With all that’s going on in the world, sometimes you just need some silliness. And my god, will you get a good dose of silly at this pocket-size musical.
‘I Wish You Well’ opens with X-Factor popstar Diana Vickers channelling the low drawl of Gwyneth Paltrow. ‘Take a deep breath,’ she says. ‘Do you smell that? That’s my vagina.’ This pretty much sets the tone for this hour-long courtroom romp.
For a little context, the show is based on inspired by Paltrow’s 2023 trial following a ski slope collision. Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued Paltrow for $300,000; she countersued for $1 and the Utah court ruled in her favour. It was a media maelstrom, and as the play argues, probably the most exciting thing to happen in Utah, ever.
Directed by Shiv Rabheru, written by Rick Pearson and Roger Dipper, and choreographed by dance legend Arlene Phillips, ‘I Wish You Well’ had a pretty successful stint at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, and has now landed at the Criterion for a limited month-long run.
As far as the writing goes, the songs aren’t particularly catchy but the wisecracks are relentless, so the neat hour-long runtime flies by. And it’s all held together by a four-handed cast that successfully makes you feel like you’re in on the joke. The audience are the jurors, after all.
Vickers plays an exaggerated, mighty-than-thou Gwynnie who blows kisses at the audience every time she crosses the stage, while Marc Antolin’s Terry is a blithering idiot with a surprisingly kinky side, and Idriss Kargbo makes for a brilliantly campy Judge Jude.
However, it’s Tori Allen-Martin as the opposing lawyer Kristin who really gets the big laughs – mainly for her descent into ‘Baby Reindeer’-style obsessive fandom. You can’t help but belly laugh as she fawns over Paltrow’s fashion choices with lines like, ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer glasses, while being sued by an optometrist… inspired.’
The fast-paced parody is as entertaining as it is absurd. The set features a Gwyneth Paltrow Mount Rushmore, there are ‘Poop’ (Goop) products flung about all over the place, at one point Vickers showers the audience with Paltrow-emblazoned dollars. At its climax, during a courtroom couture fashion show, you can’t help but feel like you’ve been thrown into a ‘Rusical’ episode of ‘Drag Race’, in the best way possible.
‘I Wish You Well’ knows exactly what it is. It’s not ‘Les Mis’, nor is it trying to be. Here you’ll find a show jam-packed with pop culture references, (‘very demure, very mindful,’ Raygun and Jennifer Coolidge’s ‘White Lotus’ character all get shoutouts) and a steady, hour-long stream of laughs. And while you probably won’t find yourself remembering any of the songs, the one-liners are enough to feed your appetite for an unashamedly campy night out.
