On Wednesday night I went along to the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham to watch Here and Now: The Steps Musical. Alexandra Theatre is very easy to get to, just a 5 minute walk from New Street Station.
The staff at the Theatre were really friendly, but as is often the way the bar was very expensive. I think it was £8.75 for a glass of Prosecco (my Sister-in-Law tells me it's £11 at the Bristol Hippodrome so maybe that's not so bad), but there was lots of choice including Caffè Nero coffee.
I sat in the Grand Upper Circle, row K, almost as far back as one can go! The seats did feel narrow, with not much leg room (at 5'7 my knees touched the seat infront). However there were quite a few empty seats, with no one next to me on either side, or infront of me. I always feel bad for the cast when there are empty seats but it did help with the view and leg space.
Strictly not a sing a long.
Before the show began, we were told not to sing a long. Not ironically - they were serious. I guess people have paid for their tickets and want to hear the actual cast not Sharon sat next to them caterwaulling along to every well known tune. So it's fair enough - but it was hard not to!
The story of Here and Now is set in a Supermarket - Better Best Bargains, one of many song title puns throughout the show. (If you don't get that first one, maybe you're not a big enough fan to go!) The musical follows the four main characters who work at the supermarket, as they each have their own love story in the “summer of love”.
The first half was good, although it maybe felt a bit long. Rebecca Lock plays Caz, the female lead, and her singing was incredible. Throughout the story it was good to see lots of representation (LBGTQ+), but there were some sad moments which could’ve been more impactful if they hadn't been glossed over a little bi too quickly.
The second half got camper and camper - almost like the writers lost the plot a little whilst they were putting the show together - but nonetheless it was very captivating and definitely fitted the bill of a Steps Musical.
Steps songs
There are SO MANY Steps songs - who knew they had so many?! Apart from 5678, which felt a bit shoe-horned in, the other songs really fitted the story with a good mix of older classics and newer ones. And to be fair, a line dance counting song isn't the easiest to fit into a musical set in an English supermarket.
The show was genuinely funny in parts; almost a pantomime at times - to the extent there was even a scene where the audience boo’ed the bad guy like we were at an actual panto, but it was really hiliarous.
Steps fans will be pleased to hear there was an absolutely epic mega mix at the end - which finally included a chance to stand up and dance and sing along. Having started at 7:30pm it finished a little after 10pm, and I headed home. And there we have it - Here and Now: The Steps Musical - not a ground breaking piece of theatre but SO MUCH FUN.
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