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Thirty years ago, ‘Clueless’ was the future. A dazzlingly witty transposition of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ to a Southern California high school, it starred Alicia Silverstone as Cher, a rich, ditzy student who orchestrates romances between her teachers, gives the new kid a makeover, and generally goes everything but interrogate her own life.
The fact that it was essentially a cult hit and that Silverstone never became a global superstar always seemed like a shame, and to some extent the cattier ‘Mean Girls’ probably ended up taking its place in the high school movie pantheon. But the years have done little to dull the charms of ‘Clueless’ – if you know, you very much know.
Now it’s set to get a new lease of life in musical form, as the film’s original writer Amy Heckerling – also known for ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ and the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ films – adapts it for the stage, with songs by Radio 2-friendly ’00s songwriter KT Tunstall and direction from Rachel Kavanaugh, whose recent credits include ‘The Great British Bake Off Musical’ and the West End revival of ‘Half a Sixpence’.
Questions to be answered include who will play the crucial role of Cher, and also is it still going to be set in the ’90s, but any opportunity to revisit Beverly Hills High is a welcome one.
‘Clueless, The Musical’ is booking at Trafalgar Theatre from Feb 15-Jun 14 2025’. Buy tickets here.
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Plus: a host of new celebrity names have been announced for the West End’s ‘White Rabbit, Red Rabbit’.
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