1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Aug 18, 2022 10:55:11 GMT
So glad I caught this again after loving it at Chichester last year. I think the production fitted CFTs stage better, and worked more fluidly, than at SW but other than that I think it has improved if anything with the cast deepening their roles. Houchen is very good as Cable; his You’ve got to be Carefully Taught was really good but I was disappointed by Younger Than Springtime - he chops up the legato line of this exquisite song and lacks the breath control to do it justice. The gold standard for this song is Mandy Patinkin from the complete musical recording. But really the reason for seeing this production is Beck and Ovenden. Everything Gina does is wonderful but she really comes into her own in I’m in love with a Wonderful Guy. This really is one of the great music theatre songs. Rodgers almost squanders three cracking themes in the verse before he even gets to his stonking Big Tune (hell ALW would mine this amount of material for a complete musical.) She delivers it with huge panache, alert to all the changing subtleties of tone and mood from the defiant, minor key opening to the exuberant major key conclusion.
And then there’s Julian…
what can I say - the guy’s sensational. I first experienced him live at the John Wilson Prom singing Rodgers and Hammerstein and I was hugely impressed but I just think he’s got better and better. His Some Enchanted Evening sets the bar at the start with a gorgeous falsetto at the end but later in act two he gives it full throated wellie at the conclusion. Julian is described as a tenor (which he is) but hell, he also has a magnificent bottom end* which he shows off at the start of This Nearly Was Mine. Musical theatre singing doesn’t get any better than this. He builds the song wonderfully with a change of mood, and tempo for the minor key section and then a frisson-making sotto voce for the return of the main tune with maximum oompah and breath control for the final note where he went right up to the mediant (which I don’t think he did at Chichester.)
*We fortunate ones who saw him in My Night with Reg may read extra meaning into this.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Aug 18, 2022 9:56:21 GMT
For the next three evening performances there are some tickets for £15 + £3.50 booking fee. These are the stall back row and side slips, circle slips and most of the upper circle. Use this link and scroll down to the South Pacific entry. sobus.org.uk/2022/08/The stalls side slips look to be a particularly good bargain. I hope so - I have just bought one. Also some great TodayTix offers. Got a £90 mid stalls seat for yesterday’s matinee for £25.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Aug 18, 2022 9:43:56 GMT
Another rave from me - loved it. I found it just as funny as One Man Two Governors. Nice to see The Nash splash some cash on a tip top set and at last we have a production that fills the problematic Olivier space not just well but with total confidence. Kelvin was good but the guy has no comic timing and he was shown up a bit by everyone else who were just fizzing. I also loved how the play develops at the very end - it totally worked for me and the writing and acting changed gear very effectively and skilfully at that point.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 31, 2022 12:22:11 GMT
Folk is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time and, like Big Big Sky, more evidence that Hampstead’s best, most engaging productions are Downstairs. The production (simple but so effective) and performances were spot on. The story of ‘simple’ folk gaining wider national exposure for an artistic endeavour reminded me of Pitmen Painters - one of my absolute favourite plays of the last 20 years - and the arc of the play had a similar satisfying and moving effect. Pitmen Painters was a play that started off small but then, quite rightly, grew hugely in its exposure and this deserves a comparable future.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 30, 2022 17:39:11 GMT
Yep - another fan of The Great here. Great surreal humour and fab production values.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 30, 2022 17:35:18 GMT
I expected to enjoy this much more than I did. Agree that Sam Troughton was the stand out but then he has the best lines. I don’t think the play has aged well and frankly all the characters were deeply annoying and I didn’t really have any empathy for any of them. I found the musicians* and ‘extras’ on stage distracting and pointless.
*some lovely clarinet playing at the end.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 26, 2022 11:54:38 GMT
Yes I was in row G (£10) seat. It's just the usual thing of the pillar but I didn't find it off putting. For the money it's an absolute bargain.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 26, 2022 8:29:57 GMT
It’s always a great pleasure to visit The Watermill - definitely the most idyllic theatre in Britain and run by such lovely, friendly staff. I’ve seen virtually all their summer musicals for the last 10 years and I’m waffling a bit because I’m not sure what to make of this. (I wonder if ALW will attend considering he lives only 6 miles away?)
