Review of ‘Love Quirks’: “New Gen-Z rom-com musical comes across as the boomer of the season”

Following its original Off-Broadway run, the show lands in the London scene in a new revised production playing at The Other Palace until mid-October. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know its droll romantic affairs manage to infatuate audiences.

I wonder what would happen if someone wrote a musical about my love life. I guess audiences would be provided with complimentary Prozac or a hotline number for bitter queens — just to keep that sass running. If you live in London, you know what it’s like to date. And the answer to that should always be not good. Hence, it’s not that surprising that, for the umpteenth time, the stage welcomes a new show dealing with the romantic struggles of a younger generation (can I still be included in those?). However, just as with many of its predecessors, audiences are unlikely to return for a second date.

I have no issues with rom-coms — I get the feeling that’s where my personal life is heading, though probably closer to a dark farce. A plot exploring the frustrations of finding Prince or Princess Charming, and which does that through a carefree eye, is a solid concept. My problem with it is that it doesn’t go any further than that — it’s a germinal idea that doesn’t evolve into anything else, and whose whole appeal dies as the piece unfolds.

You don’t need a master in originality to come up with its characters. In all fairness, it’s not what the genre calls for. Four twenty-year-olds find themselves living together by the winds of chance. It’s not the most idyllic situation — three of them have been sharing the flat for a while now, and there’s too much tension (of every sort) going around. Their latest addition, whose not-so-happy history with someone in the flat can only lead to more trouble, ignites the flame in this soon-to-explode powder keg of awkwardness.

Nothing innovative, but not for that, undesirable. Yet, what makes any story leave an imprint on its audience is its relatability. And that is achieved by combining universality with individuality. Love Quirks has neither of them. It’s a sketchy narrative as its best and a lazy assortment of cliches, unfunny jokes, and poor dramatic devices at its worst.

Nothing in its writing works to a compelling degree. Its music, overinfluenced by Sondheim’s style, is terribly dull, repetitive, and incapable of channeling any emotion. It almost seems like composer Seth Bisen-Hersh’s metronome got stuck while penning the score — every song is played at the same mid-speed tempo, which only varies ever so slightly by alternating ternary bars with common time. There are some interesting features scattered around — a couple of flavourful obbligato lines in the instrumental section, as well as some promising melodic motifs. But regardless of these minor accomplishments, none of the numbers are memorable — and for the most part, it would have made no difference if what they chant was turned into spoken scenes.

The lyrics do very little to save the situation. Although they occasionally flaunt some irony, the delivery still requires a stronger polish. If the soundtrack had an exclusivity contract with the midtempo factory, the verses have apparently diversified their agreement into two separate suppliers: monorhymic stanzas and couplets. And just like their partner in crime, it gets tremendously predictable, annoying, and ultimately, boring.

The same can be said about the book, whose clunky dialogue and inability to amuse audiences, no matter how hopelessly it tries, accentuates the show’s already heightened, heavy-handed execution, where none of its three main components is even close to presenting us with anything worth seeing.

The cast does their best while putting up with the material’s feebleness. Their vocals are arguably the most satisfactory aspect of their renditions — all of which are carried out with absolute flawlessness. Their chemistry, however, is noticeably lacking. Despite the piece’s over-the-top approach and some of the performers’ camp attitude, there’s a sense of lethargy floating around every rendition. Their acting is credible but not engaging. And as a result, our investment is minimal.

Bringing up an enticing topic but failing to build a singular vision, Love Quirks puts audiences through modern-dating heartbreak — luring us with a solid start but soon deflating into complete disappointment, and giving us next to nothing. A sharper and more insightful take on the premise could have led to a playful, tongue-in-cheek exploration of today’s relationships — and ultimately, a standout feel-good musical. Instead, our expectations have been ghosted, and we can only move on from it once and for all.

All pictures credit to Anne Clare.

Love Quirks plays at London’s The Other Palace until 12 October. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara