It’s such a shame that a lot of musicals this year are running for one week only, but I get it—it’s hard to get a larger cast, often from overseas, along with props, sets, and costumes, and accommodate everyone for an entire festival on what is essentially a shoestring budget.
But there are shows that are coming in spite of all this and wanting to make the biggest impact whilst they are here!
“Possessive! The Musical” came across my radar during the first release of Fringe shows back in February and, like Texas Annie, I fell in love with their soundtrack. My inner rocker-skater-teen self was giddy listening to this pop-punk musical, and I have been so excited to see the show since.
The show is about a family from Pennsylvania who are experiencing that difficult double whammy of teenage angst from one child and hooligan behaviour from the other. However, all this is about to get a whole lot worse when their teenage daughter casts a spell, which was supposed to summon their dead celebrity crush James Dean, but instead summons a demon who possesses her little brother.
The family are willing to let him be possessed for a month under the guise of it being an educational experience for the demon and his minion as the demon is better behaved than their hellraising son.
“Possessive! The Musical” is a lot of fun, filled with many references to noughties culture from discmans and dialup to purple Heinz ketchup. The script, however, does need a little tightening. The dialogue sometimes has just one or two too many lines, making the scenes feel a bit clunky. The transitions were also a little awkward, but I feel this is down to the limited capabilities of the space more than anything.The score is the shining star of this production, featuring not just pop punk but also ballads and rap! And, my god, the pipes on Yasamin Marashi in the role of Lisa, I see great things for her future!
It is sadly becoming a common theme in my reviews this year, but this is yet again another show that shows amazing promise if it could just be given a budget. They do what they can with their sets, props, and sometimes lack of props. However, for a show with a premise this original, a soundtrack so rocking, and laughs a-plenty, it deserves more!
"Possessive! The Musical" only runs for the week, so if you are down for a pop-punk musical with a more traditional run time, then I encourage you to grab tickets whilst you can!
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