I’m also not the best person to offer an opinion on this as I’m still searching for a Lloyd Webber musical that I can really enjoy. This was in with more of a chance since it has fair bits of spoken dialogue and I find him at his most indigestible when he does his more usual through-composed shtick. Anyway I found it all a bit meh. I’m not a fan of the actor-musician presentation but The Watermill normally do this rather well. Their version of A Little Night Music, which really does call for instrumental sophistication, was truly excellent but this was just OK. The low point was some poor intonation on the cello played by Toby Webster as the sheriff - it’s also a most inconvenient instrument from an actor-musician point of view. The best thing about this were the two leads: Robert Tripolino as The Man and Lydia White as Swallow were both excellent with beautiful expressive voices. Less good were the children - very ‘school production,’ the general casting of the older characters who looked almost the same age as the youngsters and the final immolation which was pretty feeble.
The thing that disappointed me most though was the score. It’s just so bland. Lloyd Webber’s music is always predictable. At least we are spared his sub-operatic, Pucciniesque pretensions, but does every song always have to do what you expect it to? No Matter What does work better in context than the ghastly Boyzone version but it’s still a banal song (and is reprised too often.)
Running time 2hrs 10 mins
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 25, 2022 7:33:21 GMT
This is a two-hander and a little similar to Cock in that the two characters are just called A and B. Apparently Bartlett didn’t specify the gender of either character but previously it’s been played by a male and female actor - this version is played by two women. I felt this skewered it a little too much and didn’t make it as motivationally convincing as Bartlett intended. However, the performances were excellent - Lauren Drennan and Helen Ramsay - the latter particularly impressive in her professional debut.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as Cock, which I saw at Chichester rather than the starrier WE version. The play explores the nature, and ultimately the fraying of, friendship; but both characters, particularly A, were so unlikeable that by the end I really didn’t give a toss what happened.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 25, 2022 7:09:28 GMT
I was totally absorbed by this - unlike The Lehman Trilogy which I hated. Fantastic performances and stylish design and for me a return to form for The Almeida whose previous recent offerings have left me cold.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 19, 2022 16:03:38 GMT
The success of this play still baffles me. I saw it on the original Lyttleton run and found it an interminable bore. Totally agree - a yawnfest from beginning to end.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 17, 2022 6:07:46 GMT
Fantastic news - I’ll have a chrysanthemum tea to celebrate.
Incidentally if you activate the ‘translate’ for the link you get some hilarious examples:
Fiddler on the Roof - Playing Violin on the Roof
Merrily we Roll Along - Merry Wee Roll Along
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 17, 2022 5:55:46 GMT
Yesterday’s Summer Performance was as fabulous as always. Very definitely my favourite event in the whole ROH year (that includes both opera and ballet.) As always an amazing display of breadth of achievement and talent on display in many differing styles of dance. What a great idea to start with the (these days) the rarely performed Raymonda Act III; in this we got to witness an absolute star in Takumi Myake - he was technically gob smacking and just owned the stage in a way that only an experienced professional principle dancer usually does.
My other favourite was Yonderling; a funny and very touching ballet to the music of Stephen Foster - again full of charismatic performances. Message to Kevin O’ Hare: please put this in the RB repertoire asap.
Also it was great to see this attended by the the ballet greats of yore: Carlos Acosta, Darcey Bussell and Wayne Sleep.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jul 15, 2022 19:38:23 GMT
I’m going to tomorrow’s prom conducted by John Wilson. I think he’s rather unfairly pigeon holed prom-wise as a broadway/film/classic musicals conductor when he’s very versatile and a superb classical exponent. Tomorrow he’s conducting Vaughan Williams and Elgar etc. and I’m very much looking forward to it (apart from the heat.)
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 19, 2022 21:34:31 GMT
From 'An Audience with...'
All these celebrities have flocked here this evening - I know that Maidenhead and Barnes are like ghost towns.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 19, 2022 19:13:52 GMT
Also the Arcola, The Union, Royal Opera House, Sadlers Wells, Royal Festival Hall and BFI.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 19, 2022 19:06:43 GMT
It was always possible to have a drink/snack/meal at The Bridge without seeing a performance but maybe things have changed post covid.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 18, 2022 16:36:15 GMT
It’s cold here in London - the change since this morning is huge.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 7, 2022 9:42:25 GMT
I went to see this new ballet by Christopher Wheeldon last night, based on the novel of the same name, and very much enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed Wheeldon's previous full length ballet, A Winter's Tale, which I have seen several times and this shared similar strengths, not least of which is telling a complex story clearly and effectively in ballet terms. I actually think his ballet version of 'Tale' is clearer than Shakespeare's which is no mean achievement. Some online comments have complained that there is too much exposition and not enough dance in Like Water for Chocolate but I didn't think this - it's a complex story and I think he gets the balance right. I saw Akane Takada and Alexander Campbell as the two frustrated lovers and they were wonderful with a particularly powerful ending that almost reached Macmillan-like intensity. Incidentally it was good to see Alexander dancing; he's one of my favourite principals but is seriously underused.
