Review: FRIENDS! The Musical Parody

Not the first, nor the last, but certainly the most successful of Bob & Tobly McSmith’s musical spoofs, FRIENDS! The Musical Parody has finally docked in Edinburgh. Since finding its first stage Off-Broadway back in 2017, the show has evolved into a US touring prodigy, conquering New York, Las Vegas, and well beyond. Now, it brings its specific brand of caffeinated nostalgia to the Playhouse.

It is essential to notice the word ‘parody’ in the title; this is not Friends: The Musical. Yet, despite the label, this is undeniably a production for the fans, not the haters, of David Crane and Marta Kauffman’s enduringly beloved TV series. The McSmiths find their comedy not in lampooning the source material, but in pointing a neon sign at its underlying absurdities.

The One Where They Sing

The production is cleverly conceived as a live taping of the sitcom—compressing all ten seasons into one sitting—complete with a warm-up guy to keep the energy high. Accordingly, the audience spends most of its time in evocative mock-ups of clean-freak Monica’s enormous NY apartment at 495 Grove Street or their local coffee shop, Central Perk. Andrew Exeter’s design realises these spaces lovingly, employing timber-backed flats that are named and turned away until needed to make a flat, a cafe, or (sometimes) somewhere else.

“It is essential to notice the word ‘parody’ in the title; this is not Friends: The Musical. Yet, despite the label, this is undeniably a production for the fans, not the haters, of David Crane and Marta Kauffman’s enduringly beloved TV series.”

The show acknowledges the absurdity of both locations with on-the-nose musical numbers, such as “495 Grove Street”, complete with a refrain of “Suspend your Disbelief!” to highlight the improbability of Monica inhabiting such a luxurious piece of NY real estate on the wages of a young chef.

Elsewhere show flirts with a more cynical brand of parody in songs like “Classic Sitcom Situation”, but ultimately eschews biting satire for a warm hug of familiarity. There are nods to Monica and Rachel’s continual supply of famous boyfriends, turkeys will be worn, a chicken and duck will come to live with Joey, and the requisite couples will couple up in time for the finale. The blending of the show’s legendary wit with droll nods to the silliness passed off as everyday New York life makes for plenty of laughs.

The songbook driving this is strong if not exceptional, a blend of familiar musical theatre fare and 90s pop flair. The opening “Friends Like Us” is a fun ode to the show’s iconic theme song, The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You”, whilst “Typical Day at Central Perk” occupies a musical space just a few metres down from Belle’s ‘poor provincial town’ in Beauty and the Beast. Otherwise, whilst Assaf Gleizner’s score may not be hugely memorable, it makes for perpetually tuneful fun, cheerfully choreographed by Myles Brown, and delivered by a cast possessed of strong, vibrant voices, dressed and groomed by Jennie Quirk and Craig Forest-Thomas into solid facsimiles of the characters fans know so well.

The One With The Impressions

The six friends are all present and correctly cast with a superb band of actors challenged not only to act, sing, and dance, but also to perform pitch-perfect impressions of their allotted character from start to finish. All do well, making fun with rather than of the original cast, armed with buckets of chemistry and a determination to ‘make em laugh.’

Alicia Belgarde’s charmingly neurotic Monica Geller and Eva Hope’s remarkably Jennifer Aniston-evoking runaway bride, Rachel Green, probably edge the rest of the pack. However, Enzo Benvenuti sighs and “PIVOT!”-s his way through a cracking take on David Schwimmer’s lovably goofy palaeontologist, Ross Geller.

It’s no criticism of Daniel Parkinson’s gesture-perfect recreation of Matthew Perry’s famously witty Chandler Bing to say that the show struggles to place the series’ principal funny man. In a production where the laughs are dialled up everywhere, Chandler’s traditional role—pointing to the utter absurdity of his friends’ behaviours and life choices—becomes somewhat redundant. It seems to me Chandler could still have played that grounding role here; in this, the production misses an opportunity to pay tribute to the tragically departed Matthew Perry’s iconic turn.

Amelia Atherton’s likeably whacky turn as Phoebe Buffay struggles with a similar issue; the script struggles to sublimate the character’s already alternative brand of humour into the parody whole. Completing the set is Ronnie Burden as Joey. He is a likeable presence to be sure, but with only a ghost of Matt LeBlanc’s famous charisma, the character can feel somewhat underpowered.

That said, Parkinson recovers ground when he dons the leopard print of Chandler’s on-off girlfriend Janice, complete with cries of ‘Oh My God’ and a cracking electro-dance song “OMG It’s Janice” that pays tribute to her famous exclamation.

The One With The Scene Stealer

Strong as the central cast may be, overall, they are perpetually at risk of being upstaged by Edward Leigh. Delivering a bravura Swiss-army knife performance, Leigh shifts from the show’s Warm-Up Man to donning Tom Selleck’s moustache, before sporting Gunther’s pale, short-cropped locks as the drama requires.

“The six friends are all present and correctly cast with a superb band of actors challenged not only to act, sing, and dance, but also to perform pitch-perfect impressions of their allotted character from start to finish.”

With energy for days and sparkling comic timing, he lifts the whole show from start to end. His opining solo “Part of Their Gang” finds the coffee-shop manager and hopeless devotee to Rachel Green evoking shades of The Little Mermaid with particular comic style.

The One About The Venue

I do suspect that the show isn’t quite the right fit for enormous stages such as the Edinburgh Playhouse. It has a potent Fringe-theatre energy that almost certainly suits smaller stages where the audience is closer to the fun, of which there is plenty. You can feel the effort that’s been put into scaling the show up—it’s very big and very shiny in many ways—but at its heart, this is a cheeky, witty musical sitcom, and would be better watched up close to appreciate the show’s perky energy.

Nevertheless, Michael Gyngell directs a dynamic, fast-paced anthology of the show’s greatest hits, with resounding calls of “I Know!”, “Could it BEEEEE”, and “How You Doin?” liberally supplied throughout. For the faithful, this is a reunion well worth attending.

Featured Image: Friends the Musical_Pamela Raith Photography