I Wish You Well – The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical, is the second of two musicals at this year’s Fringe both of which set to music the extraordinary story of the 2023 Utah court hearing that ended in victory for Paltrow.
This version, from producer Paul Taylor-Mills, is glitzy and glamorous, and exactly what you’d expect from the man who brought you the musical version of But I’m a Cheerleader, and the super-hero story Eugenius. The fact that this show will transfer to the West End before the Fringe has even been over for a month is also indicative of the many faces of the Fringe in the 2020s.
Playing at the Fringe presumably to smooth any rough edges off the production before that West End run, the cast of four sings, twirls and high kicks their way through an energetic adaptation of the court transcript.
There’s almost no back story given here, and almost everyone and everything involved has been given a false name, with the exception of Paltrow. Given that a quick glance at Wikipedia will provide the real details, this seems like a pointless change, especially as there’s seemingly nothing here which anyone would complain about, so heavily is the court transcript invoked.
Touching on all of the bizarre moments from the genuine case, Paltrow (Diana Vickers: The X Factor) is all sass and confidence. The lawyer, here called Kristin (Tori Allen-Martin: Wild About You) who appeared to have more than a slight crush on the real Paltrow, is interpreted as mostly ditzy, and utterly incapable of even the slightest hint of professionalism.
Terry (Marc Antolin: Quiz) gets the short end of the stick, having to play his character as utterly unlikeable, and as a man entirely out for himself. A bright spot is provided by Idriss Kargbo (Wicked), who as Judge Jude is having an absolutely marvellous time, camping up this show to the level it both deserves and needs.
There’s an awful lot of glitz here, and some very toe-tapping musical numbers, in a show that whips through the events in court at a rapid rate.
The whole show only lasts an hour – and unusually, that doesn’t seem to be an edited version for the Fringe, with the West End listings show the same running time. That is a surprise, but perhaps reflects a move towards shorter shows begun by the now long-running Six: The Musical.
That abbreviated performance length means that there’s no real space here to dive deeply into any of the characters, or anything that might be leading them to act in the way they are.
The characters are two-dimensional at best, and there’s no subtlety in who we are encouraged to root for. The ending isn’t a surprise, even if it is based on the truth.
As evidenced by the presence of the other Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial musical at this year’s Fringe, there is a story to be told here. However, this version, whilst full of glitz and glitter, is too light on substance to remain in the memory for long after the show is over.
A valiant effort, and sure to do well in its West End transfer as a result of the admittedly catchy songs, this is bouncy and fun, but like the incident which led to the confusion, it’s not entirely clear why any of this needed to have happened.
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I Wish You Well – The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical plays at the Criterion Theatre, London, until 12th October 2024
Featured Image supplied courtesy of S M Publicity
