Musical is all right on the night

Savoy Theatre

Burlesque is a stage musical based on the film starring Cher and Christine Aguilera. In a rewritten plot, a young woman with a big voice goes to New York in search of her mother and ends up at a financially troubled Burlesque club run by a woman with a big voice.
Reviews are often described as ‘mixed’, in these roundups, usually meaning there are 2, 3 and 4 star ratings. It’s rare for the full range from 5 stars to 1 to feature. We had feared the worst, with rumours of chaos backstage and previews reporting a mess onstage. But it’s the official Press Night that matters, and for many of the critics, it was ‘all right on the night’.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar talked of ‘its monster sound, energy and blinding bling’. Compared to the original film, it is ‘grittier and less sanitised’ and ‘far raunchier and more outre’. She was knocked out by so many aspects of the production: ‘You could generate electricity with the combined sound of Orfeh, as burlesque club owner Tess, and Jess Folley as Ali, a small-town singer with a big voice’…’Todrick Hall’s choreography is a sensation, with jaw-dropping athleticism, balletic moves and circus acrobatics, while Marco Marco’s “more is more” costumes deserve an award.’ She concluded: ‘It is over-adrenalised and messy in its plotting, but you forgive the blips. This is a production stuffed with personality, spectacle and wow factor. Come for the nostalgia, perhaps, but stay for the new kicks: bigger, naughtier and camp as hell.’

Anya Ryan for LondonTheatre loved the stars: ‘With Folley and Orfeh playing the mother-daughter duo, the show is in excellent hands. Both have the vocal chops to rival the Aguilera-Cher partnership and then some. Folley makes a Hannah Montana-esque transformation as Ali, growing from a naive gospel singer from Ohio “with a big voice” to a full-blown burlesque star. Every time she sings, the whole auditorium tingles. Orfeh, who makes her West End debut as Tess, might have fewer opportunities to show off her husky growl, but she makes her mark just the same. Together, they send this musical soaring.’ She declared: ‘it would take industrial-strength scepticism not to fall for this glitter-ordained marvel.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

CityAM’s Adam Bloodworth said: ‘it feels pacey, high-octane, and often funny, and is more slathered than sprinkled with incredibly eye-catching performances.’ He declared: ‘The plotting feels thin and becomes increasingly confusing by act two, but Burlesque as a set of megawatt performances is so strong that you forgive the holes.’

Noting its pre-opening troubles, Claire Allfree for the Telegraph said: ‘it is so cheerfully itself, so zestily camp and so sharply performed it somehow snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Independent‘s Alice Saville reported: ‘writer Steven Antin and mammoth songwriting team of Aguilera, Sia, Todrick Hall and Jess Folley have given this messy source material a thorough once-over. And it scrubs up surprisingly well, enlivened by endless queer in-jokes, spectacular burlesque routines from both male and female dancers, and a naked desire to give audiences what they want.’ She ended: ‘it’s genuinely fun to watch. It might be skimpy, but it covers all the bases it needs to.’

Alex Wood at WhatsOnStage seemed almost disappointed it wasn’t the mess anticipated: ‘An entirely average, run-of-the-mill, engaging evening.’ He continued in the same vein: ‘Some powerhouse performances, popping choreography and a select few one-liners bring the joy in perfectly adequate measures.  But it’s a show broadly lacking in flare or heart – chugging through the motions like a well-oiled machine without the sweaty, grainy authenticity that made the film so memorable. There’s also little here that feels original’.

Aliya Al-Hassan of BroadwayWorld was similarly underwhelmed: ‘the length and wobbly script mean that Burlesque The Musical ends up feeling a bit meaningless. Many good musicals have paper-thin stories, but there must be compensation elsewhere. There’s nothing new or exciting to see here, but it’s an entertaining evening at the theatre. It’s not fabulous, but it’s perfectly fine.’

The Times’ Clive Davis was expecting the worst but ‘All I can say is that, despite its rough edges — the book, by the film’s director, Steven Antin, gets hopelessly tangled in the second half — Todrick Hall’s production has more vim than that other recently arrived contender in the hen party stakes, The Devil Wears Prada. And in the pairing of Jess Folley and the American singer Orfeh… the evening unfurls some powerhouse vocals.’

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski said: ‘Burlesque isn’t totally inept, but it’s ultimately just bludgeoning, a clangorous three-hour pantomime on steroids that makes the original film look like a model of tastefully plotted restraint.’ He wasn’t keen on the sound: ‘It’s very silly and very loud: Folley is a sensational singer but across a three hour, 30-song night her weapons-grade vocals are so piercing and so constant it feels like being trapped in a warzone.’ He ended: ‘Basically if you’re a big fan of Todrick Hall, this show will be a real treat for you. Everyone else should approach with extreme caution.’ No rating was given but it seemed like a 3 star review at best.

Nick Curtis of The Standard was another critic surprised at finding it better than he expected, if not exactly in the top tier: ‘I’d take this daft paean to self-empowerment through wiggling around in complicated underwear over many other recent stage adaptations of established cinematic properties, from Mean Girls to Clueless.’

Paul Vale at The Stage had some nice things to say: ‘Burlesque is an upbeat, sassy story packed with astounding vocals – extensively from Folley and Orfeh – and some genuinely exciting dance routines choreographed by Hall.’ He ended: ‘It could all be much tighter and Hall, in his debut as director, loses focus occasionally. Otherwise, this is a noisy, fun show that actually stands head and shoulders above the source material.’

1 star ⭑

The Mail’s Patrick Marmion hated  it. ‘How to make a travesty out of a travesty?’ he began, and went on to tell us: ‘Antin’s script, adapted from his film, is flat as an Iowa homestead’ and ‘The would-be steamy choreography (is) rote, oven-ready eroticism.’ Even the lead singers failed to impress: ‘Both women… run a tortuous scale on every syllable of every song, bending notes like Uri Geller.’  He summed up: ‘The upshot is rambling raunch, musical cliche and automated whooping. May it rest in peace.’

Critics’ Average Rating 3.3★

Value rating 22 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

Burlesque can be seen at the Savoy Theatre until 6 September 2025. Click here to buy tickets direct

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