Re-review: Betty Blue Eyes, Novello


“Pig! No pig!”

Not too much to say about revisiting Betty Blue Eyes as most everything I wanted to say was covered in my original review, and although I’m sad to say there was no Liza at this performance, I was joined by someone even better! I really enjoy watching shows I love with people experiencing them for the first time and seeing what they respond to and I was pleased to hear Aunty Jean chuckling away next to me for most of the show. But it was also interesting to see that there were sections I’d forgotten (one of the dangers of having an album sampler rather than the whole show I think) and how my emotional reactions differed: Magic Fingers brought proper tears down my cheek and being somewhat prepared, I was able to look a bit more at the pig without being too freaked out ;-)

Aside from the replacement of the lightsabers with paint brushes in Painting By Heart, I can’t say I noticed any significant changes since the preview I saw. I can’t even really say that I thought the cast looked more comfortable or polished onstage as they were in pretty good shape when I saw them. There’s still the slight feeling that a couple of the roles could be sung by stronger voices, but I would wager that it would rob the show of much of its quirky charm.


One thing I would say, and this was evidenced by the singing and humming on the way out of theatre and the journey back to the tube, is that Stiles & Drewe have actually created a most memorable score here, something that other new musicals have not achieved – and yes I’m looking at you
Shrek. There’s at least five tunes that stick effortlessly in the head and I really do hope that this means that there will be an enduring success for this show as it really does deserve it.

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