Friendsical - A Parody Musical about Friends

FRIENDSICAL IS CLEVERLY CRAFTED, BLENDING COMEDY AND MUSIC TOGETHER, MAKING IT AS FUNNY AS THE ORIGINAL SITCOM!

You don’t even have to like Friends to know Friends, it’s a cult classic that has been passed down to younger generations and is loved by many. I’ve watched all of Friends, binge-watched it on Netflix even, but I’m not necessarily a ‘fan’. However, I took my superfan cousin along to the press night knowing she’ll give an honest opinion on how it went - and to rely on her for any references and jokes I didn’t understand!  

If you’re unfamiliar with Friends, it’s an American tv sitcom from the 90s that follows the story of six friends who live in New York as they find their way through careers, love and life in general. Friendsical is an original and unique new parody musical inspired by the gang and references major moments throughout the series. When Ross’s wife leaves him for another woman, he fears he will never find love again. But then Rachel runs back into his life…will he end up with his true love? With original new songs such as (He’s her) Lobster!, Richard’s Moustache and You’re Over Me, When Were You Under Me?. The gang takes on naked Thursdays, a power cut, and a dinosaur convention. Transitioning a tv show (with 10 seasons!) into a musical can’t have been any easy challenge but Friendsical succeeded. 

What stood out to us was how the script was cleverly crafted to fit references and major moments from the 10 seasons of the show into a 2 hour 40 minute production. From the first scene where Rachel runs from her wedding right up until the final episode of the series, this was done by using songs to fast-forward the story through several breakups, relationships and back on track to the main storyline. It blends comedy and music together making a show that’s just as funny as the original sitcom. You don’t even have to be a proper fan to understand what’s going on, I’ve watched the full series through once and pretty much knew all the references and the plot lines; saying this, it’s pretty important to have watched at least some episodes to appreciate the comedic moments. 

The set moved around to create the three iconic backdrops from the sitcom - Monica’s flat, Joey’s flat and the coffee house. Attention to detail was excellent with the purple door, mustard sofa and Chandler and Joey’s comfy reclining chairs. The show transported you into 1990s New York and right into the heart of the gang’s hangout spots. The use of spotlights gave each character a moment to express their emotions and chat to the audience about their feelings. Overall, the set was bright and colourful, even some of the lights were yellow, red and blue to match the original colour scheme. 

As it was a parody, the performers were over the top and almost pantomime like creating caricatures of each of the friends. The actors were brilliant and embodied the stand out characteristics and movements from each of the characters. Ross, played by Nelson Bettencourt, was the main narrator within the plotline. Friendsical is portrayed as Ross’ project to create their lives into a musical which underlines the story of the performance - making the parody move quickly and allowing it to touch on several key moments. 

Amelia Kinu Muus was Rachel and Sarah Michelle-Kelly played Monica, Ally Retberg was Phoebe and Joey was played by Sario Soloman. Whether it was Monica’s iconic organisation and cleaning habits, Phoebe’s bouncy body language, Rachel’s sass or Joey’s lovable goofiness, all actors delivered and brought to life the characters we’ve grown to love. 

All six actors were excellent at bringing the iconic characters to the stage but Tim Edwards as Chandler was a definite stand out to me. He had us in stitches with his mannerisms and subtle moments, even the accent was perfect. The costumes completed the characterisation with recognisable outfits for each character throughout the performance - even Ross’ leather pants made an appearance! 

Last night’s guest star was drag queen Ella Vaday, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Vaday was brilliant with her comedic timing popping into scenes as several characters from the show, including Monica’s boyfriend Richard. The guest star changes throughout the tour of the production and the Lowry stint will see Louise Redknapp take on the role too. 

This show is a fun, upbeat take on the cult classic which will have fans belly laughing and reminiscing on their favourite moments. Friendsical reminds us why Friends was such a hit show and continues to be, it’s got plenty of laugh out loud moments with slapstick comedy and dramatic irony. It’s definitely a must-see for the Friends superfans but still provides loads of laughs for those who are not as knowledgeable on the 90s sitcom.

WE SCORE FRIENDSICAL...