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Post by theatre on Feb 26, 2024 23:43:32 GMT
Keycomp wasn’t used when this was in town, so I’m not surprised to hear it’s noticeably thinner this time out.
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Post by theatre on Sept 17, 2022 20:47:46 GMT
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Post by theatre on Sept 3, 2022 10:13:22 GMT
The only thing I still don't like is the ending. It just doesn't have the same devastating impact that other productions have had. Completely agree - I saw this last week and thought I’d log on here to see what others made of the ending. For me, it’s not so much the staging but that it just sort of… ends. The fact that the majority of the original Finale number and text have been cut really doesn’t help with the impact - Schultz’s repetition of ‘What am I? A German’ and Sally’s repetition of ‘it’s just politics, what’s that got to do with us’ is in my opinion crucial for giving the piece the kick it needs in those final moments and it’s completely missing here. The original finale, with reprises of different songs in the underscore split up by the the dissonant ensemble singing of ‘Wilkommen’ is so well written that I think it’s a shame this production stepped away from it.
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Post by theatre on May 12, 2022 17:26:40 GMT
Tickets released today for Smile (Howard Ashman and Marvin Hamlisch) and Little Women at Mountview if anyone’s interested - I believe Smile is the UK premiere.
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Post by theatre on Mar 3, 2022 23:19:36 GMT
Try and think of stylistically similar rep, so for Bandstand something jazzy/big band style is a good shout. Something like King Of New York from Newsies springs to mind! Break a leg
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Post by theatre on Jan 31, 2022 21:07:32 GMT
Am watching this stream now and can’t say I’m loving it - I know the show quite well having done it a couple of times and am a huge fan of the NBC Wiz Live recording from a few years ago. For me, the choreo is great and I like the concept but the execution isn’t there for me - the weird mix of accents (particularly Dorothy being RP with her dialogue still maintaining the African American dialect) makes the whole thing seem a bit to amateurish for my taste. The vocals are also lacking somewhat although I do wonder how much is down to the audio mixing for the stream which is a bit all over the place. I’m hoping it’s one of those things that you need to be in the space for - after all, if I wanted a filmed production of the Wiz I should probably stick with the NBC one - you can’t beat the voices of Amber Riley and Queen Latifah! (Probably comes across better due to budget and being designed for filming no doubt).
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Post by theatre on Oct 25, 2021 17:17:30 GMT
Perhaps the logistics of space in the Gillian Lynne is the issue here that is restricting the size of the orchestra? They’re currently on a small-ish platform above SL, so maybe there just isn’t space/availability of an orchestra pit to have a large, lush sounding orchestra with full brass/wind + percussion. I'd be surprised, this will be down to budget only. Cats in the same theatre had a 16-piece.
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Post by theatre on Oct 25, 2021 17:11:03 GMT
So it’s actually pre recorded instruments on the click track as well? That’s such a shame. Doesn’t this put a lot of pressure on the performers to make sure their timings are correct for when they sing? I know when I played in a school pit band when I was younger we used to have to repeat bars again and again whilst there was dialogue and the length of this would vary every show, depending on the performer. We would just get a signal from the conductor when to move on. That can’t work with a click track can it? Or maybe the technology is so advanced that the timing of the click track can change…. Yes, QLab can be set to go around and around a section of music until the spacebar is clicked, so it can work with a live conductor and respond accordingly. The software is great and brilliant for how it can sync up all the elements of a show, it's just a shame that it's being somewhat abused on this show with so much pre-recorded material, instead of just a metronome for live players to play along with!
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Post by theatre on Aug 27, 2021 19:04:46 GMT
One thing that has been on my brain since seeing the show is where I’ve heard the melody/ harmony of the verse of Man’s Man before (‘he was the real Prince Charming, was impossible to dislike him…’) … I can’t think if it’s an older musical/film or what but I definitely know that tune so if anyone has any ideas where it came from that would be great!
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Post by theatre on Aug 27, 2021 8:51:42 GMT
I can simply counter that argument with I found the music memorable and I remember the score in its entirety. Of course you're going to think it's unmemorable if you don't like it. What's wrong with the orchestrations? The repetition argument (which you exaggerate) I dealt with in an earlier post. Also, remembering a song isn't the same thing as a song being memorable. Those are actually two separate things. Play any random song several times and you will probably remember it, sure, but that doesn't mean the song is memorable, nor does it make it any more appealing. You may as well just say you don't like these songs. 'Man's Man' too long? It seems the ideal length to me. This is what I love about theatre, how it is so subjective, and I’m glad the show has found a fan in you! As someone who works in music, it tends to take no time at all for songs and melodies to stay with me which is why I’m always surprised when they do not, as is the case with me on this one. Having said this, I have got the main motif of the opening number in my head this morning so clearly there are some memorable moments. Out of interest, have you listened to the recording either before or since? I haven’t done this so I’m sure that would have some bearing on how much a song would stay with you. As I also alluded to in my post however it’s not the melodies themselves I particularly had a problem with but rather their whole packaging. Orchestration-wise I think the score would have been better served by a larger band, numbers such as Far Too Late would have sounded phenomenal with a larger string section and some live percussion, however as we’ve seen with Phantom recently, large bands aren’t in at the moment. The whole show for me sounded a bit like it was accompanied by a preset rhythm track on a Casio keyboard and for a top budget west end show that doesn’t wash with me.
