Picture: Danny Kaan
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals continues at the Apollo Theatre, London until 30 May 2026.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Imagine an alien entity crashed to Earth and transformed your entire world into a musical. Now imagine a man who somehow thinks this isn’t the best thing that ever could happen. Presumably against every fibre of his being, Jon Matteson takes up this role and shines in StarKid’s new fully staged production of their beloved cult show The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (TGWDLM to its devoted fans).
If you aren’t familiar with Team StarKid already, do your inner musical theatre nerd a favour, open a new tab, and search for them on YouTube. With 15 full-length musicals available online, it may be a while before you get back to reading this review, but it will be worth it. Many fell in love with the group after their 2009 debut show A Very Potter Musical (based on the Harry Potter children’s books) and have followed their every step ever since. The UK has seen greatest hits concerts from the team in the past, but this run at the Apollo Theatre is their first proper piece of musical theatre here.
Borrowing from various ‘body-snatcher’ sci-fi/horror tropes, in the hands of StarKid, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals was always going to be first and foremost a comedy. Matt and Nick Lang’s book is irreverent and hilarious, but also well-crafted. Our titular guy is living an unsatisfying life as an office worker when a meteor crashes to Earth. One by one, townspeople contract an alien infection that causes them to sing and dance through life. Refusing to be taken in by the high-kicks and jazz-hands, our hero teams up with what few survivors he can find and resolves to fight the invasion off.
Seven of the eight original cast members of TGWDLM return for this West End run. Matteson in the titular role (also known as Paul Matthews) is brilliant throughout. On a stage of very big performances, he somehow stands out by channelling a stubborn aversion to musical theatre into a palpable quiet desperation. There is a sense he is only just keeping a grip on his senses and every assault on his delicate sanity builds hilarious tension. A superb performance.
Director of the show Lauren Lopez plays his barista accomplice Emma straight too, but with a delightful abundance of foul-mouthed pragmatism and spirit that propels the piece. Composer-lyricist Jeff Blim takes on a number of auxiliary roles with an awe-inspiring amount of high-octane comic energy, matched only by Joey Richter who somehow makes sleaze iconic as Ted, Paul’s annoying co-worker.
Paul’s other co-workers include Bill (Corey Dorris, who injects his role with wonderful heart and pathos) and Charlotte (Jaime Lyn Beatty, who likewise injects hers with hilarious deadpan insanity). Picking up various other roles is the stage-commanding superstar that is Mariah Rose Faith Casillas; a vocal powerhouse and a true delight in her every scene.
A marvellous surprise of the evening was West End regular Iván Fernández González as Professor Hidgens. Channelling a spirit somewhere between Back to the Future’s Doc Brown and Jim Carey at his ridiculous peak, González brings the house down with his every certifiably insane acting choice. It is terrific that StarKid have used their clout to spotlight local talent (there are also four UK understudies who will no doubt be stunning when they get the chance) and González has become one to look out for after this run.
Beyond the deservedly confident and consistently glorious comedy, it is worth noting that the entire cast is vocally sublime, with Blim’s superb score sacrificing no musical theatre pyrotechnics for the Langs’ book. We are treated to allusions to a variety of musical theatre styles, with highlights being high-energy opener ‘The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals’ and Act II’s accurately titled ‘Show Stoppin Number’.
The music sounds huge from musical director Matt Dahan’s four-piece band. Considering the breadth of styles the score covers, this quartet does an incredible job. Toby Chevis’ sound design is on the loud side, but this is a smart choice given the fervour of the fanbase.
When they revived this show in LA last year, audiences were reportedly on the loud side. Though on this occasion the energy was unquestionably high with whoops of delight for beloved lines of dialogue and enthusiastic applause following not just every song but every scene, the UK fans did themselves proud. The perceptible buzz never ruined the experience for newcomers, it only added to the excitement. Likewise, the StarKid team has included a few in-jokes for their cultish following, but even for an outsider, these moments are charming rather than alienating.
Though the production did suffer some minor tech issues – understandable so early in a short run – StarKid retained a scrappy underdog energy that helped them get away with it. For all their success, even a decade and a half into their stage career, they project the energy of a team very much in love with the art form of musical theatre.
Crucially, untethered from the traditional world of theatrical production, they are free to unleash upon us all the weirdness and fun they want. Fans of recent UK successes like Operation Mincemeat and Police Cops! should head straight to the Apollo to give these crazy kids a chance. Or if you can’t get a ticket, enjoy their YouTube output while you write letters to every West End producer demanding their return.
Moreover, this sell-out run provides solid supporting evidence for research revealed by the National Theatre this week which revealed that making available pro-shot films of productions does not have a negative impact on live attendance. By filming and releasing their shows online, StarKid has not only provided a wonderful escape for so many when they cannot access live theatre (particularly during the pandemic), but also spawned a whole new generation of unfathomably passionate musical theatre fans. The future of musical theatre is here: it is silly, it is hilarious, and it knows how to use the internet.
Ian Bowkett
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