This musical comedy exposes some of the darker sides of the Kennedy family. The American team behind previous Fringe shows Lizard Boy and Pop Off Michelangelo zoom in on photo-journalist Jacqueline Bouvier, who would become American First lady, then JFK’s famous widow.
The tongue-in-cheek, camp romp covers a lot of ground. We see the meet-cute of Jackie and John (played prim and poised by Nancy Edwards and dumb and duplicitous by Joe McNeice), we listen in on banter with the kooky, rich Kennedy Clan then watch as weirdness unfolds. With alleged affairs, drug use and the globally-shocking assassination of JFK, there was plenty material to fill an hour. Adding in cameos from Judy Garland, Elvis, Liberace and the Grey Gardens ladies feels like overkill, but the exclamation marks in the title warned us this was never aiming to play it straight.
Did Marilyn Monroe really get knocked off by the Kennedy family? What really went on in the presidential marriage? Instead of drilling down, the story whizzes onto the next milestone. An eccentric, fun joyride through a turbulent time in personal and political history, with maybe too many detours along the way.
Jackie!!!, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until 25 Aug, 6.30pm