How You Doin'?
- ann-evans
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
Friends! The Musical Parody, Director Michael Gyngell, book and lyrics by Bob and Toby McSmith, at the Belgrade Theatre from 28 October to 1 November then on a UK tour until May 2026.
Review by Ann Evans
Fans of Friends were out in force last night when Friends! The Musical Parody came to the Belgrade Theatre as part of its UK Tour.
Playing to a packed theatre there was a great buzz of excitement, accelerated by warm up man, Kip as he got everyone whoop-whooping as only Americans can do! The start then of the familiar Friends music and familiar set, had the packed auditorium of Friends fans cheering in anticipation.
And certainly no one was disappointed. The casting of the main characters of Ross, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe – and not forgetting Gunther and Janice, were spot on. Not only looking the part, but fabulous singers – especially Alicia Belgarde who played Monica.
To be honest, the show took a few minutes to really get into its stride, and for the audience to grasp that this wasn’t a one-off episode, this was snapshot after snapshot of iconic moments from all ten series – that’s 236 episodes. And whether you remembered them from watching TV or not, you couldn’t help loving the way the actors portrayed the moment and delivered the brilliantly witty lines and lyrics.
As parodies go, this was done with genuine affection for the show. True, all the cast were totally over the top as they took their characters to the limits and beyond with their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. For example, only Ross, played by Enzo Benvenuti, could be quite that outraged – but so very funny. And Phoebe played by Amelia Atherton was wackier than ever – excellent singer though!
Rachel was an absolute lookalike to TV’s Rachel, a great performance by Eva Hope. Monica (Alicia Belgarde) absolutely shone on stage. Chandler, played by Daniel Parkinson, was the ideal character to deliver his share of witty lines. Joey (Ronnie Burden) became more like the Joey we all know and love as the story went along. His New York deliverance of How You Doin’ being a classic line we probably won't ever forget!
In the TV series Gunther was left in the background, and the fact that he never got to say much was humorously highlighted in this stage version. It was quite touching to see how he so wanted to be a part of that group of Friends. Edward Leigh played Gunther, as well as playing Tom Selleck and Paolo the sexy Italian neighbour. I believe he was also Kip the warm-up man! The rest of the ensemble was made up by Lottie Lester, Meg Darcy, Jared Thompson and Harry Mallaghan.
As the cast and crew predicted, the audience reacted to the many, many iconic moments from the series, delighting in the appearance of some wonderfully popular characters. Janice, for instance who was Chandler’s on-off girlfriend throughout the ten series, famous for her catchphrase of “Oh my God!” Her performance played by Daniel Parkinson in this production was hilarious, especially the performance of OMG! It’s Janice!
You didn’t necessarily need to be a Friends fanatic to enjoy this show. My companion on the night had watched less than half a dozen episodes but loved this production. It was fast moving, fast talking, energy packed, brilliantly choreographed with vaguely familiar riffs to the songs, but original and humorous lyrics. What more could you ask for? Throw in the nostalgia for TV in the nineties and you had it all.
We even had guest appearances by Ross’ pet monkey, Marcel, singing I Am Marcel, and Joey’s chicken and duck – who sang to him in a dream!
Great fun! If you’re a fan of Friends, don't miss this! And if somehow Friends on TV passed you by, you’ll still enjoy this genuinely funny and hugely entertaining show.
Friends! The Musical Parody is at the Belgrade Theatre until Saturday 1 November. Tickets from: https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/friends-the-musical-parody/
Discover more about the UK Tour: https://friendsthemusicaltour.co.uk/
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