A dark and comic musical set in the titillating world of burlesque nightclubs, Call Me Daddy: The Musical! tells the tale of self-fancied man-child svengali boss Chester Charles. Portrayed as a cross between Peter Stringfellow and Jeremy Clarkson, Chester is a pig of a narcissist of a man in a variety of spangly jackets who is the owner of Crown Cabaret (based in Cardiff and London). When his ego takes a hit with the resignation of Stacie, long-time marketing & events manager at the venue, before he can fire her for a variety of spurious reasons, it sets into motion a series of chaotic events set to musical and dance.
Call Me Daddy: The Musical! paints the workplace villain and his cohorts in bold cartoon colours, nudging the vile and offensive with workplace atrocities and an enjoyable script. The three lead actresses shine with sass and versatility, the first stand-out number coming from Stacie as she delivers her resignation oeuvre – “Fuck This Shit”. The musical theatre chops on these women are evident, stepping into lyrics from lines with smooth transitions and back again, making this multi-coloured atrocious musical world real.
Chester Charles is rightfully bombastic, harassing staff, and forming one half of an enjoyably repellent double act with his assistant Polly Pocket – outrageously eccentric and eye-catching every time she’s on stage. But he’s no theatre singer. Words are lost, volume affects clarity, and transitions awkward. The show is also long for the Fringe at over two hours without the promised advertised interval. It’s got some good ideas and tunes, but the lack of consistency and the onslaught of misogyny and bad behaviour without break stops the show from being all that it could. I look forward to seeing a tweaked version hit its stride and possibly the big time in the future though.
Rotunda Theatre Brighton: Bubble, 7 May 2024, 9pm
https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/call-me-daddy-the-musical
