I saw Everybody’s Talking About Jamie on Thursday (as part of the cinema event) and generally enjoyed it. About six or seven of the songs have been added to my Spotify playlist. I feel like the contemporary pop style works for a musical such as this set in a modern-day Sheffield Comprehensive. I like the diversity of the cast, and felt I could relate to the protagonists.
However, I think that Everybody’s Talking About Jamie would work better as a film than a Broadway musical. I feel like the contrast between the drab setting and the colourful drag queen fantasy lends itself better to film, and the songs ‘Don’t Even Know It’ and ‘Work of Art’ could easily be turned into vivid and creative little daydreams (the line between dream and reality felt a little too muddy for songs which seem to primarily exist is Jamie’s head). I also felt that Jamie’s camp excesses could get a little grating in the first half of the musical (he grew on me in the second act, as we learned more about his anxieties and insecurities) and I feel like the more naturalistic approach of film would make the character feel like less of a caricature at the start. It would also be nice to see more material for the mother and the Muslim best friend, who are probably the two most interesting and appealing characters, and I feel like this expansion is more likely to happen on screen.,.
It would be lovely to see Everybody’s Talking About Jamie make it to Broadway, but the chances of it doing so are relatively slim...