KEY POINTS:
Marilyn: Forever Blonde makes you wish for a happy ending for poor, lonely Norma Jean. Using the actress's own words to tell her life story, the show leaves you in no doubt that while she had fame and fortune, Marilyn Monroe was really searching for love and acceptance.
Written by Greg Thompson, the play is an extended flashback that tells the story of Monroe's life from orphanage to movie stardom, celebrity then early death. While shying away from any conjecture about whether Monroe was murdered or committed suicide, the show doesn't whitewash other aspects of her life, including the casting couch sexual favours she used to get ahead, her lesbian affair with Joan Crawford, and unsuccessful marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller.
Marilyn fans will relish the opportunity to hear their idol speak in her own words and those who know little about the star may be surprised by her lively wit, self-deprecating humour and insights into the ugly side of Hollywood.
Sunny Thompson, a wonderfully believable Monroe, carries this one-woman show with ease. The Los Angeles actress has all the mannerisms down pat and captures that curiously appealing mix of little-girl-lost and sex bomb.
With makeup design by famous Marilyn impersonator Jimmy James and a suitably vavavoom wardrobe, the play feels more like a re-creation of the icon than a tribute.
While Thompson's performance is flawless, I have a few niggles about the play itself.
At 2 hours with an interval, the show is a little too long. The first half whizzes along, but the second tends to drag as it tries to fit in all the ups and downs of her life.
The lighting is rather hit-and-miss but the costume design is perfect, featuring many of her famed outfits, although the famous white halter neck dress she wore for the skirt-blowing scene in The Seven Year Itch is absent.
The play doesn't add anything new to the Marilyn canon but is worth it for Sunny Thompson's performance.
