A Go-Go Good Time

         
              Would you imagine a classic 16th century tale of romance, confused identities and lesbians being turned into a Broadway musical with tunes from a 1980's girl-pop band? Well, literature fans and 80's music listeners, your fantasy has come true. That fantasy is Head Over Heels, a nice enough no-brainer of a crowd pleaser that has settled in for a decent run at the Hudson Theatre. Infused with the music of the legendary girl group, The Go-Go's (which included Belinda Carlisle as its lead singer), and based on Sir Philip Sidney's work, The Arcadia, the show combines the spirit of Shakespeare's works (take Twelfth Night and Romeo & Juliet, for example), the energy of Spring Awakening and the comedic humor of Monty Python, the 1982 film Tootsie and the world history sketches they do once in a while on Saturday Night Live.

           Taking place in old Arcadia, the kingdom is ruled by King Basilius (Jeremy Kushnier) and his wife, Gynecia (Rachel York). They have two daughters, the plump and perky Pamela (newcomer Bonnie Milligan) and the radiant and beautiful Philoclea (Alexander Socha). Despite her father's disagreements, Philoclea is in love with lower-class shepherd boy Musidorus (Andrew Durand), while Pamela tries to avoid several suitors to search for love on her own terms and with the same gender as hers.
         
          Trouble soon arises as Arcadia's beat is threatened to be broken as predicted by Pythio (Peppermint of Rupaul's Drag Race fame), the oracle of Delphi. Pythio warns the king about three things that could break Arcadia's pride: a homosexual coupling, adultery and being replaced by a new ruler. Basilius then decides to move his family from the kingdom to prevent these three events from happening, but Murphy's law comes into play as whatever that goes wrong suddenly does and it turns into a hilarious journey filled with cross-dressing, secret identity, sexual cave sessions and family secrets.

          Directed with pure finesse by Michael Mayer (who you may know directed the 2006 original Broadway production of Spring Awakening and the recent revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and delightfully adapted by James Magruder from the original idea and story by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), this fine musical comedy lark works well for its duration of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Spencer Liff's choreography here is fantastic, with the ensemble executing their contemporary and fashion pose-like moves to terrific effect. The wicked sets by Julian Crouch and the luxurious costumes by Arianne Phillips give the show a deluxe colorful storybook-like touch.

          Both music supervisor Tom Kitt and music director Kimberly Grigsby has done a good job transfusing the hits of the Go-Go's to the stage with songs such as "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed", "Mad About You", the title song and "We Got The Beat", which opens the show. They even added the 1960's classic "Cool Jerk" to the score, too. After seeing this show, non Go-Go fans may have to listen to these songs in original form, along with their four studio albums on their music streaming services.
   
          Socha makes a first rate impression as Philoclea and Durand (who looks like a dead ringer for Bill Hader) is hysterical as he masquerades as a female soldier in drag while trying to win Philoclea back. Making history as the first ever transgender woman to lead a role on Broadway, Peppermint is fierce and sweet as Phythio, looking after each prophecy and how it goes into effect. Kushnier and York are lovely dominant as the royal couple. But the big show-stealer for me is Milligan who plays a princess who doesn't want to be picked by random but wants someone to love her for who she really is. Milligan even delivers a wild rendition of "How Much More" that must be seen to believe. Another plus is that the script doesn't make fun of her body weight and image. If this is progress on Broadway, then this is Milligan's big coming-out party, so to speak.

       Speaking of progress, this show delivers a very timely message that love can be accepted in any form, no matter what gender identify each person has. It's good to have a jukebox musical comedy such as this that happily belongs in the now moment. May it rock on Broadway for as long as it wants to.

   The Buzz on Head Over Heels:

   Rating: ***

   Bottom Line: A nice enough crowd pleaser that delivers a timely message of love in this present age.
 
  Recommended Best for: Ages 13 and up. Contains adult situations and sexual material. An ideal show for LGBT audiences and Go-Go's fans.

  Playing at: The Hudson Theatre, on 141 West 44th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) for an open-ended run. For tickets, go to thehudsonbroadway.com, todaytix.com/x/nyc or call 855-801-5876.

  Ticket Tip: You can get $35 same day rush tickets for Head Over Heels on the TodayTix app. It's a simple and easy task to handle. First, download the TodayTix on your phone, tablet or iPod. Then, unlock your chance to get your tickets by spreading the word on social media with your Twitter or Facebook account. Same day tickets goes on sale on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10am sharp on performance day. My advice is to unlock the feature in the morning around 7am or 8am so that you can go back on the app at 10am to purchase your ticket. Go online to todaytix.com/x/nyc/shows/9844-head-over-heels/rush or check on your TodayTix app for more information about this feature.