Unexpected Joy - Southwark Playhouse

If this is essentially one of those cutesy comedy-drama musicals, where family members have big disagreements, yet come together in a pat way to sing a song that is literally called "Common Ground," nobody told Jodie Jacobs, because she acts and sings this show like her world is ending, and the show is infinitely lifted by her presence and voice.

Playing a Christian fundamentalist, Jacobs is essentially a homophobic villain, in a musical that deals with gay issues, yet singing a gospel number, Jacobs brought the house down with her solo rendition of "Better Times are Coming," engendering genuine whoops and cheers.

Jacobs also has another solo song, about the difficulties of being a mother, "Raising Them Right," and once again nailed it, resulting in what I felt was one of the most heartfelt emotional moments of this evening.

Jacobs was in a league of her own, partly because her character is crafted with more nuance than the others, no doubt playing to US sensibilities, where the need to include the religious right in art's conversation is particularly pressing, but also because she is just that good, her voice, her acting, and her meticulous modulation of both immensely impressive.

Other than Jacobs' character, this soft-soap feel-good family comedy -drama is middling fare, lacking any real edge, effortfully reeling through character pairs to reveal their differences, then giving everyone a song to express those differences.

In her professional debut, Kelly Sweeney triumphs, endowing her X-Factor me-generation cliche of a young character with an endearing in-your-face cheek and vigour, that made her compelling to watch in all her interactions.

And as a non-family member, the lone outsider in the show, Melanie Marshall exercises her strong singing chops to effectively give voice to her outsiderdom.

This is an intimate show, played in the Little Theatre of the Southwark Playhouse, 1 hour 40 minutes without an interval, which while clichéd and pat, nonetheless has enough effective elements that I felt it was worthwhile.

Lifted to 3 and a half stars, for me, on account of Jodie Jacobs' work.

I haven’t been tempted by anything at the SWP since Promises Promises and that wasn’t great either. I can’t see this grabbing anyone much either. What’s gone wrong with musicals at the Southwark?

I've seen a 5-star review; I've also noticed that on the whole, male reviewers have disliked it and female reviewers have liked or loved it. So I'm hopeful, though I too have been disappointed by musicals at this venue for a long time and left several at the interval.