It's a great show with evocative sets by the brilliant Bob Crowley and quite a spectacular ending. I also loved the score by Joby Talbot. It has influences of Ravel, Piazolla and even Jobim; all very evocatively and subtly orchestrated.
It was great to see a number of current and previous members of The Royal Ballet in the audience: Francesca Hayward, Edward Watson, Federico Bonelli and his wife Hikaru Kobayashi.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Jun 4, 2022 8:33:42 GMT
Well I didn't really enjoy the production, although by the standards of Richard Jones it was OK but I tire of his garish, cartoonish approach to everything. Also the ending was beyond belief pathetic with just a feeble hint at the roof caving in.
Musically things were much better. It was a shame we didn't get to see the charismatic Nicky Spence as Samson because that was exactly what Seok Jong Baek lacked. However, I have been spoilt in this area since the first time I saw this opera was in 1981 with an absolutely incandescent Jon Vickers and no one has come close since. Edina Garancia was much better as Dalia - she gave a beautiful, sensuous performance of 'Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta viox' and what a fabulous aria (duet actually since Samson joins in near the end with some lovely counterpoint) it is. Pappano brought out the chromatic woodwind arabesques to perfection here. In fact he really seemed to enjoy conducting the score, characterising the very attractive dance and orchestral interludes beautifully.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on May 11, 2022 8:57:42 GMT
Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on May 5, 2022 9:50:55 GMT
Jay Rayner at The Barbican seeing Joe Stilgoe.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Apr 23, 2022 18:05:03 GMT
I was disappointed when I saw today's matinee. The sound was all over the place, hitting the mark 50% of the time but underpowered in spoken dialogue and musical numbers for the rest of the time. The biggest let down was Matteo Johnson as Frankie Valli. Acting and movement was fine but vocally he was distinctly lacking. His voice was only OK when he hits the extreme falsetto notes characteristic of Frankie. Lower falsetto and more usual male pitch notes were almost nonexistent. I don't know whether this was just exacerbated by the poor sound, or whether he was having an off day or this was just his usual standard.
One plus. point - the audience was impeccably behaved.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Apr 16, 2022 15:37:52 GMT
Can't comment on ENO public dress rehearsals cartoonman but I would think they are similar to the ones at ROH to which I have been to around a hundred. Basically they're excellent; the same as a normal performance except the orchestra (and often the conductor) are in jeans and a T shirt. An announcement is sometimes made that singers might be 'marking' their parts but I've always found them giving it full welly.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Apr 15, 2022 10:11:04 GMT
It's a yawn from me. Only interested in Die Tote Stadt.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Mar 29, 2022 13:00:27 GMT
...and it is the nicest, prettiest theatre in Britain.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Mar 19, 2022 18:48:36 GMT
Despite Imogen Stubbs being off with Covid this was terrifically well played this afternoon. I never saw the original London run so have nothing to compare with but the audience were loving this today. Really tightly played for a preview. I was particularly impressed by Eric Underwood whom I have seen several times at the Royal Ballet but never in an acting role (is this his first?) Anyway he more than held his own and I look forward to seeing him in other acting roles (he's also incredibly handsome.)
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Mar 6, 2022 13:09:22 GMT
Could be mistaken but thought I saw Daniel Evans on the front row of The Donmar for Henry V last night.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Feb 14, 2022 8:27:34 GMT
Definitely still a play with songs - but I found the musical quality high; sufficient to show up some recent musicals I've seen.
|
|
1,316 posts
|
Post by tmesis on Feb 13, 2022 13:04:12 GMT
I decided to re-read Wuthering Heights again last year and I didn't enjoy it much. When I first read it in my twenties I found it spellbinding but now I'm an old git I found much of it tiresome. Maybe, for that reason, I enjoyed Emma Rice's production greatly as it's a pretty irreverent affair - although I still think done with love.
The novel if famously dense and confusing regarding who's related to who and she clarifies and finds much humour in this. My heart sank at the start because, within around five minutes she used three of my least favourite theatrical cliches: cast sat on chairs round the edge of the stage, puppets and a step ladder, but the whole thing is done with such exuberance and drive that the (nearly) three hours flies by.
Quite a large number of great songs too of a quality higher than most fully-fledged musicals I've seen recently.
|
|