Americana (Edinburgh Fringe)

This all-American high school rock musical hits some important political messages and has an impressive storyline to match, but it's not all plain sailing for this cliché musical.

David is openly gay at his school, in the Christian state of South Carolina, so his predictable romance with Brody is clear from the outset. The storyline could be the ideal plot but the whirlwind romance is both predictable and unbelievable at the same time. It's quite an achievement but as Brody transforms from a straight football player to gay rights activist in the transition of one scene, it's clear the script could be worked on.

It felt as if the characters were competing with one another to swear the most; the script seemed to divulge across the most obvious stereotypical language of American teenagers which could have been more imaginative.

All of the songs are original and, for the most part, successfully progress the story. However the duration of some numbers and the sheer amount of music and lyrics in the show made it difficult to concentrate on some of the dialogue. It also felt as if it was a criteria that all songs had to have a strong rock edge; even if this is a rock musical there is no harm in experimenting with different styles of music without each number having a rock reprise.

Some deeper character development and choreography that includes more than just head banging and jumping around might make for a more enjoyable show.

Americana runs at C South until August 25

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