Synopsis Monkee Business follows four young lads who, with the help of a few sexy Russian spies, nonsensical nuns and the odd tambourine, unwittingly get caught up in the most madcap adventure even Austin Powers would be proud of. With a hilarious mix of groovy adventure, dreamy romance and zany comedy, Monkee Business is the ultimate feel-good musical featuring hit after hit including I'm a Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, My Boy Lollipop, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me and the smash hit Daydream Believer alongside many, many more iconic songs from the swinging sixties.
"Total Monkee Business". "Go chimpan-see it". "Your aunt says it's a daydream! Believe her!". Now that we have a few of inevitable puns out of the way, let's get down to the serious business of critiquing the latest jukebox musical to find a dusty old CD in its loft and say "Me too!".
Four swinging teens are hired by an unscrupulous manager to pose as the eponymous band, appearing as the Monkees in a promotional tour across Europe, falling in love with every pretty girl who crosses their path and making enemies of a sexy Soviet femme fatale who could crack open a bottle of Smirnoff with her teeth.
What opens as a enjoyably kitsch and self-aware pastiche of the sixties quickly becomes an unnecessarily complex world of spies and spooks, lacking the style of Austin Powers or the satisfying ending of another Scooby Doo mystery. Much of the humour in Peter Benedict's script falls as flat as the hair under Mike Nesmith's bobble-hat and, whilst it is understandably trying to reflect the tv show, the show has little emotional depth.
A pantomime plot and script of cringeworthy gags are somewhat forgivable, though not theatrically inspiring, in a musical based on the songs and scenarios of this madcap series. It is difficult to feel such mercy when looking at Morgan Large's set and costume design. Embarrassingly small set pieces are wheeled on like afterthoughts; larger pieces creak like a walk up to the gallows and swing with expected results. The budget looks as if it has been blown on two or three more complex pieces and, as a consequence, leaves the stage disappointingly bare.
The show's greatest decoration is its cast. Stephen Kirkwan, Ben Evans, Tom Parsons and Oliver Saville are great as the Other Fab Four of sixties pop, injecting energy and enthusiasm into the evening in the musical numbers. Lionel Haft finds genuinely well-delivered humour in a weakly funny script. Roxanne Palmer, too, is hilarious as a stewardess of "The British Airline" and steals the scene wherever she appears.
The cast are this show's greatest asset. The rest of the show feels like a child monkeying around (last pun) on a stage which is far too big for him.
A show about music needed great music, and MONKEE BUSINESS delivered. The tight and versatile band held the whole trip together, while the actors unfolded the drama on stage, flowing from gag to gag, from twist to twist of plot. It was a romp. - Chris Haydon
30 Apr 12
Have to agree about the set but everything else was fab so just knocking off one star lol - Jack
25 Apr 12
Saw this liked the Group and the TV show, some of the songs written by Neil Diamond, so good foundations for the show. What a disappointment, poor set, poor storyline and 2 of the 4 should have been Turkeys not Monkees. This was a production that failed to deliver on all fronts and by the lack of enthusiasm the Troup (Monkees get it) must have known, believe the set was designed by a Blue Peter badge holder they should give it back. - Des
24 Apr 12
brilliant show. my only negatives are the set looked a bit cheap and if anything there were maybe too many songs as every time a scene got started everyone started singing before we really knew who anybody was but I hope it comes back to Glasgow so I can come again with the kids. - Dante
20 Apr 12
I have to say it was the hilarious puns in this review that drew me to the site, very wittily observed. I agree with a lot of the reviewer's comments and included similar remarks in my own. The set is sparse and pop-up book style in places and while the show has a stellar cast and brilliant music it is in need of remedial work, especially to the book. It deserves a longer run but only if they address some of these fairly fundamental issues. - Lisa Davidson
19 Apr 12
Je suis un Monkee. I seldom visit the theatre but if I was guaranteed this quality of entertainment I'd probably go more often. I grew up watching the TV series and hoped to recapture some of that magic. Not only did the script help, the props too brought it all back.
The corny gags, costumes and songs were what was expected.
What made my night was the quality of the music and vocals of the cast, all of them. The travelator on the stage helped make it a most enjoyable night. Well done everyone involved, from those on and under the stage to those on the wings and the writers. This show deserves a longer run in the UK. - Le_bod
19 Apr 12
Did I see the same show as the reviewer ? I was there on press night and the audience were with it from the moment the boys started singing the first number. By the end almost everyone was on their feet and cheering. It's zany, farcical and totally insane just like the 60's tv show only with slightly better jokes than the original. Yes I would have liked a bit more scenery for my forty quid but maybe that would have slowed the pace. Top notch cast with superb singing and amazing recreation of the period sound. And the sequence where they sing in three different languages made me cry with laughter. I think it started "Mon Dieu ! Nous sommes Monkees". Genius. - Anthony Tuff
18 Apr 12
The review criticises the show for having little emotional depth. Why? Was it meant to? Having grown up watching the original television series and having bought, as an adult, pretty much every note the band recorded, I thought the production did a fine job of capturing the spirit of the show. Daft, zany and corny in equal measure…but surely that was the point? I agree the cast are the production’s greatest asset but I disagree about the set design – I thought the stage set worked well on the whole and caught the flavour of cheap, cheerful but inventive low-budget 60’s tv scenery. All in all, while it may not be the best show treading the boards at the moment, it warmed the heart of this devout Monkees fan considerably and I haven’t even mentioned the wonderful music! - Tom Warrington
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