Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical at Birmingham Hippodrome

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Tue 03 Jun 2025 - Sat 07 Jun 2025

Birmingham Hippodrome winds back the clock to the 1990s with the new show Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical which promised to be packed full of nostalgia and hits. Based on the blockbuster nineties movie Cruel Intentions, the production is currently on its first UK tour and comes to Birmingham on 3-7 June.

The musical tells the tale of step-siblings Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil, who make a bet that Sebastian can seduce Annette Hargrove, the headmaster’s daughter. With nineties pop classics from Britney Spears, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, TLC, R.E.M., Ace of Base, No Doubt, Placebo, Natalie Imbruglia and The Verve, the musical has been a hit in London and New York.



Tik Tok star Abbie Budden played Annette in the London production last year and couldn’t wait to take on the part again for the tour. “I watched the film when I first got the audition for The Other Palace run and completely fell in love with it,” she says. “I found myself gasping and squealing out how outrageous it was and loved the absolute chaos of the plot. It really keeps you on your toes.”

Abbie says she felt immediately akin to the role of Annette. “There was no way I wasn’t going to bring her to life. It was a lovely feeling to be in a role and a show that felt so right for me. That’s why it was so joyous being able to join the tour cast and bring the show to life a second time round. I have the ability to enjoy it all a little bit more this time and find lots of new moments with our fantastic new cast.”

Cruel Intentions is a modern re-telling of the French classic Les Liaisons Dangereuses written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in the 18th century - and Abbie believes its themes are timeless. “It’s amazing that no matter what era you put the story in, it’s still painfully relevant today. Teenage love, seduction, manipulation and friendship in any era will always come with its fair share of games, heartbreak and questionable behaviour. We just can’t help but love a bit of drama and scandal.”

For Abbie, much of the success of the show is down to the characters. “Most of the characters are extremely complex, devious and flawed people and yet you can’t help but root for their stories. It’s surprising how the judgments in the show from certain characters about wealth, class and race are upsettingly even more relevant than they’ve ever been, so there’s absolutely still a lot of lessons to be drawn from the story.”

Nic Myers, who recently played Alternate Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret, says performing the ruthless Kathryn was irresistible. “A role like Kathryn rarely presents itself to you. She is obviously a terrible person and that's shown in her actions in the plot but I like that she's incredibly strong and she's kind of a mastermind genius. She has poise and elegance and she's a very sexual person, she’s very in her body.”

And she continues: “A couple of times in the show she compares men and women and what men can get away with and how men are allowed to be viewed and how women have to, no matter who they are, wrap it up in a nice little neat digestible bow. I think she is deeply hurt by that, I think that's a big part of her character. The way she feels irritated by how women have to be presented and seen in the world is very relatable to me.”

Nic believes the 1999 movie by Roger Kumble was an international sensation because it shows the complexities of the teenage experience. “Cruel Intentions is similar to films like Heathers and Mean Girls in having these really adult themes that teens are allowed to watch. I think it felt really adult in the nineties to see this kind of self-discovery on screen - the angsty ‘it's really hard being a teen’ which is explored in the show. It’s the morality of seeing what's right and wrong on the screen, you have some characters who are obviously very much in the wrong and then some very much the good ones and then you have the ones in between.”

And she says both the film and the musical, which was created by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble and first opened in Los Angeles, are packed with great songs. “The soundtrack of the film is iconic and a lot of that feeds directly into the score of the music so we’ve got a Bitter Sweet Symphonyesq genre of songs, all from amazing bands,” says Nic. “We've got all the iconic grungy angsty bangers that remind me of my pre- teen era. The show is so successful because it’s a ride. You will laugh and you will cry. It’s short and sweet, it's easy to digest but with emotional weight to it – and there's a bop every minute.”



Will Callan was just 18 when he first played Marius in the classic musical Les Misérables on tour and then in the West End – and he was keen to take on a very different role in the shape of Sebastian. “He is an awful person at the very start of the show,” Will says. “It seems he’s just devoid of empathy but we come to learn that’s not actually a characteristic that he was born with but one he has come to learn from the people who he’s closest to. It’s strange that Sebastian is so sure of himself at such a young age, he seems so confident as he approaches everything. The calculation that Sebastian takes for every decision is really interesting for me to be able to play as a character.”

For Will, the music is also a huge driver in the stage production. “The wonderful thing about the show is the classic nineties songs like *NSYNC or Britney Spears. I feel like there’s something for everyone. Everyone I’ve shown the soundtrack to has said it’s packed full of songs people know and love. And one of the most attractive things about the integration of the songs is that they flawlessly flow into the plot, it feels almost like they were written for this story.”

Will says the musical, which is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, is attracting both fans of the film and people new to the tale. “If you are a lover of a good story and nostalgia then you are in for a great night. It’s really live theatre that can’t be missed, it’s an absolute riot of a time. We’ve had people from around my age and people who are training in drama school to grandparents in the audience.”

And he is looking forward to sharing Cruel Intentions with audiences across the country. “I think the beauty of touring is bringing this show to towns that wouldn’t normally see things like this. I’m excited to show the rest of the UK what Cruel Intentions is. There will be die-hard fans of the film but also people who are new to the story, and to have those people mix in a room and come out of it enjoying themselves equally is something quite exciting.”

Cruel Intentions plays Birmingham Hippodrome 3-7 June, see here for more information and tickets.

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