Review: I Was a Teenage She-Devil, The Other Palace

Doobie is a twelfth-grade stoner who works in a video rental store and has a cinematic reference for every eventuality – even for the unlikely events that ensue when his friend, Nancy, sells her soul to the devil. The creators of I Was a Teenage She-Devil share Doobie’s obsession with film, to the extent that almost everything in the show seems to hark back to something else, from the dweeby band-campers of American Pie, to the accidental wish fulfilment of Big, via the saddo-to-sex-kitten makeovers of Grease and many others. The show revels in cliché; every stock character from the 1980s coming-of-age canon is right here, with no added nuance. 

The story of Nancy’s brief stint as Satan’s handmaiden is told against a backdrop of neon lights and geometric shapes, on the small stage of the studio at The Other Palace. Members of the cast flip these geometric shapes to show place names and move us from school hall to video shop to grungy bar. Given the constraints of the space it’s an efficient approach, but there isn’t much sense of being in different locations. Costume Designer Juda Leah has more room for manoeuvre and has fun. All the 80s hits are here, including lacy tights, ra-ra skirts, ankle boots and crimping. Nancy’s she-devil outfit, featuring studded corset, red fishnets and flame-coloured tassels is a highlight, while the devil’s spiked jockstrap is also memorable. 

If there’s a lot of costume, there’s even more music; 22 numbers in an 80-minute show, mean it’s non-stop rock! Now, nobody wants a quiet rock show, but in the confines of a studio theatre, this music feels overamplified and very loud. There are some witty lyrics that I managed to hear over the music, but more often than not the lyrics are drowned out and wasted. There are a very few calmer musical moments, and of course there’s also dialogue, but even this is, for the most part, unremittingly high energy, high volume, and often quite shrill. Combined with a section of the audience that whooped and shrieked compulsively on the night I was there, the sensory overload was very real. 

Big Rod (Jordan Fox), the school’s 35-year-old meathead jock, gets some laughs, with his pornographically tight shorts, greasy mullet and back-from-the-dead dance break. Not surprisingly the devil (Sean Arkless) also gets many of the best lines, and both Arkless and Aoife Haakenson, as Nancy, do a good job of making evil look ever so fabulous. Overall, however, the show relies too heavily on crassness for comedy; pelvic thrusts, crotch grabs and simulated sex are all very well, but a little goes a long way. 

It is very possible that this loud, brash, cartoonish musical would come into its own in a bigger space with a live band, actor-musicians able to play their instruments, rather than just mime, and space for the choreography to breathe. But even then, the characters would need to be more than just paper-thin ciphers, and the queer love story very much more convincing and engaging. Even a rock comedy needs a heart – just ask Dewey Finn!

Book, Music, Lyrics & Orchestration: Sean Matthew Whiteford
Director & Choreographer: Rachel Klein
Set Designer: Emily Bestow
Sound Designer: SJARK
Costume Designer: Juda Leah
Musical Director: Ryan MacKenzie
Producer: Bryan Campione
Produced by Feuille Dooley Productions

I Was a Teenage She-Devil plays at The Other Palace Theatre until Sunday 26 April.