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Post by theatre on Aug 26, 2021 23:52:40 GMT
Got around to catching this tonight and I’m not quite sure what to make of it all. For me definitely not a 5* rave show as some of the reviews have suggested. I thought Act 2 was stronger than Act 1 but this may be because I’d gotten used to what to expect by this point. My thoughts aren’t anything new I don’t think but here they are nonetheless! Potential spoilers ahead...
Positives: - The revolve really is a wow moment, it received applause as it happened. - CHF and Ivano very good in this, particularly in I Know I Have A Heart and Only You respectively - In fact, all cast were very strong - Some great lighting design moments particularly in the ball and the reception party, and the sound design was crystal clear, didn’t miss a word (although I would have liked to hear more of the live string section over the pre-recorded stuff) - The plot didn’t bother me as much as I feared from reading the board, I thought everything could pretty much be explained or inferred (no excuse for the stepmother/queen’s history subplot being thrown away with ‘nobody cares’ though!)
Negatives: - Tonally this show will give you whiplash. It goes from campy fun to something trying to be sophisticated to adult humour to then really quite menacing at the end of act 1 - the poor 6 year old next to me didn’t quite know what to make of it. I got the vibe watching that if they’d have really committed to one of these it would have been a great show. - Sorry Andy, but your best work this ain’t. I’m struggling to remember the majority of the score now, and the 3 or so big numbers are memorable in part because they’re rammed down your throat ever 5 seconds in a number or reprises. Not a new thing for an ALW show necessarily, but there did seem more filler than usual. Partly I blame the orchestration and lyrics for this (ALW really should get in a proper orchestrator to do his shows and not attempt to fudge it himself). I think with a bigger live orchestra to play with, less reliance on pre-programmed synthesised percussion and some more sophisticated lyric writing the melodies would really be lifted. The content is all there, it’s just not *quite* right. - Some songs were too long, mostly in Act 1 (Man’s Man for example). - The Godmother is wasted as a character, and Charming also felt like he needed more of a comeback song (was this the Sea Witch song that was cut?)
All in all I felt like this could easily lose 20 minutes and be all the better for it. The whole show has the vibe of people writing their first musical and being given an unlimited budget for it, which I would understand if it weren’t for ALW’s involvement. I probably wouldn’t see it again, but I look forward to the inevitable revival production in 10 years when the tone has been fixed and it’s been trimmed down.
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Post by theatre on Aug 4, 2021 10:24:32 GMT
Barbican website now saying this is running until 31st October.
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Post by theatre on Jul 22, 2021 10:30:51 GMT
I wonder if this production will use 'Why Should I wake Up'? It was cut in the Sam Mendes productions. I really like the song and hope it's included. It's seems odd that Cliff only gets 1 verse in Perfectly Marvelous and a few lines at the end, without it. Also, I think It should be moved to Act 1, after Perfectly Marvelous, as a 'morning after' song once Sally moves in. A friend and I disagree on this, he thinks it's dull and slows down the show. I completely agree that Cliff deserves a song, much of the narrative is framed from his point of view and so to have just a few lines here and there doesn’t feel right. Although I must say I do think Why Should I Wake Up is far from my favourite in the score and my preference would be for Cliff to sing Don’t Go from the 1987 revival, which I think is completely gorgeous. In fact, I prefer most of the 1987 score on the whole to what we’ve gotten as of late - the combined version of Sitting Pretty and The Money Song is also a highlight.
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Post by theatre on Jun 26, 2021 21:58:06 GMT
I’ve already said too much 😱😉 As I say, there’s going to be - and has been - some moving around.
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Post by theatre on Jun 26, 2021 21:39:08 GMT
Expect some wiggling/moving to be done on shows that are currently selling/advertised as running come Autumn!
