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★★★★★
For my last review of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, I returned to Gilded Balloon Patter House for Noam Tomaschoff’s new one-person musical ‘Our Little Secret: The 23andMe Musical’, which recently won the ‘Best of Fringe’ award at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival. It would not be a trip to Edinburgh without seeing at least one new musical and this deeply personal piece of theatre covers Noam’s real-life experience finding out that his biological parents aren’t quite who he thought they were. It is an uplifting story of family and self-discovery, set to Ryan Peter’s toe-tapping and exciting musical theatre score.
A masterclass in one-person performance
The Canada-based writer and actor uses the art of musical theatre to share his story about how a ‘23andMe’ DNA testing kit completely changed his life. Writing the musical is clearly his personal outlet for coming to terms with the experience and in turn, the performer has created an infectiously optimistic piece of theatre about human kindness and the role parents have in the person we become. Whilst the overall vibe is cheery, Noam accurately captures the mixed emotions that come with learning such news, cleverly articulating how he felt through engaging storytelling and sensational vocals. The narrative even goes as far as to share the family reactions to his plans to write a musical about the situation, which adds even more relatability to the script.
Music and lyrics
There is something very ‘Avenue Q’ about the music, with the sunny melodies and detailed lyrics being used as a storytelling tool, packed full of humour, personality and spanning musical styles. There are also just the right amount of songs for a 60-minute fringe production, with ‘This Life Was Meant For Brothers’ having the greatest impact. This specific track has a Celtic and Folk undercurrent, acting as the production’s anthem, and is an absolutely wonderful example of songwriting for musical theatre.
A must-see original musical at this year’s Fringe!
An absolute standout of my time at the Edinburgh Fringe, this new musical ticks all of the right boxes and deserves so much success. What made the performance even more special was Noam’s parents being in the audience on Saturday evening. It lifted the impact of the production to catastrophic levels, which did not seem realistic given that he already had the audience in the palm of his hand before the curtain call. Definitely take the opportunity to see this new musical at Gilded Balloon Patter House before it finishes on 26th August. Performances start daily at 17:30 in the Doonstairs venue (not 13th and 20th), with tickets available via the festival website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘Our Little Secret: The 23andMe Musical’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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