EdFringe Review: MUSE: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical

I went into MUSE: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical with hopes, but they were quickly abandoned. It’s well-meant, don’t get me wrong, and fuelled by an innocent joy—no doubt rooted in its genesis as a high-school passion project at the Interlochen Arts Academy—that makes you root for all involved. But while the show’s journey from a student-written concept (credited to over a dozen co-writers) to a heavily backed Fringe production is impressive, the result is…poor.

Neither the sheer enthusiasm on stage nor the detectable talent in the 10-strong ensemble can rescue director Mindy Cooper’s staging from a flawed premise (penned by composer Hanna Andréa and lead writer Lisa Sanderson). It’s just not a good idea to have a smorgasbord of Shakespearean characters climb out of a wine cup to torment a stressed-out Bard (Nate Janis) on the night before he must decide which play to publish first. Or rather, it’s a really hard idea to pull off well.

Instead, we get weird, high-school parodies of Shakespearean characters all vying for priority, and each given a chance to sing a wee song about their condition. Suffice to say, no one is all that happy about things, and the women in particular are raging against their representation. There are glimmers of decent composition when Maya Sta. Ana’s Portia takes centre stage to sing about, you guessed it, “Mercy”, but the rest are forgettable pop numbers.

Flawed Shakespearean Parodies and Missing Wit

Why is Beatrice (Karis Brizendine) the lead feminist on stage, when ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ Minola is waiting for a summons from her taming? Why is Macbeth (Luis Enrique Rivera) out to kill Shakespeare, as if this will prompt publication, and why is everyone whining about the amount of death in Shakespeare’s tragedies? They aren’t real people! And why are we taking a stab at a writer who was notably enlightened when it came to women having brains, and poor people having lives that mattered?

“But while the show’s journey from a student-written concept (credited to over a dozen co-writers) to a heavily backed Fringe production is impressive, the result is…poor.“

The idea that Juliet—sung with impressive vocal powerhouse chops by Megan Elizabeth Colton—is somehow mistreated because she dies too in her play is just bizarre. The point of the play is that it takes catastrophic tragedy to settle a pointless family feud. No dual suicide: no philosophical point. I personally think of it as two young idiots killing themselves for no good reason, but Shakespeare isn’t suggesting that Juliet deserves to die; just that bad things happen to innocent people.

Overall, this show is funny, or at least it made me chuckle, just not when I think I was supposed to. I mean, what is the deal with Puck (Thom Bergamo)? Why is he some childish twit in tights? Where is his wit? Honestly, the whole thing feels like a skit musical you might have found Joey performing in during an episode of Friends. Except there you’d have got a greatest hits, not so here.

#FringeQuickies

The Quinntessential Review’s original bite-sized interview series with EdFringe performers. Once again, over 10% of 2026 shows took part!

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A Fringe Quickie (#61) with ‘Don Quixote (is a very big book)’

None of this is the fault of the cast, who sing and dance with real professional competence. From Janis’s committed Bard to the hard-working ensemble, they are doing their best, and God bless them for collecting a paycheque; they deserve it. At least some of the £17 per ticket will go to paying their rent.

I really hate writing this review; it brings me absolutely no joy. I went in hoping to be blown away, but such was not to be my fate. I hope that, despite my significant criticisms, people still pack out the stalls every night of the run—the performers deserve it.