''Clueless'' (also known as ''Clueless, The Musical'') is a musical with a book by

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American writer, producer, and director. Heckerling started out her career after graduating from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and entering the American Film Institute, ...

based on her 1995 film of the same name, itself loosely based on

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's 1815 novel '' Emma'', updating the setting to modern-day

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. The musical originally premiered as a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

on November 20, 2018, with an official opening on December 11, in the

Pershing Square Signature Center The Pershing Square Signature Center is a complex of three Off-Broadway theatres in the Theatre Row section of West 42nd Street in New York City. It is on the first floors of the 43-floor MiMa Building apartment complex. Pershing Square Signat ...

's Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. Performances ran through January 12, 2019. A new version of the musical with original music by

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and h ...

and with lyrics by

Glenn Slater Glenn Slater (born January 28, 1968) is an American lyricist for musical theatre. He's collaborated with Alan Menken, Christopher Lennertz, & Andrew Lloyd Webber, among other composers. He was nominated for three Tony Awards for Best Original S ...

, had a work-in-progress engagement at the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London, was built by the London Borough of Bromley according to designs by the borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

from 12 to 24 February 2024, before being announced to begin performances in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End at the

Trafalgar Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

from February 2025. The West End production opened on March 13, 2025.

Synopsis

Cher Horowitz is a popular, wealthy teenager living a picture perfect life in

("Perfect"). Her father, Mel, is a lawyer and the two live in a mansion, sometimes joined by Josh, Cher's ex-step-brother. Tai, a new girl from New York, arrives at in town and Cher decides to make her her new project, making her popular ("New Girl").

Productions

Off-Broadway (2018)

The musical originally opened

at The

, produced by

The New Group The New Group, is a New York City Off-Broadway theatrical troupe founded by Artistic Director Scott Elliott, that produced its first play, Mike Leigh's '' Ecstasy'', in 1995. The New Group is run by founding Artistic Director, Scott Elliott, an ...

, on November 20, 2018, for a limited engagement until January 12, 2019. The production was directed by Kristin Hanggi, choreographed by Kelly Devine and the show's music supervision, arrangements and orchestration was provided by Ethan Popp. The production's design team included scenery by

Beowulf Boritt Beowulf Boritt is a New York City-based scenic designer for theater. He is known for his scenic design for the play '' Act One'', which earned him the 2014 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Play. Early life Boritt was born to American Ci ...

, costumes by Amy Clark, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Gareth Owen, and projections by Darrel Maloney. As a non-traditional

, the show used '80s and '90s songs as the entire score, with lyric changes to fit the scene. It features classics such as "

Torn Torn may refer to: Film and television * ''Torn'' (2013 American film), directed Jeremiah Birnbaum * ''Torn'' (2013 Nigerian film), directed by Moses Inwang * Torn (2021 film), an American documentary film * ''Torn'' (TV series), a 2007 Briti ...

" by

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian and British singer and actress. Born and raised in New South Wales, Imbruglia became widely known in the early 1990s playing Beth Brennan in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. A ...

, "

Say My Name "Say My Name" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, '' The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerki ...

" by

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

, "

Kids in America "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...

" by

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

, and " Beautiful Life" by

Ace of Base Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg. They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...

Bromley tryout (2024) and West End (2025)

A new version of the musical made its UK premiere in a work-in-progress run at the

, in

from 12 to 24 February 2024. The new version features an original score by

and

and was directed by Sarna Lapine. On 9 September 2024, it was announced that the musical will open in

's West End at the

from February 2025, with Rachel Kavanaugh replacing Lapine as director and Lizzi Gee as choreographer. Emma Flynn & Keelan McAuley, who played Cher Horowitz & Josh Lucas respectively, both reprised their roles for the West End production. Full casting and creative teams were announced in January 2025. The show opened on March 13, 2025 It was originally meant to close in June 2025 but due to popular demand, it has been extended to March 2026.

Cast and characters

Musical numbers

Original Off-Broadway production (Jukebox musical)

;Act I ;Act II

Original London production

;Act I * Perfect - Cher, Dionne and Ensemble * Perfect (Reprise) - Cher * Get Involved - Cher, Dionne, Mr. Hall, Ms. Geist * Hopeless Case - Tai * New Girl - Cher, Dionne, Tai and Ensemble * Human Barbies - Josh * The Best - Elton and Ensemble * Party in the Val - Ensemble * Whatever - Cher ;Act II * Boom, Pow - Ensemble * Reasonable Doubts - Josh and Ensemble * I'm Keeping My Eye on You - Ensemble * Tonight is the Night - Cher * She's All That - Ensemble * The Driving Test - Cher * Clueless - Cher and Josh * Perfect (Reprise) - Cher, Josh, Dionne, Tai and Ensemble

Critical response

''Clueless, The Musical'' Off Broadway received mixed reviews. Frank Rizzo of ''Variety'' called the narrative "lightweight" but praised the overall look and tone of the show. Rizzo, describing Kelly Devine's choreography, said "its teen-energy moves are a constant pleasure". Rizzo also said that "Beowulf Boritt’s design essentials are rad and Amy Clark’s costumes recall the too-cool-to-care designs of the period and its stylish plaids and pleats". Rizzo also praised the music selection for show, calling

's reworking of the lyrics "crafty". David Rooney of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' found the show "hit-or-miss". Rooney praised that the show stuck closely to the original's plot but criticized that there was no element of surprise. Rooney wrote that "in comparison to other teen classics retooled for the stage, like ''

Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron (Lohan), a naïve t ...

'', '' Heathers: The Musical'' or '' Bring It On'', the show rarely steps out from the shadow of its screen source with anything new to offer." ''Clueless, The Musical'' West End received good reviews. Nick Curtis in The Standard said it is "powerfully sung, and actually, like, kinda fun". Curits went on to say "in the ranks of musical adaptations of cult movies, this is almost as good as Legally Blonde, and it’s what Mean Girls should have been. If you don’t enjoy it, frankly you must be buggin’." "Gals and gays, welcome to your new favorite musical" said Alun Hood in WhatsOnStage. Hood also praised lead Emma Flynn in the role of Cher Horowitz, saying "apart from the numbers, many of which are bona fide bangers... the principal distinguishing feature of Clueless is its leading lady. As Cher, who’s surely first cousin to Elle Woods and Wicked’s Glinda, American newcomer Emma Flynn is delivering the most entrancing West End musical debut since Eva Noblezada broke our hearts in Miss Saigon." The Stage called the show "bright, breezy satire" and a "vibrant adaptation of the 1995 teen movie bolstered by a catchy original score by KT Tunstall. This West End transfer, directed with verve by Rachel Kavanaugh, embraces the satirical spirit of the original, while allowing plenty of room for Tunstall and Slater’s musical numbers to shine." The Times said "there is plenty to enjoy in Rachel Kavanaugh’s production at the Trafalgar Theatre. While a jukebox version of the movie enjoyed a run off-Broadway in 2018, this is a more ambitious offering." The Independent said "it’s a bit light on the catchy songs and easy-to-imitate dance routines that can pull in younger fandoms. Still, it’s a welcome excuse to revisit a classic, sewn together with just enough originality to make it feel like a stylish homage, not a cynical knock-off." "This is by no means a show for the ages, but it makes for a pleasant enough evening out," said The i Paper.

References

External links

*
''Clueless, The Musical''
at Internet Off-Broadway Database {{KT Tunstall, state=expanded 2018 musicals Jukebox musicals Teen musicals Musicals set in the 1990s Musicals set in California Musicals based on films Musicals based on multiple works Off-Broadway musicals Clueless West End musicals