kiss" for Megan.
- “A Whole New Me” is sung by the campers at the start of the program about who they hope to become by the end.
- "I Am" Song: “Seventeen Is Swell”, the opening number, for Megan, who sees herself and her life as completely perfect.
- “If That’s What It Takes” is Graham singing about why she’s so closed-off from others.
- Intercourse with You: "Step Five" is staged around the "heterosexual simulated experience" This acts as a contrast to Megan and Graham's Final Love Duet where they sneak out to have sex in a garage.
- Intimate Hair Brushing: Definitely not Mary’s intention, but after Megan sorts through the tangles in Graham’s hair it appears as though Graham is enjoying Megan brushing it during “Step 2 Pink and Blue”.
- Irrelevant Act Opener: “Raise Your Flag” is an extremely catchy and uplifting song performed by the drag queens to set the scene at the Cocksucker at the start of act two, but it arguably has no influence on the rest of the plot.
- Let's Duet: Jared and Kimberly duet on “What If We Were Wrong”.
- Megan and Graham duet on “How It Feels”
- Longing Look: Mike gives Rock several of these throughout the show.
- Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number: “Step 2 Pink and Blue” is led by Mike and Mary as they try to teach the campers about their “correct” gender roles, and we hear all of the campers’ varying opinions on this education.
- Mistaken for Gay: Jalal thinks Jared wants to dance with him, which is what finally clues Jared into the fact that The Cocksucker is, in fact, a gay bar.
- Musicalis Interruptus: Mary interrupts Rock’s song “Dick and Jane” before it can really get going, leading the latter to accuse the former of never letting him express himself artistically.
- Ode to Apathy: “If That’s What It Takes” is Graham’s promise to herself that she won’t let anyone in and that she’ll stay on her own forever and never fall in love again. Unsurprisingly, she breaks this promise when she falls in love with Megan.
- Ode to Youth: “Seventeen Is Swell” opens the show with Megan singing about how great this year has been for her and how seventeen is her favorite age. Towards the end of the song, this is countered by all the other students singing about how hellish being seventeen is for them.
- Only Sane Man: Graham certainly sees herself as this during “A Whole New Me”.
- Pep-Talk Song: “In The End” is the musical equivalent to promising a queer kid ‘It gets better’.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: There’s a whole song about it!
- Politically Correct History: Although the musical is still set in The '90s, the out queer characters like Larry, Lloyd and the drag queens performing at The Cocksucker define queerness in a more expansive way than what would have been considered typical for the time the story is set.
- Promoted to Love Interest: André, for Dolph. Arguably, Mike and Rock are this for each other as the musical makes it clear that they are in some sort of relationship for the duration of the story and they come out as a couple at the end.
- Softer and Slower Cover: After the original, faster-tempo “Seeing New Colors” and before its Dark Reprise, Megan gets a softer and slower repeat of a few lines after Graham kisses her for the first time.Megan: Suddenly, in like a moment, you can really see / the beauty of a world you never knew. / Once you open up your eyes and notice every hue, / there’s so much more than pink and blue.
- Stepford Smiler: In "Perfect Little World" Mary sings about her need to keep everything and everyone around her in their place.
- Teacher's Pet: Hilary, even moreso than she is in the film. She’s even named valedictorian of the class at graduation.
- Temporary Substitute: As in the nature of live theatre, sometimes an actor is too unwell to perform. The covers that debuted in front of an audience were as follows:
- Lauren Soley as Megan, Graham, and - a role she didn't originally cover - Megan's Dad.
- Owen Mc Hugh as Jared/Rock and - a role he didn't originally cover - Larry.
- Carolyn Maitland as Mom/Lloyd.
- Billie Bowman as Graham.
- That Came Out Wrong: During "In the End" Lloyd makes an
Accidental Innuendo about himself and Larry and immediately comments that he heard how it sounded as soon as he said it. - Vitriolic Best Buds: Kimberly and Jared definitely have shades of this.
- Welcoming Song: “One Step at a Time” is sung by Mary as she welcomes Megan to True Directions.
