When your mind starts to wander during Suzy Conn’s tepid Chick Flick the Musical—and wander it will—keep yourself amused and occupied by trying to identify all the movie posters that decorate Jason Sherwood’s set. There are dozens upon dozens hanging on the Victoria’s Secret pink–striped walls, and they’ve all been cleverly redesigned with faceless actors and retitled as Chick Flick. But you’re bound to recognize the posters from such hits as Pretty Woman, Titanic, Bridesmaids, Mamma Mia!, Dirty Dancing, Fried Green Tomatoes, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Clueless, 9 to 5, Across the Universe, Sabrina, La La Land, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Groundhog Day, Ghost, Legally Blonde, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Crazy Rich Asians, Waitress, Miss Congeniality, Freaky Friday, Moonstruck, Notting Hill, Bridesmaids, The Devil Wears Prada…I could go on and on.
Chick Flick, which just opened at off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre, pretty much lives up to its title: four women—it has to be four, because Sex and the City said so—pounding tequila while swapping stories about their chaotic careers and unfulfilling relationships. There’s wealthy married freelance book editor Karen (Sharon Nicole Brown); actress/begrudging Beauty Blossom consultant Karen (Megan Sikora); pastry chef Meg (Carla Duren), who arrives at movie night with truffles and a tub of frosting; and expert internet dater Sheila (Lindsay Nicole Chambers), a greeting-card designer.
[Read Jesse Oxfeld’s ★★ review here.]
Even their jobs sound straight out of a Meg Ryan movie. (Speaking of Meg Ryan: Note the When Harry Met Sally… poster.) They also pepper their conversation with notable quotes from their favorite chick flicks—Conn’s script should appeal to movie buffs—and engage in a ferocious The Notebook versus Love, Actually debate.
Conn’s songs are a series of cliché-ridden trivialities, one more forgettable than the next. And the characters are little more than cardboard cutouts. But let’s look on the bright side. The women don’t sing into their hairbrushes. (They do, however, frequently dance on top of a coffee table. Try that at your next girls’ night and let me know how it goes over.)
The actresses are genuine and warm and charming, especially Duren—who looks better in overalls than anyone has a right to—and Chambers, who gets all the best lines and laughs with her song “From Meet Cute to Happy Ending” and her cellphone breakup scene. (It might be a necessary plot point, but no guy would actually call to dump a girl he “just met.” He’d text—or probably just ghost her.)
But I’m pretty sure I’m overanalyzing a show that’s meant to be enjoyed with your BFFs and a few glasses of Chateau Ste. Michelle (or whatever’s your chardonnay of choice). And a shot or two of Patrón Silver. The ladies drink Jose Cuervo in the show, but why not treat yourself? It is girls’ night after all.
Chick Flick the Musical opened March 7, 2019, at the Westside Theatre. Tickets and information: chickflickthemusical.com
