But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical at Turbine Theatre

Jamie Babbit’s cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader is an iconic slice of LGBTQ+ cinema that means a lot to many people. Both the film and the musical are satirical comedies about Megan, a 17-year-old cheerleader who is sent to gay conversion therapy by her Christian parents. The story takes us through the conversion programme in largely humorous (if at times, insensitive) ways and is a feel-good lesbian romantic comedy. The new musical, premiering now at the Turbine Theatre, is a welcome piece of LGBTQ+ representation but misses the mark a little.

The premise of the show is to poke fun at gender norms; girls must wear pink and be good housewives and boys must wear blue and be manly breadwinners. Within the film, this is ridiculed at every opportunity, with masculine girls and feminine boys being put in ridiculous situations with funny consequences. The musical does well with feminine boys – a particularly funny scene involves them shooting a gun off another man’s twerking bum, with extremely effeminate mannerisms. But, for some reason, the musical has no comparable comedy for the masculinity of women. All the female characters are conventionally feminine: their hairstyles, mannerisms and even the clothes they wear to go out to a gay bar are all run-of-the-mill. For a musical whose whole purpose is to mock gender norms, it only mocks the norms for men, not for women.

Having said that, all the characters who are supposed to be more feminine are fantastic. Alice Croft is a gobsmackingly good Megan, with an absolute standout solo in Graham’s Kiss. The relationship between Megan and Graham is very tender and the pair have good chemistry. The whole cast are fantastic triple threats one by one; there is not a weak link throughout. One particularly poignant performance is Aaron Teoh’s rendition of Wrestling, a song about internalised homophobia.

It should be noted that there are some problematic moments in the musical’s script, like the sex scene in which Graham seems to pressure Megan, the sexual simulation exercise, which feels just as unnecessary and awkward in the play as it does in the film, and the strangeness of some of the jokes on conversion, which don’t always take into account the reality of a situation it presents as ridiculous. The programme itself points out that conversion therapy is still legal in the UK.

Despite this, overall the production is spot on. The choreography is inspired and works with the set in wonderfully creative ways. The lighting and colour scheme are brilliantly garish and produce some gorgeous moments, like Megan’s fantasy dreamscape and romance. The score is largely nice, if at times a bit cliché, but with some standout, heartfelt ballads. With some work, this could be a great musical. It is just a shame that it doesn’t quite achieve what it sets out to do.

Ella Satin

But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical is at the Turbine Theatre from 18^th February until 16^th April 2022. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.