New Theatre, Cardiff
Mon 9-Sat 14 Sept
Director James Lapine and composer William Finn teamed up in 2013 to create a musical version of family film Little Miss Sunshine, the idea first gestating in a workshop in 2009. The original film, co-directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, sees seven-year-old Olive Hoover invited to take part in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. She and her fundamentally eccentric and flawed family are forced into close quarters for a road trip adventure during which they must try not to drive each other mad as their rickety van gradually falls apart around them. Along the way, of course, there are plenty of other amusing distractions.
Mehmet Ergen directs this touring version: having previously directed Treemonisha and Lost In The Stars, LMS marks a change for him, but one supported by a top cast, with Mark Moraghan as Grandpa, Lucy O’Byrne as mum Sheryl Hoover, Paul Keating as depressed uncle Frank and Gabriel Vick as dad Richard Hoover, each already trailing behind them an impressive back catalogue of musical or television appearances. If the film is anything to go by, Little Miss Sunshine: The Musical promises to be a whimsical and occasionally macabre adventure.
Tickets: £17-£38. Info: 029 2087 8889 / www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk (GE)
