# Clueless (musical)

Clueless (also known as Clueless, The Musical) is a musical with a book by Amy Heckerling based on her 1995 film of the same name, itself loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, updating the setting to modern-day Beverly Hills.
The musical originally premiered as a jukebox musical Off-Broadway on November 20, 2018, with an official opening on December 11, in the Pershing Square Signature Center's Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. Performances ran through January 12, 2019.
A new version of the musical with original music by KT Tunstall and with lyrics by Glenn Slater, began previews at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley from 12 to 24 February 2024, before being announced to open in London's West End at the Trafalgar Theatre from February 2025.

## Synopsis

Cher Horowitz is a popular, wealthy teenager living a picture perfect life in Beverly Hills ("Perfect"). Her father, Mel, is a lawyer and the two live in a mansion, sometimes joined by Josh, son of Mel's ex-wife. Tai, a new girl from New York, arrives at Cher's school, Beverly Hills High and Cher decides to make her her new project, making her popular ("New Girl").

## Productions
### Off-Broadway (2018)

The musical originally opened Off-Broadway at The Pershing Square Signature Center, produced by The New Group, 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, costumes by Amy Clark, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Gareth Owen, and projections by Darrel Maloney. As a non-traditional jukebox musical, the show used '80s and '90s songs as the entire score, with lyric changes to fit the scene. It features classics such as "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde, and "Beautiful Life" by Ace of Base.

### Bromley tryout (2024) and West End (2025)

A new version of the musical made its UK premiere in a try-out run at the Churchill Theatre, in Bromley from 12 to 24 February 2024. The new version features an original score by KT Tunstall and Glenn Slater and was directed by Sarna Lapine.
On 9 September 2024, it was announced that the musical will open in London's West End at the Trafalgar Theatre from February 2025, with Rachel Kavanaugh replacing Lapine as director, with 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.

## Cast and characters

| Character | Off-Broadway | Bromley | West End |
| Character | 2018 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Cher Horowitz | Dove Cameron | Emma Flynn | Emma Flynn |
| Dionne Davenport | Zurin Villanueva | Madison McBride | Chyna-Rose Frederick |
| Tai Frasier | Ephie Aardema | Annie Southall | Romona Lewis-Malley |
| Josh Lucas | Dave Thomas Brown | Keelan McAuley | Keelan McAuley |
| Mel Horowitz Alphonse Hall DMV Instructor Mugger | Chris Hoch | Ian Kelsey | Ryan O'Donnell |
| Amber Mariens | Tessa Grady | ? | Emily Florence |
| Christian Stovitz | Justin Mortelliti | Solomon Davy | Isaac J Lewis |
| Miss Geist Millie Stoeger | Megan Sikora | Julie Yammanee | Imelda Warren-Green |
| Heather | Sara Andreas | ? | Imelda Warren-Green |
| Lucy | Danielle Marie Gonzalez | Jacqueline Hughes | Imelda Warren-Green |
| Murray Duvall | Gilbert L. Bailey II | Simeon Wynne | Rabi Kondé |
| Travis Birkenstock | Will Connolly | Owen Lloyd | Blake Jordan |
| Elton Tiscia | Brett Thiele | Tom Liggins | Max Mirza |
| Summer | Talya Groves | ? | Aoife Kenny |
| Haley | | | Sophie Elmes |
| Tiffany | | | Grace Eleanor Thomas |
| Dylan | | | Jacob Fisher |
| Kyle | | | Ernest Stroud |
| Chad | | | Josh Latunji |
| Finn/Band Singer | | | James Lim |
| Swing | | | Lucy Rice Rachel Seirian Dylan Gordon-Jones Lucas Lluna |
| Sean Holliday | Darius Jordan Lee | ? |
| Max | L’ogan J’ones | ? |

## Musical numbers
### Original Off-Broadway production
#### Act I

| Song | Original artist | Performer(s) |
| "Beautiful Life" | Ace of Base | Cher and Ensemble |
| "Shoop" | Salt-N-Pepa | Murray and Male Ensemble |
| "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" | Spin Doctors | Cher, Josh, Teachers and Female Ensemble |
| "No Scrubs" | TLC | Cher and Ensemble |
| "You Gotta Be" | Des'ree | Cher, Dionne and Ensemble |
| "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" | Laura Branigan | Mr. Hall, Miss Geist, Cher, Dionne and Ensemble |
| "U Can't Touch This" | MC Hammer | Company |
| "Supermodel" | Jill Sobule | Cher, Dionne, Tai and Ensemble |
| "Barbie Girl" | Aqua | Cher, Dionne, Tai, Murray and Female Ensemble |
| "Groove Is in the Heart" | Deee-Lite | Tai, Murray and Company |
| "Torn" | Ednaswap | Cher and Josh |

#### Act II

| Song | Original artist | Performer(s) |
| "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" | En Vogue | Tai, Cher, Dionne and Female Ensemble |
| "A Girl Like You" | Edwyn Collins | Christian, Cher, Dionne, Tai and Ensemble |
| "Dammit" | Blink-182 | Cher, Josh, The Band and Ensemble |
| "Dammit" (Reprise) | Blink-182 | Cher and Josh |
| "Bye Bye Bye" | NSYNC | Cher, Christian and Company |
| "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm" | Crash Test Dummies | Travis |
| "What's Up?" | 4 Non Blondes | Cher |
| "She's So High" | Tal Bachman | Cher and Josh |
| "You Get What You Give" | New Radicals | Cher and Company |
| "Kids in America" | Kim Wilde | Full Company |

### UK Production
## Critical response

Clueless, The Musical 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 Amy Heckerling's reworking of the lyrics "crafty".
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter 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, Heathers: The Musical or Bring It On, the show rarely steps out from the shadow of its screen source with anything new to offer."