Summer may be coming to an end here in Manchester, but it’s a Summer of Love over at Manchester Opera House as the Steps musical Here & Now takes to the stage. Following its success last year at The Alexandra in Birmingham, Here & Now is touring the country until May 2026 and is currently being performed in Manchester. Read on for our review of Here & Now musical performed at Manchester Opera House.
The Steps musical was The Alexandra’s fastest-selling on-sale in history, with 50% of capacity sold within 24 hours. Featuring Steps’ most beloved hit songs, Here & Now is produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman and Fascination Management, with an original book by Shaun Kitchener, and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole.
The story of Here & Now
The musical is set at the seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her three friends, Vel, Neeta, and Robbie, dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy.
Forget the clean-up on aisle five, as the characters’ love lives need some attention instead! Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…
Complete with banging tunes courtesy of the UK’s most successful mixed-gender band ever, who have 22 million record sales and 500 million streams under their collective belts since they came to fame in 1997, you’d better get in line, 5-6-7-8!
Rebecca Lock as Caz
Leading the band at Better Best Bargains supermarket is the loveable and determined Caz, played by Rebecca Lock, who gave a stand-out performance. Her singing voice was undeniably strong, belting out Steps hit after hit, and not only did her tabard dazzle, but so did she.
Starting as the bubbly character of the group before her world falls apart, Lock shows amazing talent as she must transition from laughing to crying, having a breakdown, to breaking it down on the dancefloor. At the end, she successfully gets everybody to clap their hands, get on up, and dance and stomp all night.
A platinum megamix of emotions
As the main characters on stage (Caz, Vel, Neeta and Robbie) go on a rollercoaster of a journey, the audience (including myself) became invested in the plot with woops, awes, and even boos along the way. I admit, before witnessing this musical, I was not sure how the Steps songs would seamlessly intertwine in the storyline, but Shaun Kitchenor has nailed it.
With heartbreak, excitement, guilt, fear, and love all in one show – not forgetting an amazing and gloriously camp performance of Chain Reaction by River Medway in a glitzy get-up dancing on a washing machine – Here & Now is a platinum megamix of emotions. However, it’s the love amongst this community of people of different ages and walks of life that makes this show so magical.
With colourful flashing lights reminiscent of nightclubs like Pop World or Top of the Pops performances, a nostalgic, jovial soundtrack, and sparkling check-out tabards, the musical offers a dosage of brightness and joy for the here and now. Heartwarming, funny, and with the odd tragedy, it’s a show for all generations to enjoy, despite the band Steps coming to fame in the late ’90s.
My millennial heart is now full
As a ’90s baby, I crave the nostalgia of my youth, escaping to a time when life was less heavy. Watching the musical Here & Now most definitely gave me that escapism.
But the nostalgia did not stop just with the Steps songs. Beady-eyed Steps fans may be able to clock some Steps Easter eggs of sorts on stage – think references to Clare Richards’ ‘Pasta à la Clara’ or a print of Mona Lisa Scott-Lee by Joe Lycett.
The characters (particularly Neeta) also refer to a range of iconic, pop culture “huns” like Alison Hammond, Miriam Margolyes. Jane McDonald and Sonia from EastEnders, all of which add to the humour and silliness of the storyline. Seeing the audience toe-tapping, clapping, swaying, and even bringing out the original dance moves from Steps songs like 5,6,7,8, One For Sorrow, and Better The Devil You Know was a joyous moment.
To top it off, the audience last night (September 4) was blessed with a live performance from none other than Steps on stage with the cast! After watching this musical, I am no longer a deeper shade of blue, but instead, my millennial heart is full.
In an interview, Rebecca Lock summarised the musical perfectly: “I think we all need a show like this at the moment, with high drama, escapism, bright colours, happiness, some silliness and a bit of campery. And of course some banging tunes.”
Featuring baskets of pop bangers, shopping bags filled with drama, and trolleys full of talent, Here & Now musical is one to check out! Here & Now is running at Manchester Opera House until Saturday 13th September, before heading to the likes of Glasgow, Dublin, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, York, and Blackpool, and finishing in Leeds. Tickets start from £15 and you can get yours here. It would be a tragedy to miss out!