‘Popstars sideline the non-famous and better qualified’

When the casting process of the new musical Happy Days was shown on Channel 4’s documentary series The Sound of Musicals, many viewers were shocked by how it seemed to involve the producer simply contacting the agents of every pop star in the country to see if they would be available. However, this is now a common route for producers to take if they want to ‘get bums on seats’ and therefore ensure the success of their show.

Celebrities are enlisted to increase publicity around a new musical or boost the dwindling ticket sales of an older one, often regardless of whether they have had professional training or theatrical experience. Although any initiative that encourages more people to go the theatre must be praised, there is an obvious downside to this rise of celebrity casting in musicals.

The ‘star names’ in Broadway musicals are generally those who are well known due to their work on stage, like Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster, or those who are known for television/film but also have a great deal of theatrical experience, like Neil Patrick Harris and Lea Michele. But this is certainly not true of the West End, where the leading roles in musicals are frequently given to pop stars, former pop stars and X Factor contestants. In many cases, it is clear that fame has been valued above talent.

For pop stars who were trained in musical theatre when they were younger, the transition to the stage is not a hugely difficult one. For example, Will Young, who is an alumnus of ArtsEd, recently made a brilliant Emcee in Cabaret at the Savoy Theatre and on a UK tour. On the other hand, those who have only ever sung pop music and have no acting experience are likely to struggle and need a lot of coaching before they make their theatrical debut. Even after an intensive course of vocal, acting and dance lessons, many are still insufficiently prepared to take to the stage and lack the stamina to perform eight shows a week.

Although celebrity casting can attract more people to see musicals, it sometimes means that audience members are more interested in the star than in the production itself. I recently saw Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, starring Jason Donovan, and the show kept being interrupted by a group of women who insisted on shouting “we love you Jason!” whenever there was a moment of silence. This was disrespectful towards the rest of the audience, who were not behaving as if they were at a pop concert, and was also probably irritating for Jason Donovan, as I know that I would not like people to shout and distract me while I was trying to perform on stage.

The growing reliance on celebrities to make a show profitable begs the question: how are non-famous musical theatre performers being affected? The answer is that they are being increasingly sidelined. A few years ago, a UK tour of La Cage aux Folles, which I was very eager to see, was cancelled due to a lack of “suitable stars”. Last summer, it was announced that Kerry Katona would be taking on the role of Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming Norma Jeane The Musical. Surely no amount of training she gets now will make her better than, or even equal to professionals who have been ‘triple threats’ from a young age and have put in years of practice?

Perhaps some producers need to have more faith in the now seemingly old-fashioned method of promoting musicals on the strength of their content, instead of marketing them as star vehicles.