Bring It On: The Musical

Bring It On: The Musical has somersaulted its way onto the mainstage in Sydney, promising elaborate cheerleading routines and a touch of nostalgia… But is that enough?

Inspired by the 2000 film set in the wild world of competitive cheerleading, the Broadway production made its debut in 2012. Deviating from the original storyline, the musical follows Campbell (Kirby Burgess) – blonde, beautiful and the newly elected captain of the Truman High School cheerleading squad – whose aspirations are turned upside down when she is forced to change schools. With no cheerleading squad, she soon sets about convincing Jackson High’s ‘dance crew’, headed by the defiant Danielle (Jasmine Smith), to enter a team into nationals. 

Bring It On: The Musical is at its best when its leaning into its own ridiculousness. There’s elements of Mean Girls, Pitch Perfect and High School Musical. Some moments are genuinely funny, but unfortunately they’re often caught between overly sentimental songs.

There’s also something deeply frustrating about how lightly the characters are sketched out. We don't get much of a chance to get invested in any of them, much less care about it when they break off into a song monologuing about their feelings.

The cohort of Jackson High students are diverse. With Danielle’s right-hand girl La Cieniga (portrayed by Marty Alix), we get a transgender character living in her truth without a need for a traumatic backstory. As Bridget, the awkward outcast from Truman High-turned-popular girl, Baylie Carson offers great comedy. There is something low-key uncomfortable about a “fat” character being portrayed by a slim person wearing butt-padding though. 

From a production point of view, everything about this show is extremely polished. The minimalist set design by Nathan Weyers and direction from Alister Smith (who also worked on the Australian debut in Melbourne) make for smooth transitions and fast-paced action. 

The choreography from Michael Ralph, with the assistance of cheerleading coach Natalie Commons, is exciting and impressive. The cheerleading feats from the cast take them all from triple threats to quadruple threats. Two hours in, the routines do start to get repetitive, but the finale is worth holding on for. 

There’s just something that falls short about Bring It On: The Musical’s attempt to get ‘woke’ for the 2010s. With Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame collaborating on the music and lyrics, you’d expect more heart – he is the modern god of musical theatre and wholesome masculinity after all. Perhaps nothing will ever match up to the chemistry of that iconic toothbrushing scene with Kirsten Dunst and her friend’s hot brother…