Edinburgh Fringe 2024
I Wish You Well: The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical
Paul Taylor-Mills
Genre: Musical Theatre, Theatre
Venue: Underbelly George Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
I Wish You Well is a musical retelling of the gripping Salt Lake City, Utah trial between Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson. The musical draws on the most sensational moments of the trial, delivering an outlandish look into the American justice system.
Review
It’s easy to forget just how insane the real Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial was. The meandering testimonies and conflicting stories made the material ripe for campy and outlandish adaptations, and that’s what we got with I Wish You Well: The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical. One of two musicals at the festival this year exploring the topic, I Wish You Well focused less on the story of the trial, and instead expanded on the most memorable and infamous moments.
Every character was a caricature of their real-life counterpart. The cast clearly studied their marks, pulling out specific actions or language and presenting them in a larger-than-life manner, and some last names were altered to exaggerate a personality trait further. The small cast of four kept the energy throughout the hour, but Diane Vicker’s performance of Gwenny P (a nickname used during the show) was astonishing. She embodied Paltrow the way Maya Rudolph took on Kamal Harris on SNL. She was at moments indistinguishable from the real Paltrow, but at other times leaned into the wackiness of her statements and career.
By focusing on key exchanges in the courtroom, the book was kept short and sweet, with non-musical moments only coming in briefly to transition the audience to the next song. Kristan VanOrman (Sanderson’s real-life attorney) was a favorite target of the score, poking fun at her apparent obsession with Paltrow’s looks and height, and the charged exchange over whether or not Paltrow and Taylor Swift are friends. Although acting on behalf of the plaintiff, the musical makes it clear that VanOrman may have inadvertently (or perhaps purposefully) assisted the defense more than her own client. Her erratic behavior acted as a guiding arc, almost telling the story from her perspective.
It is clear that although the show can be enjoyed by a wide audience, the writing is biased towards pop-culture nerds and musical theatre lovers. The show was full of references to musicals like Wicked, Chicago, and Sweeny Todd, and jokes about the fringe festival, the other ski trial musical, and the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience. These moments helped bring the audience together, allowing complete strangers to share a laugh and feel equally ‘in the know’ on an inside joke.
I Wish You Well: The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. It’s an hour of campy extravagance highlighting the lunacy of the American justice system. The jury may have found Paltrow not guilty, but as the show makes sure to point out, we may never know what actually happened.
