Pitchfork

A musical with a mosh pit? A "trashed-up Grease-on-speed"? If that doesn't make you curious about Gabba Gabby Hey!-- the Ramones musical that makes its UK debut on July 31-- well shit, I don't know what will.

Claiming to be the world's first punk rock musical (ok, I guess, but when you think about it, Les Mis is pretty punk rock), Gabba Gabba Hey! incorporates 18 classic Ramones tracks-- including "Beat on the Brat", "Blitzkreig Bop", "I Wanna Be Sedated", "53rd & 3rd", and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"-- into a kind of postmodern, downtown NYC girl-meets-boy storyline. Lucky for the Gabba Gabba Hey! crew, remaining Ramone Tommy lent his approval to the project by contributing music direction for the show and agreeing to make special nightly appearances, while Nick Sheppard (who was in the late-period Clash) leads the house band.

And man, is this show serious about touting its punk rockness! According to GGH! writer/director/producer Michael Hermann, the musical "has a definite edge and attitude" but "is also sweet and lyrical-- not to mention a timely antidote to the recent spate of bloated, over-produced back catalogue shows that are about as rock ‘n' roll as kitty litter!"

The un-kitty litter-like GGH! opened in Perth, Australia in 2004, followed by a run in Berlin, Germany in late 2005, and will now appear at London's Koko Nightclub from July 31 through August 5. Rumors of a forthcoming U.S. premiere are circulating ‘round the web, but have not yet been confirmed.