Tim Minchin and Matthew Warchus reunite - after their success with Matilda - for Groundhog Day: The Musical.
His previous attempt, also alongside director Matthew Warchus, was a rollicking take on Roald DahlsMatilda.
Pleasingly, that was the kind of musical that unites adults and children in joy and admiration.
How it extracts these emotions, however, is very different to film.
The first is a solo spot for Georgina Hagens Nancy at the start of act two.
Indeed, the real star is the aforementioned direction of Warchus and the set design of Rob Howell.
Go do your own research.
The potential for this all to have been head-in-the-hands awful was high.
If youre expecting to see a tribute to the comedy stylings of Murray, dont bother.
This is not that thing, and Andy Karls not that guy.
Tonally, its a close to perfect translation.
Wed venture that this is somewhat due to it lacking a similarly innocent character at its heart.
Karl gets there, but its a more drawn out process without the cinematic shorthand of Murrays onscreen persona.
Nor does this haveMatildas black-and-white/goodies-baddies dynamic to play off emotionally.
There are no childrens novel tropes here, no manifest demons to vanquish and no anthems to rally around.
Groundhog Dayis a pleasingly different beast, then, with a very different soul and sound to it.
Maybe Ill amend this review when Ive listened to theGroundhog Daycast recording half as much.
