Bronco Billy - book by Dennis Hackin, Music and Lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom &John Torres. Charing Cross Theatre, Villiers Street, London WC2 until 7 April 2024.

2**: William Russell.

“A musical that is truly terrible to behold”

There are leave at the interval shows and if ever there was one this is it – the songs aren’t worth listening to, the sets are hideous and clumsy, while the book is about as funny as reading the telephone book once was. The cast, to be fair, do their utmost to save the day but having to perform this material until April must surely take its toll. When a show works these days the audience gets to its feet en masse hooting its delight . On press night some did - there are always friends of the cast and the management who will stand regardless - but an awful lot clapped politely and staggered out into the night. Bronco Billy, played by Tarin Callender, is an ex jail bird and war hero who is travelling round the West in a large bus with a bunch of assorted types putting on a wild west show. It is not doing well but Billy has dreams - his aim is to get to Hollywood and win a talent ompetition which will make them stars. Callender has a fine voice as does Karen Mavundukure who plays his side kick Doc Blue, He proves adept at twirling six shooters like a real gunslinger should and doing it while singing too. Then we move to the world of Dynasty and Dallas where Sam Lily, head of a company that makes some sort of sweet, has died. His widow and second wife Constance , played by Victoria Hamilton Barrett mugging away like crazy as if she were auditioning for something Joan Collins might play, is intent on inheriting his money which has been left to daughter Antoinette , played by Emily Benjamin. Constance, her lover,who is the family lawyer, and Antoinette’s husband, who is just venal, decide to kill her as Constance will then inherit everything as the widow. But Antoinette goes on the run, ends up joining Billy’s show and bonds with everyone including Billy. After that things just go from bad to worse until the happy ending. Lumbered with playing a TV femme fatale Hamilton Barret pulls every cliché in the over acting book to get laughs and duly gets them because overacting always does, and Benjamin tries to make Lily credible in spite of the plot. Just why this musical, which is making a strong bid to be 2024’s worst, has made the transatlantic crossing – it apparently ran for 12 sold out weeks in Los Angeles – is anybody’s guess. It is supposed to be about being anything you want to be and finding a family to achieve you aim with and was apparently inspired by the 1980 Clint Eastwood film of the same name but how that charning and amusing homage to Frank Capra ended up like this is truly terrible to behold. Director Hunter Bird keeps things moving along briskly, but nowhere early fast enough, all things considered. Beside Bronco Billy last year’s ghastly Charing Cross theatre musical Rebecca almost seems a work of art.

Cast

Tarinn Callender – Bronco Billy.

Victoria Hamilton Barrett - Constance Lily.

Jonathan Bourne - Sam Lily.

Josh Butler – Lasso Leonard Jones.

Emily Benjamin – Antoinette Lily.

Gemma Atkins – Dee Dee Delaware.

Alice Croft – Mitzi Fritts.

Chris Jared – Edgar White Lipton.

Karen Mavundukure – Doc Blue.

Henry Maynard – Lefty Lebow.

Helen K Wint – Lorraine.

Silas Wyatt-Barke – John Arlington.

Alexander Memorran – Sinclair St Clair.

Aharon Rayner – Joe Eagle.

Off stage covers - Kalisga Amaris & David Muscat.

Creatives

Director – Hunter Bird.

Musical Suopervisor – David O.

Scenic Designer – Amy Jane Cook.

Costume Designer – Sarah Mercade.

Choreographer – Alexandra Sarmiento.

Lighting Designer – Nick Richards.

Sound Designer – Andrew Johnson.

Musical Director – Marcus Carter-Adams.

Illusion Designer – John Bulleid.

Fight & Intimacy Directors – Rachel Brown Williams & Ruth Cooper Brown of RC Annie Ltd.