“If you didn’t like the show, keep your mouth shut”, sneered the murderous vampire Spike, “No one likes snitches!”
Little did he know that this have-a-go-reviewer would be the first to speak up and moan if anyone else ruined Buffy (Joss Wheadon, I’m looking at you).
Fortunately, Brendan Murphy had nothing to worry about. The audience was chanting, “Spike! Spike! Spike!” as the musical theatre wrapped.
Buffy: Revamped was worth walking through Monday’s storms for. Buffy: Revamped was such a strong performance that it survived the over-enthusiastic drunk who wanted to participate.
I laughed too, but, gosh, it was bitter-sweet at times. It was also surprisingly musical! It’s not the first show in the festival season to catch me with music.
Buffy: Revamped
Dressed as the blonde English-born vampire, Brendan Murphy goes through all 144 episodes in 70 minutes. It’s abridged, it’s hugely abridged, but it works well!
I mean, it’s not as if Murphy would try and speed-read through 7 series of vampire slaying action. Instead, we get Spike giving us a tour through what he sees as the main points. You can imagine he’s not pro-Angel and a little focused on Buffy.
You do, I think, have to be a Buffy fan to really enjoy the show. If you have plans to watch it one day, then, sorry, this is as spoiler-laden as you can imagine. If you want to avoid spoilers, then you’ll have to burden the sorrow of missing this live act.
To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting. I think I was there for some unwholesome nostalgia, girl power, and to refresh my Buffy circuits.
The empowerment angle is lightly touched on, just as it was in Buffy, and I think the balance is about right. The same is true for the LGBTQ+ aspects of the show. There are no cheap gags here. However, I found myself waiting to see whether any mention of abuse charity would be forthcoming. It wasn’t but might have been cathartic or at least acknowledging if it had been.
Overall
I thought the woman next to me had died laughing, come back to life, and only to die again, and I was close behind her.
Buffy: Revamped shows that good ideas never die, and our sing-a-long Spike is an expert host.
Fan of the show? Go see this one.
Buffy: Revamped
Summary
A worthy tribute to the best of Buffy the Vampire slayer, the wholesome highs and lows of the plots, characters and writing.
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I really enjoyed your review of “Buffy: Revamped”! It’s fascinating to see how the show has evolved and resonated with audiences again. Your insights about the performances and the direction were spot on. I’m intrigued by the modern twists you mentioned—makes me want to catch a performance myself! Great job!