Call Me Daddy: The Musical is a – well, a musical, exploring a fictional cabaret company known as Crown Cabarets. Running the cabaret company is Chester Charles (although he would prefer it if you called him daddy) who is tyrannical and ego-centric. This show is wacky, weird and wonderful. I do not know if it was intended, but the entire show felt like a parody and more adult version of traditional musicals – and I mean this as a compliment.
A highlight of the whole show was definitely the strong, bold characters. I really enjoyed the crazy characters and I was impressed at how each of the main actors in the show were unafraid to really push the characterisation to the limits. They were quirky and larger than life, which is everything this dark comedy needed. Some of the scenes in this show involved the actors putting themselves in risqué, potentially uncomfortable positions but the actors really committed to the jokes and gave it their all. This show contains scenes that are sexual in nature and contains very strong language throughout.
The songs within the show were hilarious and the comedic timing was spot on! I did find a few of the songs to feel less clean than others, and they could have done with a bit more rehearsal to refine them and perfect them. This didn’t stop me, or the rest of the audience from enjoying the songs and music though.
The ending of the show felt a bit rushed. There was a lot of loose ends to tie up narratively, and it all happened quite quickly. I think I must have missed something at the end because it felt a bit unclear, but maybe this was just me as I didn’t hear similar comments from other audience members. After the performance, I overheard a lot of praise from other audience members about the show. It was clear throughout the show that everyone in the audience was having a laugh and a good time. There was plenty of applause throughout, some standing ovations at the end, and a whole lot of fun! I left the show thinking “what on earth have I just watched” in good way!
Overall, Call Me Daddy: The Musical is a fantastic, funny dark comedy that is not afraid of pushing the boundaries. It is worth seeing and some of the scenes within the show were so funny, I wont forget them anytime soon!
One thing to note: My ticket and the Fringe website stated the show started at 7pm when in actual fact, upon arrival, I was told that the show actually started at 8pm and that it was doors open at 7pm. The people I sat next to also had the same issue around the long wait for the start. This does not impact the overall rating of the show – I just think it was important feedback for the organisers behind the scenes.
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