Although the Edinburgh Fringe finished last weekend, some of the productions have venues booked beyond it. Oil and Whiskey is one of them. The story is set around Zelda (Juliet Perel) and Teddy (Cornelius Versa) meeting up again after separating.
The musical is the theatre debut for producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Kit Nolan, who is a Nashville-based musician. His Nashville roots are firmly placed and felt through this musical Oil and Whiskey.
Set in a U.S.A bar, two ex lovers meet up again after a few years apart. The scene is set in the bar where Zelda works, although she doesn’t say this to Teddy until later on as she’s embarrassed about her life not turning out as she expected.
Levi Penley plays Zeldas boss the comedic bartender whose happy flying solo and confirms this with his own ‘Lone-star Cowboy’ song. He is a larger than life character and would be an ideal boss as he is caring, fair, and thoughtful. His staff appears to love him.
Zelda and Teddy discover that they broke up over miscommunication and whether or not their relationship moves forward together. Both of them have closure about the past and know what actually happened after Teddy left. Although it’s never clear what he did wrong initially as to why they parted, apart from him moving away to start his music career in another county.
There is obvious chemistry between the cast on stage, with a range of strong solos and banter between the characters. Their friendships are believable, which adds depth to their performance.
It’s a fun production, and with a few edits and tweaks, clarifying the break up is one of them it has the potential to be a polished and rounded musical.
For more information about Oil and Whiskey and other productions across Edinburgh Fringe, please use the link below.
Four Stars.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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