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Post by theatre on Jun 26, 2021 21:25:39 GMT
The new theatre is all sorted with a multi-year contract signed. Expect a reasonably swift turnover after the Lyric run, with just some time being taken to move and retrofit the Lyric set into the venue
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Post by theatre on May 26, 2021 22:26:01 GMT
Ambassadors was my guess too, being that nothing much seems to be happening over there and their website hasn’t been updated since pandemic times hit.
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Post by theatre on May 26, 2021 21:06:05 GMT
What’s the capacity like of the Apollo? From what I’ve heard Six is moving to somewhere smaller than the Lyric but bigger than the Arts, so could fit the bill
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Post by theatre on May 2, 2021 18:52:04 GMT
Not sure if this has been mentioned already but it appears that the cuts on the production are going further than the orchestra and the sets -The wig assistants will now be doubling up as backstage crew to run the production, and are therefore currently having to train in a completely different skillset/craft in order to work on this new version of the production.
Every new piece of information I get about this version of the production sounds more and more like a joke!
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Post by theatre on Feb 21, 2020 21:40:09 GMT
Caught this last night.
All in all a great production that I didn’t think had the same cheap feel as some of Kenwright’s other tours.
For me, the real disappointment of the evening (other than the throwing away of Don’t Tell Mama which I think beats Mein Herr hands down as an introductory number for Sally) was Maybe This Time. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t down to Kara who vocally is strong, however it could be the direction of the number or the placement of the song in the show (I know the earlier version of the show without this included, which I feel flows much better). I think it’s a classic case of putting a song written for the film in the musical just because people want to and are expecting to hear it, and not because it makes the piece better. It really stuck out like a sore thumb to me, and didn’t receive the reception that such a well known piece probably deserves.
As I said, I’m more familiar with the older version of this show and so I missed the likes of Don’t Go, which is I believe one of the most gorgeous Male solos in MT, and also the extended version of Money, but what they did with that song was also impressive so this didn’t impact on my enjoyment of the piece. The ending of this version is particularly powerful - the audience were completely silent for the last 10 or so minutes of the show which is no mean feat in today’s world!
4 stars from me!
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Post by theatre on Oct 3, 2019 12:47:17 GMT
isn't there a racial discrimination sub plot? has that been cut?? The current version of the show has replaced that with a sexual harassment storyline - Sacha is now played by a girl I believe
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Post by theatre on Feb 5, 2019 16:21:52 GMT
An audio of Amber’s Get Out And Stay Out has surfaced on YouTube. I got to say, pleasantly surprised for opening night! I was surprised too, I thought she sounded amazing. Hopefully she’ll be able to sustain singing it through the run - it sounds to me that she’s doing in in the Broadway key (seem to think the tour was lower) - I might have to give this production a look now, having said I wasn’t interested!
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Post by theatre on Feb 5, 2019 16:14:10 GMT
An audio of Amber’s Get Out And Stay Out has surfaced on YouTube. I got to say, pleasantly surprised for opening night!
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Post by theatre on Dec 6, 2018 16:20:14 GMT
What do we reckon to the chances of Cassidy Janson taking over as Jenna once McPhee finishes her run? I think the role would be perfect for her - trying to decide whether to take the mother for Christmas or wait until the summer (it it survives until then!) and as she’s a massive Cassidy fan, plus I believe she was mentioned at some point with regards to this - so many things to consider!
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Post by theatre on Sept 16, 2018 15:04:21 GMT
Saying that it would be interesting for a woman to play that role! I’d also love to see a woman in the role - Carmen Cusack did a great job at Miscast!
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Post by theatre on Jul 13, 2018 13:17:51 GMT
I don’t know at this point if that could be true for some roles, but the offers I know of so far are not members of the Hamburg cast.
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Post by theatre on Jul 13, 2018 11:46:03 GMT
Looks like this show is going ahead, as casting offers are currently being made for the leads.
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Post by theatre on Apr 4, 2018 15:27:08 GMT
That I don’t know I’m afraid - this has come straight from Theatrical Rights Worldwide, who license the show and have simply said rights are again fully restricted in these territories due to an upcoming professional tour.
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Post by theatre on Apr 4, 2018 13:31:59 GMT
Just heard that another UK/IE tour of this is in development - surprising being that the last tour only finished a few months ago!
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Post by theatre on Mar 3, 2018 19:15:01 GMT
I’m in tonight and am incredibly excited - Miss Saigon is my favourite musical of all time and I haven’t seen the show since London 2015 so I can’t wait to see this cast! My first thought is that I’m missing the lush ‘curtain’ that they had at the London production, in which all the pieces separated and flew off in separate directions - for me, it was a tiny thing but I absolutely loved it! Not possible for a touring show of course, and it won’t change the show in any way but isn’t it funny what you notice and what you miss?!
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