Review: Here & Now – The Steps Musical

5, 6, 7, 8… Steps’ camp evening of feel-good fun hits Edinburgh

Jukebox musicals. They are here and they’re not going away any time soon. Whilst often criticised by audiences for their forced plots, which are shoe-horned around songs (more about that later), the draw of nostalgia and great music is helping to pull in those who would not typically go to the theatre and providing a lifeline of cashflow to a sector which often needs it.

Steps back catalogue is full of great songs

It would be difficult to go wrong with a Steps musical: In addition to their Stock, Aitken & Waterman material, they covered hits by Diana Ross and the Bee Gees, which find their way into this production. All really great tunes. The teenagers of the 1990s are the middle-aged women and gay men of the 2020s. The producers know who the audience is and have created something which has the potential to connect with them beyond the songs.

Produced by Steps themselves, Pete Waterman, ROYO and others, Here and Now – The Steps Musical is almost exclusively set in the Better Best Bargains supermarket. The store itself is located by the sea, with Set Designer Tom Roger’s neon pink and blue making several clever nods to Steps’ branding and back catalogue.

Fun fact: Although the earliest example of a jukebox musical in recent times is thought to be Mamma Mia! The genre has existed for centuries: John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera in the eighteenth century used existing tunes (albeit with new lyrics) rather than being a completely new production.

Our four leads are Caz (Lara Denning), Vel (Jacqui Dubois), Neeta (Rosie Singha) and Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson). Caz is on the cusp of hitting 50 and adopting a much longed for baby with her husband. She is delighted when she receives an email from the adoption agency and, wanting to spread joy, challenges her three colleagues and besties to find love themselves – or in Vel’s case at least rid herself of her unwanted boyfriend (John Stacey leaves you with a smile on your face with his obtuse but kind Lesley).

A chaotic caper

There follows – as you might expect from any musical – a chaotic caper as the four friends attempt to overcome blockers to finding their happiness (curved balls being thrown in by Caz herself and the three antagonists – neurotic boss Patricia (Sally Ann Matthews), her feckless husband Gareth (Chris Grahamson) and too smooth and handsome to be trusted Max (Edward Baker-Duly), laced with a grand total of 21 of Steps’ greatest hits. Shaun Kitchener has done well to create a story and link the songs together in a way which doesn’t generally feel too shoe-horned – although I felt ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ deserved better than being repurposed as the ‘Half Price Hoedown’.

Will any of the audience have cared about the pitch issues when being hit by this joyous rollercoaster? No. Did I have to stop myself jumping up and doing the dance moves for ‘Tragedy’? Yes. Does this production deserve be a huge success? Undoubtedly, yes

Our four leads are gifted with beautiful, strong voices. There were, nevertheless, some issues with pitch throughout all the solos. I was at a loss as to work out why this might be, as they are obviously great singers. Lack of rehearsal time with the band, problems with hearing the band? Issues with in-ears if they were being used? It seemed to only be the solos which had this problem – duets and ensemble pieces were all well delivered and I particularly enjoyed the beautiful harmonies.

One for sorrow

The show bravely explores a number of sensitive issues such as stillbirth, fertility and loneliness, however I had some concerns around this: There is no synopsis in the programme and as such no warnings for anyone who may have been affected. The juxtaposition of Denning’s Caz breaking her heart in ‘One for Sorrow’ and then bopping along to ‘Better the Devil You Know’ with her ex-husband seemed odd at best.

River Medway’s Jem lifts the show to another level with ‘Chain Reaction’. I wonder if the wardrobe (Gabriella Slade) or props teams (Propworks) had more fun with this number, creating an uber sparkly packet of soap suds and light up washing machines. It would have been easy for Medway to get lost in the production, but he commits and is able to drive the number along with great energy, stealing the show.

Hopefully the great reception – including a standing ovation – gives the performers confidence for the rest of the week.

Featured Image: Here & Now: The Steps Musical. Photo by Pamela Raith