Bend It Like Beckham - Original London Cast Recording

"Bend It Like Beckham" is infectious. There. It's out there. It's been said. A lot. And why wouldn't it be when original writer/director Gurinder Chadha is once again at the helm, this time with the help of co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges. The musical doesn't stray from the basics of Chadra's amusing story of an Anglo-Indian girl with big dreams, which trades in clich�s and easy answers, but so do many less accomplished works. The movie had a giant heart and this is where the musical succeeds most fully as well.

"Bend It Like Beckham" is the story of Jess, and 18-year-old worshipper of David Beckham, the international soccer superstar. She's also the daughter of a Sikh family living in West London. Unbeknownst to her parents, Jess joins the Hounslow Harriers a women's soccer team that plays nearby and rises to be a star player. The inevitable culture clash with her parents ensues and gets further complicated when she falls for the white coach, Joe. This leads to a confused love triangle with her best friend Jules (who recruited her to the team in the first place).

The secondary storyline and foil to this is the preparations for Jess's sister Pinky's wedding, a giant, traditional Indian affair that one can sense is going to be the climax of the show, offset by the climactic game that our hero might have to miss! Infectiousness is great, but it doesn't fully hide the clich�s at work here.

There are a fair amount of them in composer Howard Goodall and lyricist Charles Hart's score. The music meanders a bit more than the material justifies and veers between the bland smoothness of GLEE and the fun of a moderately successful Marc Shaiman song. The orchestration tries to add an air of authentic sub-continent to the proceedings, but it mostly feels like a British pop musical with a dash of Asian flair here and there. The two exceptions are when they incorporate a traditional pre-wedding lament, "Heer," as Pinky (Rekha Sawney) prepares to marry and the climactic wedding scene/soccer match -- I told you!

Charles Hart's clich�s also range from "If someone gets the glory, why shouldn't it be me" to describing the ethnic streets as "litter and glitter and noise" ("One Night In Bangkok" anyone?). But they occasionally rise to the cleverness of "Dreaming of somewhere where being 'other' doesn't incur the wrath of your mother." It's a long score -- the musical turns in at nearly three hours. That's a lot to endure when the material is this light and repetitive (how many times will they sing "It's just a game!").

The performances a strong, although there are few standouts. Rekha Sawney's performance of "Heer" matches the score's highlight with the album's best moments. Tony Jayawardena as Jess's father sings of his own failed dreams to play cricket; a victim of racism (the unfortunately titled "People Like Us"). The big numbers are catchy and dance-around-the-house worthy and the album has the smooth polish of an episode of "SMASH."

"Bend It Like Beckham" intends to entertain, not change the world. There are far worse ways to spend a night in the theater and, having done so, the cast recording should be a sweet reminder of the experience.

"Bend It Like Beckham The Musical"
Original Cast Recording
Masterworks Broadway
$11.98 CD / $9.99 digital download
http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/albums/