’Little Did I Know ’ is a musical album (available on Spotify) that tells the story of a group of young people who have just graduated with the idea of bringing life back to a run-down summer theatre. It captures the lives of graduates excellently including the almost naive optimism many posses and also discusses the hardships many of them face at the same time. The name itself is an excellent summary of this phase in young people’s lives as it can be a very unpredictable time but also the students themselves have very little real-world experience in knowledge but still maintain these grand ideas.
This musical was originally set for broadway stages but due to the ongoing pandemic was unable to do so for the time being the soundtrack is the closest we are going to get but there is a podcast created by the same people which talk about the story in the musical. Realising a soundtrack right know builds excitement for any listeners and makes them look forward to when we can return and hopefully catch a performance of Little Did I Know which is essentially exactly what a musical soundtrack is supposed to do and is especially important right now.
The show opens with the titular number “Little Did I know” which is a very classical musical theatre styled song. It is somewhat cheesy and over-the-top but this optimism of the performers transcends the stage and uplifts those listeners and that is only based on the soundtrack, I can’t imagine how exaggerated this feeling would be in a live performance but I imagine is unlike anything you have experienced before! This uplifting feeling is a clear theme throughout which is obviously incredibly empowering for viewers especially those who are recent graduates like the characters in the show. This idea appears most drastically in the closing number “Something to remember (reprise)” which is a very fun and energetic number which in my opening is the best way to end a show as the audience contain a buzz leaving the theatre and while the theatres a closed, the closing number still creates the sense of fun for listeners.
This show isn’t all blind optimism, there are many moments of emotional and tear-jerking moments throughout. As you can guess from the title “Nowhere to be” this is going to be a more downbeat song, this number is a song about a young boy coming out to his parents and being kicked out of the family home. This is an extremely emotional story that many people will relate to and is particularly important during pride month we are currently in. This was a fantastic inclusion as it actually represents the young students who are part of the LGBT+ community which again is very empowering for them. The other heart-wrenching song was the titles “We never know what’s waiting in the wings” which talks about the unpredictability of life and how we, most probably, will experience dark times and experiences. This song was beautifully performed by Patrick Page whose voice really added to the sorrowful nature of the number. This really ties together the uncertainty created from the musicals titles as well as the lack of life experience the target audience have which is very clever. The song titles “I have a question” accurately portrays the lack of direction that particular graduates will experience. Additionally, this song strip backs on theatrics and musical accompaniment so the focus is on the performance and lyrics used. I can see this song being used by many people as an audition song as it showcases a performances voice and requires a high level of emotion.
Overall this is a show that focuses on the real-life emotions of recent graduates perfectly and is an insanely clever production which I can’t wait to see live. I would rate this production as 5 stars and encourage every recent university graduate to check this musical as you will defiantly relate to these characters!
Rhysreviews 