Ottawa Fringe: Fuckboys: The Musical a High-Energy, but Problematic Party

 

Fuckboys: The Musical, presented by Generation Productions, is a dramatization of the archetypal modern woman, or at least the suggestion of one often pushed onto us by Baby Boomers. The core cast of four women each tackle a facet of this archetype; we have the workaholic, the stoner, the one who’s afraid of commitment, and the one who’s just come out of a long-term relationship. These tropes are, unfortunately, a bit tired and under-nuanced in 2019, but the cast works admirably to make up for this lack of dramaturgical depth with extremely strong vocals, fun choreography, and great ensemble chemistry.

Fuckboys’ biggest issue arises from the lack of intersectionality in its self-proclaimed feminism; there are no women of colour in its cast, and its bisexual character is consistently the butt of joke after joke, thus alienating a solid chunk of audiences who attend the show in search of solidarity and leave with little more than the watered-down, Instagram version of 2019 feminism. The production features a male cast, yet none fall under the “fuckboy” umbrella, begging the question as to why they are included in this narrative at all; that being said, “Step into My Office” is very well-sung by Brandon Munoz-Dominguez, the bartender and resident “nice guy” of the show.

The production values of Fuckboys are extremely high for a Fringe show; the lighting is effective, the choreography is sharp, the sound design is functional. The music is decidedly hit-or-miss; some lyrics are pretty grim (with “You Are the Sun” being a deeply clichéd romantic duet), while others are comparatively clever, like the rap song we saw on Preview Night. The four-chord song structure gets tired very quickly, which is forgivable for a Fringe musical, but it is clear that Fuckboys has aspirations beyond the Fringe circuit, and would benefit from further workshopping in its book, lyrics, and orchestrations.

Fuckboys is no doubt endlessly entertaining if you fall into its desired audience demographic of straight white women; opening night was close to sold out, and elicited riotous laughter and whoops and hollers several times. See it if you’re a fan of flashy, commercial musical theatre (especially if you are a fan of Broadway’s First Date, which shares several themes, conventions, plot points, and musical stylings). This cast is rock-solid, and this show clearly has a cult following; Fuckboys will no doubt continue to grow and succeed, as long as it is self-aware in its issues.

 

Fuckboys: The Musical runs through June 22. For full scheduling, visit www.ottawafringe.com/schedule. Fuckboys: The Musical is in Venue 3, Academic Hall.