Review: Zach Theatre’s Head Over Heels

There was a striking moment at the talk-back after the entertaining Austin debut of Head Over Heels, the Go-Go’s jukebox musical now playing at Zach Theatre. Musical director, former Go-Go’s bassist, and Austin native and resident Kathy Valentine mentioned her response when Zach czar Dave Steakley said he wanted to create the set with inflatables: There was no budget. (Thirty seconds later, she said how much she loved it.)

Indeed, this was a stroke of genius on Steakley’s part, the floaty sets reinforcing the lightness of the vibe. The Go-Go’s music was always a canny blend of punky drive and poppy fluff undergirded by tremendous hooks. In spite of sweet – if rather direct – messaging about gender norms, Head Over Heels never takes itself too seriously. Or as Valentine said of the musical group itself as all of the members got older and the stakes decreased, “We eventually embraced that we are a fun band.”

Originally constructed by Jeff “Avenue Q” Whitty as an almost avant-garde fusion of the Go-Go’s zippy pop and the 16th-century romance The Arcadia, and heavily revised by James Magruder (who threw in some of The Winter’s Tale for good measure), Head Over Heels is a celebration of love in many configurations, though its Fakespeare and complicated plot occasionally left the audience a little confused as to exactly who wanted what, when.

Set in the kingdom of Arcadia, a land driven by its all-consuming “Beat,” Musidorus (Colin Trudell) is a common shepherd in love with Princess Philoclea (a vibrant Mariel Ardila). Alas, he isn’t exactly royal material according to Philoclea’s parents, King Basilius (Ryan Everett Wood) and Queen Gynecia (Austin fixture Jill C. Holmes, excellent). Then again, their marriage isn’t exactly a model of happiness. Meanwhile (there’s always a “meanwhile” when anything is vibing off Shakespeare’s comedies), male suitors aren’t really getting it done for the inadvertently bawdy Princess Pamela (Stephanie Jones) and it takes some prodding (no pun) from her handmaiden Mopsa (Hannah Lauren Wilson, a vibrant stage presence) for her to put it together. Musidorus disguises himself as an Amazon to hang out with the girls more, only to attract the attention of Basilius (Wood could have been a little sleazier a little earlier, frankly).

And then there’s the nonbinary oracle Pythio (Cecil Washington Jr., destined to be a fan-favorite presence), who predicts that the Beat (the heartbeat of the kingdom, if you will, embodied by, yes, “We Got the Beat”) will vanish if several of their prophecies come to pass (guess what happens?), an oracle to whom it is implied Mopsa’s father Dematas (Tyler Jones) is attracted.

The action is brisk if occasionally confusing, and the band, led by Valentine and featuring Austin blues guitar lifer Eve Monsees, drummer Kristy McInnis, and Emily Gimble on keys, executes nicely, even if a few songs seemed a little tentative (the issue was not aided by the band being nearly inaudible to folks dead center in the front). Hits such as “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “Mad About You” – technically a Belinda Carlisle solo joint – and, of course (with all the inflatables around), “Vacation” are smartly placed with solid narrative logic. Head Over Heels is a welcome, airy respite from the punishing summer heat, but the more energy the cast and band (let them rock!) bring to the stage, the more fun everyone will have.

Zach Theatre’s Head Over Heels

This article appears in August 18 • 2023.