The press night of Burlesque the Musical at the Savoy Theatre promised sparkle. Christina Aguilera turned up in thigh high boots and posted “BLOWN AWAY!!” in all caps. But for most of the audience, the feeling was more dazed and confused than dazzled.

Let’s be clear, this is not a faithful stage adaptation of the 2010 film. This is Burlesque by way of Wicked, Magic Mike, and a Coldplay concert. One moment you’re watching a powerhouse ballad, the next it’s a Backstreet Boys dance break, followed by a Titanic parody and a live camera projecting faces onto a massive onstage screen like Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard. It’s a chaotic collage of pop culture, stacked so high it nearly topples.

At the centre of it all is Todrick Hall, who seems to have fused himself into the show’s DNA. He’s the composer, co-director, choreographer, and performer, often in multiple roles. His presence is so dominant it becomes hard to tell where the actual story went. The central love arc between ingénue Ali (Jess Folley) and her romantic lead barely registers. What could have been a heart driven musical about transformation and self expression feels more like a talent showcase on overdrive.

The production features original music by Christina Aguilera, Todrick Hall, and Jess Folley, with a book by Hall and direction by Hall and Nick Winston. The lead cast includes Jess Folley as Ali, Orfeh as Tess, George Maguire as Vince, and Giovanni Spano as Sean.

That said, the cast around Hall isn’t just holding it together, they’re lighting it up. Orfeh, as the club’s no nonsense matriarch Tess, brings real grit and control to the stage. Her vocals cut through the glitter with the kind of conviction the script often lacks. Jess Folley is a sweet voiced Ali, holding her own despite being pulled in ten directions at once. Christina Aguilera herself gave Folley a standing ovation. George Maguire brings grounded charm as Vince, while Giovanni Spano adds comic timing and charisma as Sean.

Behind the cast, the production is a sensory overload. Marco Marco’s costumes are dazzling and drag inspired, all corsets, latex, and sparkle. The lighting by Jack Weir punches every beat into neon, and Matthew Brind’s musical direction keeps things loud and polished. The stage moves fast, with video cameras zooming in and projections turning intimate scenes into full screen drama. It’s big, bold, and often too much.

The production design leans hard into high gloss excess. Marco Marco’s costumes sparkle in every hue, and the stage is rarely still, thanks to tightly drilled ensemble numbers and choreography that rarely repeats a step. The music is a mixed bag. There are new numbers by Hall and Folley, alongside tracks from Sia, Diane Warren, and Aguilera herself. But the show throws in so many styles and moods that nothing has time to land.

Then there’s the tone. Burlesque the Musical flirts with empowerment and camp but never really commits to either. There are moments of genuine inclusion, queer characters, body diversity, and nods to current culture that feel refreshing. And yet the show moves so fast, even its best ideas blur past. The second act, in particular, begins to unravel. Plotlines scatter. Emotional beats are rushed. The whole thing starts to feel like a live streamed dream you’ll forget by morning.

Some critics have praised its spectacle, calling it glamorous and bold. Others have compared it to a fever dream. The general consensus? It’s more cabaret circus than musical theatre. Online buzz echoes the same sentiment, thrilling for some, exhausting for others. One Reddit user summed it up bluntly, “fun, but I had no idea what was happening half the time.”

Final thoughts: If you’re in it for camp, costumes, and chaos, you’ll probably have a blast. If you were hoping for narrative or nostalgia, prepare to be confused. Burlesque doesn’t just reinvent itself, it explodes into thirty different versions at once. And at the heart of it all is Todrick Hall, running the show like a drag race referee with no speed limit.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Shiny on the outside, messy on the inside, but never boring.

‍