The Independent: Paul and Prue, is that you? No, in fact, it’s Phil Hollinghurst and Pam Lee, the new stars of The Great British Bake Off Musical. After 13 years, many soggy bottoms and a few Baked Alaska-related dramas, the nation’s favourite baking show has been given the all-singing, all-dancing treatment. Opening in the West End next week, it’s the biggest new British musical of the year and plans to capture that Bake Off spirit, from the underdog stories we root for to the tragedy of a tricky technical.
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My immediate thought about the Bake Off musical is that the most successful way to present it is through a lens of camp. Not in a mocking way, but one that embraces the drama of reality TV. They called the lens “witty without being satirical,” which I think is similar. We can’t all be The Producers. We can’t all be How to Succeed. The one clip I saw with Grace Mouat, to be honest, after watching it a second time, seemed somewhat aligned with this intention. But does a pop-culture reference (often somewhat forced in delivery) fit into the category of “witty”? But I may not necessarily assume that one somewhat cringe-inducing song means that there aren’t genuine, well-written moments. I am in full support of fictionalized bakers, and I think it’s in good taste to overtly mimic the judges while not technically using their names, especially if they themselves have sanctioned it. I feel like this one could be defined as a “humor me” musical. However, comparing themselves to Matilda and Billy Elliot is QUITE a standard to set.
The great British Bake off was a show that I watched to get through Covid. I think this article made a really good point that this is a serious thing. Yes it’s a comedy and all that people don’t expect much of it. When I heard about coming to the West End I got so excited. Because you bring a show that has brought so many people joy and you bring it into a new space with a new creative team and you’re going to create some thing Wonderful. One thing that I found interesting was the composer of the show Cleary she has made it into, a score that has tribute to modern musical theater. She also was the first woman to have two shows on the West End. The other thing I find interesting in this article, was the fact that the West End doesn’t have a lot of original shows that are originated. Like they talked about Matilda and Billy Elliot but they don’t get a lot of shows that are originally created in Britain. That’s why I think The Great British Bake Off is so important and I love that it is becoming such a hit and not just a joke.
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