13 Going On 30 (Workshop) - Battersea Arts Centre

I thought this was GREAT last night!

It's very funny, it's got so much heart, and the songs are more affecting, rousing and funny than in many West End shows right now.

I think that's the case even if you peel away the advantages this first (paid) workshop had of having a really talented cast who made the most of all of it: Lucie Jones was every bit as vulnerable, childlike and vocally brilliant as she was in "Waitress" (her character is even called Jenna lol), eliciting tears and laughs in equal measure, Jamie Muscato absolutely nailed his solo number, getting a massive ovation and duetted sensitively with Jones, Grace Mouat was hilariously cutting in her villain role and Caleb Roberts was belly-laugh-a-minute as Jones's Jenna's loveably conceited boss.

This will be hard to market. The film, which is great fun, was swamped on its US release by "Mean Girls," which came out the following week, the youthful Heathers crowd might not like the fact that the teen character time travels forward to mostly live in an adult world, equally adults might perceive it as too teen, the sarky culture crowd may be more drawn to "The Devil wears Prada," and the temptation to market this on the back of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," which features prominently and amusingly, may be swamped by the arrival in town of MJ the Musical.

That said, this is heaps better than I would have expected from an early workshop, drawing from me copious laughs and tears, and contains the bare bones of an excellent feelgood show.

Spoilers follow. . .

For the record, out of interest to see how many of these songs make the final show, here is an incomplete setlist, with titles made up by me, according to my memory:

Teen cast songs:-

I Wanna Be - if you're going to have an I wanna be aspirational song, why not call it that lol?

You got me, I got You - establishes what's of real value to the characters, whether they know it or not.

Adult cast songs:-

The Pursuit of Perfection - establishes the aspirational but jaded adult milieu that Jenna has hankered for, and allows Caleb Roberts's boss character to shine;

Incidentally, it's in the book material that Roberts really shone, blurting out utterly conceited lines with no malice or affect at breakneck speed and then deadpanning the aftermath;

I Got Everything - Jones's Jenna expresses the joy of a teen character in an adult body getting everything she's ever wanted. The bittersweet realisation that this is a poison pill is immensely moving for adult audiences nostalgic for their bygone youthful innocence;

Trust - Jamie Muscato's uncool Matt once trusted Jenna, but she completely betrayed him at school in order to hang with the popular crowd, including joining this show's Mean Girls, the "Six," and never talked to him again. Muscato tore audience hearts apart with his rousing rendition of what it is to have your trust devastated by your best friend;

Thriller - Jenna's love of Thriller allows for a hugely funny comic setpiece involving the entire ensemble

13 Going on 30 - Jones's Jenna sings the title song, summing up the themes of the show;

Hot - Jenna's sports star boyfriend, played by Alex Stoll, shallowly sings about his own hotness. Stoll's self-loving mannerisms and antics were funnier than the song, which needs honing;

13 Going on 30 (reprise) - the themes are echoed in the light of the shallow relationship Jenna has with her boyfriend.

Fireworks - Jones's Jenna brings the house down with her realisation that it's Matt she loves. Jones is really good at finding her inner vulnerable self and projecting that emotionally in song.

Too Late - We end the first half with a double duet, where Jenna and Younger Jenna, Matt and Younger Matt, confirm that it is too late to save Matt and Jenna's previously unbreakable bond. Jenna realises her adult self is a dick, as a consequence of her shallow teen dreams, and Matt realises that the Jenna he once loved still seems to be in there;

INTERVAL

Peaked at High school - This is a terrible song that seeks to laugh at Jenna's high school boyfriend because he became a gardener. I didn't find it funny at all, as gardeners are great. My heart broke for Andrew Berlin, who excelled in the ensemble, having to sing this cruel dehumanising patronising song;

Moment in Time - Another immensely moving ballad by Jones's Jenna, in which she sings about how fateful our moments, and the decisions we make can be for our entire lives;

Own it - Based on her newfound self-realisations, Jenna sings her new mantra to her new teen friends;

Why can we Fly? - Jenna and Matt sing a gorgeous love ballad about the possibility of reuniting;

Own it (reprise)

Show Everything - a moving reworked reprise of "I got everything," in which Jones's Jenna reflects on the lessons she has learned about being her true self;

You got me, I got You (reprise) - we revisit childhood innocence as adults to discover, as Cher would say, that I got you babe.

Here and Now - we celebrate lessons learned and the chance to say goodbye to childish things.

I felt the second half needs a bit of work, but that the composer and lyricist have done an awesome job overall.

The book writers, who wrote the original movie, have reproduced it faithfully and massively improved the character of the boss of the magazine Jenna works on, making him much broader and funnier for the live show (Andy Serkis was likeable in the film, but never bust-your-guts funny like Roberts was last night).

I had 5 star fun last night, watching Lucie Jones break her mic and Andy Fickman, the director, do stand up while she fixed it, and other workshoppy things, but realistically, this show is more 4 stars, and with some honing of the second half, could be even better.

It would be wonderful at The Other Palace, I think