Thelma & Louise review – musical hoedown is a bland and baffling wrong turn

The stage musical adaptation of Ridley Scott's seminal 1991 film "Thelma & Louise," currently playing at London's Young Vic, has been met with a decidedly negative review, described as a "bland and baffling wrong turn." The production, despite boasting a book penned by Callie Khouri, the very screenwriter responsible for the iconic original film, is criticized for its significant shortcomings. The review asserts that the musical lacks the thematic depth and, crucially, the compelling musical numbers that would be commensurate with the status of the 1991 film, which evolved into an era-defining feminist parable. The absence of the iconic car, a central visual and narrative element of the film, is also noted as a perplexing omission.

The 1991 film, starring Susan Sarandon as the world-weary Louise Sawyer and Geena Davis as the naive Thelma Dickinson, depicted the transformative cross-country road trip of two friends whose weekend getaway spirals into a flight from the law. This journey, initiated after a violent encounter with an abusive man, resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike, becoming a potent symbol of female liberation from patriarchal constraints and male violence. The film captured the cultural zeitgeist, with its title entering the lexicon as a shorthand for female solidarity and sisterhood. Its impact was further amplified by its spectacular cinematography and its famously defiant, un-Hollywood ending, which cemented its legacy as a groundbreaking work of cinema. The review implicitly contrasts the enduring power and cultural significance of the film with the perceived artistic failures of its stage adaptation.

The critique draws a parallel to Mary Shelley's powerful words, "Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful," suggesting that while these words could encapsulate the spirit of the film's protagonists, the musical fails to translate this potent energy into its narrative or songs. The review hints that the production misses an opportunity to explore the "monstrous feminine," a concept Shelley explored in her own seminal work, "Frankenstein," and which the film, though not explicitly, touched upon through its portrayal of women breaking free from societal expectations and enacting their own agency, even in extreme circumstances. The stage musical's perceived inability to capture the essence, the power, and the cultural resonance of its source material renders it a disappointing theatrical endeavor, according to the reviewer.