I went to see Millennials in The Studio at The Other Palace on Thursday 28th July. I was opened minded going into this show, I am not too big of a fan of intimate venues nor musicals of a non traditional length but with a sensational cast I was excited to see what the show was about.
The first thing to be addressed is the confusion of who the show is actually about and the style of the show. It is described as a ‘song cycle’ but I felt it was presented as a musical but it felt very disjointed. I believe it is intended to be about the current generation in their late teens, early twenties, which ties in with the age of the cast however they are gen z not millennials. With the show title being millennials, but the cast being a mixture of gen z and millennials I was left very confused.
Also it is important to note the show is not 75 minutes as advertised it is 55 minutes at a push.
Despite the confusion with the age of the cast I have to say it was cast very well. Every performer had amazing vocals and really connected with the audience. Right from the start they were hitting notes hard with strong vocals of an impressive range. They had a bit of freedom with their vocals to play around and really show their skills, some amazing riffs from Hiba Elchikhe.
There was a mixture of songs, I enjoyed most of them however I really felt like some of them did not belong in a musical. I am 100% here for this new form of musical, Six is one of my favourite shows, and having a more pop sound however I felt like some of these songs really were just pop songs that should stand alone songs not in a musical. One song I really felt this for was ‘21st century girl’ which I didn’t really feel added anything to the show, was a fun song but I don’t think it belongs in a musical.
There was very simple choreography around the main performer singing but I honestly feel like they would have been better off without this. There was little to no space for the dancers to actually perform anything much and most of the time it just looked stupid as they were just bouncing along to the beat or nodding their head. The only time I think having other performers involved in the solo performance was for ‘Don’t be a dick’ what they did there was very effective and added to the comedy.
The Other Palace is a great venue, and it supports new theatre which we love, this show was on in the studio (Heathers The Musical is still playing on the main house). To start off the studio is not very accessible for disabled as there is stairs down to it and also with most seats not being actual seats it’s far from ideal. There is a lift to the gallery but I’m not sure how much room there really was to fit a wheelchair on there, it wasn’t very spacious. There was approximately 12 supportive chairs in the gallery however majority of the seats on the studio floor are pillows on the floor not actual seats.
I get the idea of what they have tried to do with the room but personally I think it came off as too much and tacky. They have tried to make it as instagramable as possible which is a great tactic; people posting pictures at the venue is free advertising and Instagram is hit with gen z but sitting in half a bath tub filled with balls for an hour watching a show isn’t really ideal.
I am again left puzzled with the theme of avocados and the avocado stage, the fruit was referenced in one song. The avocado stage with a trampoline in the centre was again not ideal, the trampoline was never actually used to benefit the performance and most the time it was just in the way. As mentioned earlier having to dance around it on the edge of the stage makes choreography harder and just looked awkward.
Overall I was very disappointed by the show and left confused. As I said I am not sure who the show was really about or what the story was if there even was one, it felt very much like they were just singing random songs. To go from a comedy number straight to a ballad about losing a loved one with no context was very strange and disjointed. I would certainly not recommend this show to anyone however I would say to listen to the songs on Spotify (there is a few on there, you can find them if you search millennials) as there was some good songs but I don’t think you gain much by actually watching the show. It was a unique concept but I don’t think it worked out well in the end.