Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical review: Bawdy, sexy, scathing and terrific fun

Holidays, seasonal illness and other commitments all conspired to make me late to the Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical party. It’s been well worth the wait. Most of the attendees on stage may be a bunch of callous, conniving, manipulative no-gooders. But that means there’s never a dull moment in this musicalisation of the 1999 film, which in turn was based on the 1782 novel ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ with a nod and a wink to 1988’s Glenn Close/John Malkovich movie Dangerous Liaisons.

Starring a never-hotter Ryan Philippe, a devious Sarah Michelle Gellar and an angelic Reese Witherspoon, the 90s cult classic was ripe for the stage treatment – what with the similarly edgy Heathers: The Musical having captured a young audience Off-Broadway, in London and on tour. And it’s fitting that the show is making its UK debut at The Other Palace, where Heathers played to packed houses on either side of its West End run. The Mean Girls musical is heading to the capital soon, solidifying this teens-behaving-badly sub-genre that’s a bracing contrast to highbrow holdouts like Les Mis and Phantom.

Unlike the other two, Cruel Intentions uses existing songs & Juliet style. Thus we get hits by Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, NYSNC, Natalie Imbruglia, The Cardigans et al in what amounts to a ‘Now That’s What I Call 90s’ mixtape. Sometimes the songs are perfectly, amusingly woven into the story, as when a well-to-do mum launches into ‘No Scrubs’ like an odious racist in Chanel pink. At other times they’re atmospherically appropriate (‘Losing My Religion’) if lyrically not so much. And occasionally they’re included for the sheer heck of it, like ‘Wannabe’ as a gay duet by two guys who really, really, really wanna zigazig ah.

The latter features Josh Barnett camping it up a treat as posh boy Blaine, who is embroiled in a plot by caddish Sebastian (Daniel Bravo) and his stepsister Katheryn (Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky) to deflower virtuous virgin Annette (Abbie Burden) for the sheer sport of it.

Director Jonathan O’Boyle delights in all the scheming, as does the fantastic cast. Bravo smoulders as a Philippe lookalike, Rose Galbraith is endearingly goofy as naive Cecile and Barnett’s trysts with Barney Wilkinson’s straight-acting jock Greg are hot stuff. There’s less heat between Bravo and Burden but lots of it between him and McCaulsky, who gives a star-is-born performance with one roof-raising song after another.

Audience discretion is advised, with a long list of trigger warnings. But bad behaviour is punished, not condoned, in what amounts to an unflinchingly accurate depiction of a far-from-woke era. It all amounts to a new bona fide hit for The Other Palace, sure to bring in dress-alikes and repeat visitors. The show has already been extended until May and I wouldn’t be surprised if it sticks around for much longer. It’s bawdy, bitchy, sexy, scathing, totally un-PC and terrific fun. What’s not to love?

Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical is at the Other Palace, London, until 19 May. Get tickets here.