Little Miss Sunshine – New Theatre, Cardiff (Theatre Review)

Little Miss Sunshine is the story of Olive: a little girl with a big dream and an incredibly dysfunctional family. Olive’s dream is to attend the Little Miss Sunshine child beauty pageant, so when she finally has an opportunity for this dream to come true, the whole family pack themselves into their yellow VW camper van and embark on a road trip that will change their lives forever.

This was originally a film, and it’s one of my favourites – so when I found out it was being adapted into a musical, I was thrilled. (This seems to be happening a lot lately, like with Kinky Boots as well.) But, just like Kinky Boots, the show was happening in London, so I knew I didn’t have a huge chance of going to see it, until it was announced that it’d be going on tour and stopping off in Cardiff’s New Theatre. Woop!

Initially, I wondered how close they’d stick to the original film, or whether it’d be like Matilda where the musical seems to be based on the story but doesn’t follow it exactly. But when we arrived and I saw the merchandise stand stocking the DVDs of the film, I was a little more hopeful that it’d stick to the original story that I loved so much. I was right: the show doesn’t deviate from the original story at all. It’s the same story with added songs and a few more jokes, and I loved it.

The girl playing Olive was incredible! Olive has so much to do in this show – she’s active all the time and I don’t think she even leaves the stage very often. For a kid, there’s a lot to remember, and she did so well – from her own solo songs, delivering lines with perfect comedic timing, and her big dance number at the end as part of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.

This is the kind of show that I don’t want to ruin by giving too much away. If you’ve watched the film, you’ll know the story and you’ll know what to expect from the show, with a few extra surprises thrown in. If you haven’t seen the film, however, prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of a story with a ton of emotions, laughs, and numbers that will make you want to dance in your seat.