Downstage Drama

J ukebox musicals remain an infuriatingly confusing topic for me as I find the idea of them marketable, fun and usually in line with musical theatre’s campy reputation. However, I also maintain that they seem to be incredibly easy to get wrong. Moulin Rouge! took one of my favourite films and added some questionable songs like Chandelier and Firework to an otherwise inspired arrangement. I believe that Mamma Mia is able to largely avoid the famed Jukebox Discourse due to it only using ABBA songs, allowing the musical to follow one thread of style and storytelling, instead of relying on a huge multitude of artists, genres and decades. &Juliet fell into this trap and, whilst it had good intentions, ended up barely scratching the surface in terms of lyrical storytelling. And perhaps that is why Just For One Day’s musical decisions worked.  Firstly, this is the first Jukebox musical I’ve seen that is heavily based on a true story and so the choice to use already well-known music he...