A riot of camp, comedy and catchy tunes, Jackie!!! reimagines the life of America’s most glamorous First Lady (sorry Melania) as a high-energy pop culture spectacle.
Jackie Kennedy brought celebrity glamour to the world of politics, transforming the role of First Lady and asserting herself as a pop culture icon. This legacy is celebrated in the high camp musical Jackie!!! from Joe McNeice and Nancy Edwards, with music by Max Alexander-Taylor.
Jackie!!! chronicles plucky young photojournalist Jacqueline Bouvier’s meeting with John F. Kennedy and their tumultuous whirlwind romance and marriage. Through musical numbers and sharp gags, the piece explores the First Lady’s cultural impact and her role navigating the internal politics of the Kennedy family, presided over by steely patriarch Joe Kennedy.
Clocking in at a brisk sixty minutes, Jackie!!! marks the first time Jackie Kennedy has been brought to the stage as a pop culture musical, shifting the tone from the brief 1990s chamber opera Jackie O. The result is delightfully silly, brimming with contemporary entertainment references and casting a knowing wink at the events of the past with gleeful audacity.
The star of the piece is undoubtedly Nancy Edwards, who captures Jackie’s magnetism and sincerity while nailing the comic beats of the more outlandish supporting characters. Edwards, who bears a striking resemblance to Jackie, especially in the infamous pink suit and hat, also impresses vocally, delivering both peppy up-tempos and poignant ballads with natural ease.
Characters are transformed into caricatures with joyous camp abandon. Joe Kennedy becomes a malevolent, almost vampiric patriarch with a baritone drawl. Bobby Kennedy is played as an overzealous young brother distracted by cartoon mazes. Aristotle Onassis emerges as a flamboyant, Hawaiian shirt-wearing diva. JFK is portrayed as a womanising troublemaker desperate to reclaim the spotlight from his increasingly popular wife, like a live-action version of The Simpsons’ Mayor Quimby. Standouts include Danny Colligan’s sweet but dim Bobby and Luke Hickman’s unsettling Joe Kennedy.
The humour draws from the Kennedy legacy, including scandal, Marilyn, and assassinations, as well as 1960s-specific comedy. A revolving door of Jackie fans, from Andy Warhol to Winston Churchill, provides well-pitched period laughs and allows the cast to show off their versatility. A cameo from Grey Gardens icons Little Edie and Big Edie is a particular highlight. The comedy also embraces modern references, with sharp asides such as “Ready? You said that with some determination.”
Jackie!!! boasts a plethora of musical numbers that balance the catchy with the comic, from the bouncing Oh Jackie O to Bought and Sold, both crafted with skill by Max Alexander-Taylor. The inventive staging, featuring four white doors evoking the interiors of the White House, allows for slick entrances and exits that keep the pace lively and fluid.
With sharp wit, an infectious score and gloriously over-the-top performances, Jackie!!! is a cheeky and stylish love letter to a STAUNCH character and true cultural icon.
Jackie!!! runs until August 25 at Chamber Street’s Gilded Balloon: Patter Hoose. Tickets are available here.
Photo: Simon Vail
