The peppy off-Broadway musical adaption of Little Miss Sunshine spreads laughter and cheer, but falls short of the Oscar winning film.
When the youngest member of the Hoover family, Olive, learns that she has placed in the final of a children’s beauty pageant in California, her family decides to embark on an 800-mile road trip from New Mexico to the competition. In a clapped-out Volkswagen minibus.
The Hoover family is best described as dysfunctional: consisting of a drug-addict grandpa, a stressed-out mum, a teenager who has taken a vow of silence, a self-help obsessed dad and the eternal optimist that is little 7-year-old Olive.
Adapted by James Lapine, the script is fast paced, bubbly and very true to the film’s original narrative. It gently pokes fun at the grotesque nature of children’s beauty pageant but skirts around some darker parts that made the film such a success.
Much of the musical takes place in the Volkswagen minibus which is actually just a wooden box with six chairs and a logo on the front. Some reviewers have slated this, but to me it feels like an appropriate metaphor for the family’s dire situation.
The cast perform the show well. Olive (Lily Mae Denman) is a shining beacon of light throughout the whole production and gives the adult actors a run for their money. Lucy O’Byrne is the epitome of a nervy mum in the midst of a messy family and Uncle Frank (Paul Keating) makes me want to be his mate. Grandpa (Mark Moraghan) gets plenty of laughs from the audience, too.
The music, which is written by William Finn, is utterly cheesy yet enjoyable. But anyone who thinks a good word for a bum is ‘badonkadonk’ needs to think long and hard about the work they’re putting out into the world.
Hats off to the creative team: the set design is a contemporary success. Neon signs flash up throughout the various road trip pit stops, while the yellow two story platform has map patterns that light up when the sat nav chimes in. It’s a clever and modern affair.
All in all Little Miss Sunshine – A Road Musical is a feel-good, entertaining performance that will put a smile on anyone’s face.
The show runs until Saturday 8th June. Get your tickets here.
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