What do you get if you cross a high-school movie with Jane Austen’s comedy of manners? Clueless, of course. The 1995 film was inspired by the plot of Emma, in which a frivolous young schemer falls for the serious-minded landed gent next door. This musical version again transposes the story of misguided friend-zoning to Beverly Hills High but where the film pulled off the outlandish melange of Austen and Americana, Rachel Kavanaugh’s production is a more lumbering hybrid.
Emma is reborn as Cher (Emma Flynn), a wealthy LA valley-girl with an ensemble of privileged high schoolers around her who may well be branded nepo babies today. She manipulates grungy new girl Tai (Romona Lewis-Malley), all for the greater good of transforming her into a paragon of high-school popularity. Josh (Keelan McAuley), meanwhile, is the serious-minded chap who is helping Cher’s lawyer father with his cases and has a teasing relationship with her that builds into love.
