The viral US musical about Luigi Mangione makes a surprise appearance at the Fringe, bringing a heavy dose of black humour.
Based on the fact that at one point Luigi shared a prison with financial criminal Sam Bankman-Fried and disgraced rapper Diddy, Caleb Zeringue and co have created a story that explores Luigi’s feelings about his sudden fame, the piles of fan mail he receives in jail and the act of murder he carried out on a healthcare insurance CEO. In between, he mediates an enemies-to-friends relationship with his cellmates, adds to his manifesto, and gains sympathy from a prison officer.
Matthew Solomon as Luigi has the requisite handsomeness and singing voice, and Andre Margatini as SBF really projects ‘small man syndrome’, constantly waiting for a validating letter from Elon Musk and trying to kickstart a cryptocurrency in jail. Janeé Lucas as Diddy is charismatic, though the risky jokes about Epstein didn’t seem to land with the audience.
The cast clearly have a lot of fun with their story, and the small Legends room has more than a few American fans who’ve clearly seen the US run of the show. Songs like Dear Manifesto went down well; I would have liked to have heard more from Luigi though, as more time was devoted to the ‘frenemies’ Diddy and SBF.
There’s real promise here; with a bit of polish, Luigi’s story could really shine.
***1/2
Luigi The Musical is at Just The Tonic Legends from 21-23 Aug.