It was one of the most memorable, and ridiculous, celebrity court cases of all time – retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow, accusing her of knocking him over on the ski slopes, which prompted the Oscar winner to countersue for one dollar.
Gwyneth won, whispered “I wish you well” in Terry’s ear as she left the court room, and prompted thousands of memes capturing the surreal moment.
A new musical, I Wish You Well, which is choreographed by Arlene Phillips, directed by Hamilton’s West End director Shiv Rabheru, and stars former X Factor contestant and musical theatre actor Diana Vickers as Gwyneth, has its world premiere in Edinburgh next month.
But there is another Gwyneth musical also coming to Edinburgh. Gwyneth Goes Skiing has already enjoyed sell-out runs in London and Utah – the location of the trial – where members of Gwyneth’s and Terry’s legal teams were in the audience.
Here, we interview the stars of both productions to find out if Edinburgh is big enough for two musicals about the Oscar-winning, candle-making, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar.
Gwyneth Goes Skiing
The creation of Gwyneth Goes Skiing has been a surreal experience for Joseph Martin and Linus Karp from the moment they announced the idea.
“We put out a press release, which was picked up by The Times, then Variety wrote about it, and from there it snowballed – TMZ, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Deadline,” recalled Joseph. “We’d never experienced anything like that before. At that point the show technically didn’t quite exist yet. It was in the process of being written.”
After a sold-out Christmas run in London, there was an opportunity to take the show to Park City, Utah, where the civil trial played out over eight days in March 2023.
“Utah was the most bizarre and wonderful two weeks of our lives,” Joseph smiled.
“Everyone was so keen to have us there and everyone had their own story about it, whether they were directly involved in the trial or not.”
Linus said: “We thought it would be fun if someone involved in the trial came to see it – and it felt like almost everyone involved came along. Jurors and witnesses and lawyers from both sides were there.
“We were hanging out with Gwyneth’s lawyers and chatting to them about everything that happened, and the same with Terry’s lawyers. People were so positive. One of the lawyers said the show was 99.9% accurate.
“Our show is very fantastical – we didn’t go for accuracy most of the time, so it was funny to hear them say that.”
The duo have been told Gwyneth is aware of their show.
“We know she knows about it,” Joe said. “Her lawyers bought her a ticket and invited her along, but she didn’t show up on that occasion. She was asked in an interview recently and she sort of confirmed she knew about it but hasn’t commented beyond that – which we wouldn’t expect her to do. She is more than welcome to come along.”
As well as writing the show, the pair also take the lead roles – Linus is Gwyneth and Joseph is Terry.
Joseph said: “We both watched the trial footage extensively. There’s a lot outside of the trial for Linus to delve into as Gwyneth, but I only had the court footage for Terry. That gave us artistic licence to create more of a characterisation of him, who I play as a belligerent old man.”
Linus added: “I’m a Swedish man, so I’m never going to be exactly like Gwyneth. I was nervous performing in Utah, in case my American accent was shaky. And clearly I’m not a woman.
“We had people involved in the trial see it and afterwards they told me I looked just like her when I was up on stage. It was the biggest compliment I could ever receive!”
Drag icon Trixie Mattel joins the cast digitally as Gwyneth’s mum, Blythe Danner, while Emmy and Golden Globe winner Darren Criss provides the singing voice of Terry and Edinburgh-based comedian and singer Cat Cohen provides Gwyneth’s vocals. Some of the music is written by Leland from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
But how do Joseph and Linus feel about a rival Gwyneth musical being in Edinburgh?
“We don’t own an idea and it’s not the first time in the world when more than one show has happened with the same idea,” Joe commented. “We have our one to focus on and they have theirs.”
Gwyneth Goes Skiing, Pleasance Courtyard – Forth, July 31-Aug 26 (except 5, 12, 19)
© AP‘She’s been a bit of a pin-up person for me’
Diana Vickers was obsessed by Gwyneth’s 2016 trial so, when she was given the chance to recreate the moment in a new stage musical, she jumped at the opportunity.
“She’s an A-lister, an Oscar winner, she’s from a really privileged background, and now she’s also known for doing all these ridiculous things, like her Goop brand,” Diana smiled.
“To see her in that setting, she obviously felt she was above it all and her face seemed to say, ‘Why the hell am I here?’ It was all so ridiculous and great comedy value, but she handled it so well. I’ve been watching the trial again for research, and there’s things like Terry’s lawyer acting like a total fangirl when he’s questioning her, asking about the most obscure things, and you can see her wondering if it’s a farce.
“I think we’re fascinated by these trials in the UK, things like Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, because we don’t get them over here and so we become fixated.”
© SuppliedDiana, a semi-finalist on The X Factor in 2008 before becoming a West End star, is looking forward to inhabiting the Shakespeare In Love actor for a month.
“I think she’s an icon, so I’m really excited about it. I’ve watched nearly all her movies and I think she’s been a bit of a pin-up person for me. She’s so gorgeous, likeable and brilliant, so it’s a really cool thing to be doing.”
And she believes Gwyneth would approve of the production.
“I have a friend who works with her, and I think she knows. I don’t believe she’ll comment on it publicly, but I’ve heard she finds it funny.”
I Wish You Well is choreographed by Strictly legend and 2024 Olivier winner Arlene Phillips, produced by Paul Taylor-Mills, who was behind Heathers The Musical in the West End, and directed by Shiv Rabheru, the resident director of the London version of Hamilton.
“All the right ingredients are there to make something really brilliant, but it also brings pressure,” Diana said. “There’s a lot of eyes on us. A lot of articles are predicting it’s going to be a hit at the Fringe. I guess it’s because they’re seeing all these incredible people coming together and it feels an honour to be part of that.”
Diana appeared at the Fringe two years ago, with her comedy duo Ki and Dee. She’s looking forward to coming back to embrace the Fringe spirit.
“I packed the tiniest shorts the last time and I was absolutely freezing for the entire month! I never went to uni, so I felt like that was my uni experience. I’m going to be staying in a uni dorm room for a month. Bring it on – I’m going to eat Super Noodles and embrace it all!
“I think there’s enough room for both shows. I’ll go and see their show. I just think, spread the joy.”
I Wish You Well, Udderbelly – Underbelly George Square, Aug 3-26 (except 12)
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