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| Bonnie Milligan and the cast of Head Over Heels. |
On paper, Head Over Heels sounds like a recipe for disaster. A jukebox musical using the music of 80s new wave band The Go-Go's to adapt an obscure 17th century play called The Arcadia, it doesn't sound like the sort of thing Broadway is clamoring for. And yet through some kind of bizarre theatrical alchemy, these seemingly disparate parts coalesce into a show that isn't just a campy good time, but also one of the most refreshingly progressive shows on Broadway.
Set in the land of Arcadia, Head Over Heels opens with the kingdom's residents singing about how their mystical Beat is responsible for their continued prosperity and happiness (a conceit obviously designed to allow the show to open with one of The Go-Go's most recognizable hits, "We've Got the Beat"). All seems well and good until the land's new oracle Pythio predicts the impending loss of said Beat should four cryptic prophecies come to pass, most relating to the romantic couplings of the royal family. When the impetuous King Basilius decides to pack up the court - including his wife Gynecia and daughters Pamela and Philoclea - and go on the move in an attempt to prevent the prophecies coming true, a series of shenanigans and comic mistakes follows (many spurred by that old standby of 17th century comedy, cross dressing).
Pretty standard stuff for a pastoral comedy, made fresh thanks to some wonderfully inclusive story decisions and casting. Elder princess Pamela (newcomer Bonnie Milligan in a breakout performance) is universally acknowledged to be prettier and more desirable than her "plain" sister Philoclea (a winsome Alexandra Socha). Now it just so happens that Pamela is the more full-figured of the two, but never is her size the butt of a joke or played for laughs, nor does the tone of the show indicate that anyone is the slightest bit delusional for finding the big girl more attractive. Milligan, with her razor sharp comic timing and powerhouse voice, is a prime example of the kind of magic that can happen when casting directors are open to performers of all body types in all kinds of roles.
Another inclusive storytelling decision is the fact that Pythio is a gender nonbinary oracle who prefers to be addressed using they/them pronouns. Again, this is not something the show goes out of its way to comment upon or play for laughs, it is merely a fact everyone just rolls, including the use of their preferred pronouns. The role is played quite well by Peppermint of RuPaul's Drag Race fame, the first openly transgender woman to originate a role on Broadway. It is a boundary breaking act of representation made all the more powerful by treating it as no big deal, the way it should be in an ideal world.
Other progressive plot points include a lesbian romance (which prompts a visit to the Isle of Lesbos and a delightfully cheeky rendition of "Vacation"), a shepherd who starts cross dressing to get closer to his beloved princess and later discovers he kind of likes his drag persona, and a general acceptance of the idea that women are just as fit for rule as men, if not more so. It all combines to create one of the most queer-friendly shows to ever get a commercial Broadway run, an achievement to be celebrated and hopefully repeated in the future.
The performances are solid from top to bottom. While Milligan ultimately steals the show, she is given a run for her money by the equally hilarious Andrew Durand as the cross dressing shepherd Musidorus. Rachel York and Jeremy Kushnier do excellent work in the occasionally underwritten roles of the king and queen, with their firmly tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Heaven is a Place on Earth" an Act II highlight. Taylor Iman Jones provides some heart and a lot of vocal pyrotechnics as Pamela's handmaiden Mopsa, and Tom Alan Robbins understands exactly what's needed to make the role of the king's comical viceroy pop.
As the ringleaders of this delightfully campy circus, director Michael Mayer and choreographer Spencer Liff expertly juggle a lot of narrative and tonal balls to keep things moving along at a breezy pace. It helps that the book, adapted by James Magruder from Jeff Whitty's out of town libretto and concept, does a better job grafting The Go-Go's songs onto the narrative than it has any right to. And those numbers that are awkwardly shoehorned into the narrative are so enjoyable to watch thanks to Liff's high energy choreography and the Go-Go's catchy musical hooks that you'll hardly begrudge the show an occasional clunky segue.
There are certainly those who will find Head Over Heels to be too lowbrow for its own good, although those people would be willfully ignoring how bold a statement the show is making by putting underrepresented groups at the center of its narrative with such little fanfare. In a way, the fact that Head Over Heels is largely fluff and camp (and very entertaining fluff and camp at that) amplifies the power of its inclusion by positing a world in which everyone is just accepted as they are, without fanfare or grand proclamations of the value of diversity. For those who yearn for a more inclusive theatre, Head Over Heels is not only an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, but also a campy night out in a world that could certainly stand an infusion of fun and fabulousness.
