On Wednesday 28th August I went to a WORLD PREMIERE of a workshop turned musical called I Wish at one of my local theatres…Here are my thoughts on this new musical!

‘I Wish’ is a musical that is inspired by Dear Evan Hansen, Matilda and 13; it follows the age-old story of wishing upon a shooting star, In this version, there are three kids that are doing the wishing, Johnny – who wishes people would tell him the truth, Rosie – who wishes she could achieve more and to be popular and Scarlett who wishes her parents could be happy. When all their wishes come true they soon learn that they should have been careful about what they wished for – which was the clear message of this musical.

The kids performing in this production were amazing and far outshone the adults. In the future, I can see several of them making it to the West End – especially Albert (Johnny), Lilly (Rosie) and Maisie (Scarlett), there were great performances from the ensemble too.

Whilst the storyline was nothing we hadn’t seen before in movies or on TV, it was enjoyable and heart-warming. For the majority, it was well written albeit at times predictable. At the end with Scarlett’s wish (parents happiness that ends up with them winning the lottery), I found the fact that when it all goes back to normal hard to believe. (her mum says the bank called and said that they made a mistake and they didn’t win the lottery even though they spent half of the money they didn’t have to pay it back) I understand it’s a musical for kids and it fits that bill perfectly but that’s not how it works in real life. Apart from that one line I enjoyed the rest of it and would see it again.

The Score

I loved the score to this musical, there were so many good well-written songs sang by so many talented kids. My favourites include Hear Me (both the normal and Reprise) sang by Albert, Lilly and Maisie, A Little Bit sang by Maisie and Isabel (who played Scarlett’s younger sister) and Will You Be Proud sung by Lily; but all of the songs I would play in the car if they ever come out with a cast recording at any point in the future.

Overall

As mentioned although it wasn’t anything groundbreaking and new, I still loved this new musical. The kids in it were incredible and their energy was fresh and upbeat . The score was catchy and fun. It was a merry new musical and I hope that it gains traction and one day ends up on the West End because I would 100% go and see it again…I may even order the DVD.