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Post by anthony on Aug 23, 2023 1:04:26 GMT
So Norm lost his place mid way through Til I Hear You Sing and he just walked around the stage saying “sing, sing”, I guess trying to find his place again… lasted about 20 seconds. Norm’s diction is horrendous. Beauty Underneath is 100% pre-recorded. His mic came back on mid-gasp. Sally Dexter’s French accent is life. I thought it was pre recorded too. For Musos on here two questions. How does that work with an orchestra on stage. Why would they do that? It didn’t seem the most taxing of songs? It's quicker paced than other songs and unfortunately, Norm's diction was horrendous. I imagine that played a major part in it - he was clearly already struggling to remember the lyrics of the piece as a whole (he missed maybe 4-5 lyrics in the matinee, but he got them all in the evening - he just missed other lyrics instead...!) Have to admit, I am sort of surprised seeing the positive comments about tonight's performance... Maybe it's because I know the show reasonably well and can probably sing the entire album word-for-word that I noticed things, maybe? In the second act, Norm flubbed every single time he was on stage. I still enjoyed it, but I don't think we should be giving allowances for forgotten lyrics - he (and Sally dexter!) have had months to learn the script prior to rehearsals... Obviously Celinde was wonderful but I actually think Courtney Stapleton stole the show?!?! Just wow! Genuinely fabulous.
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Post by anthony on Aug 23, 2023 0:57:10 GMT
Desperate for attention. Being honest, I still don't understand the controversy. Nosey front of house staff abused their position to discover that ticket sales were no longer to the extent of the run, spread rumours, and outspoken and unprofessional actors decided to act like petulant children, forcing RUG to make a statement on a bank holiday (for them then to complain about a statement being made on a bank holiday, when they practically held RUG to ransom with crappy Instagram lives...). If everyone actually just takes a step back, they'd see that there really isn't any controversy here at all. Quite clearly the plan was not to release a rushed statement on a bank holiday, but they were left with little choice. Anyway, thread is here: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/6635/alws-cinderella?page=201
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 21:31:42 GMT
So I spoke too soon about Norm. The Lord made a grand entrance just prior to the start of act 2, which led to a lot of applause. I can only assume this made Norm nervous because if there is a Guiness World Record for most amount of flubs in a show, he would win it.
My favourites were “bring the vixen back safe and… no… BRING HER HERE” And “Every …. UGH… and every hope rests on you now”. (Not even prayer!)
I understand the lack of rehearsal time. But he’s been cast for months - it is no excuse not to learn lines - especially when some of the lines are from Phantom and not even LND!
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 19:42:25 GMT
Norm is amazing so far - other than starting slightly early for Beneath a Moonless Sky and having to slow down. Sally Dexter forgot her lyrics during Dear Old Friend.
Someone in the royal circle farted very loudly just after Beauty Underneath and all of the circle was giggling for the remainder of act 1… obviously.
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 17:00:07 GMT
So Norm lost his place mid way through Til I Hear You Sing and he just walked around the stage saying “sing, sing”, I guess trying to find his place again… lasted about 20 seconds. Norm’s diction is horrendous. Beauty Underneath is 100% pre-recorded. His mic came back on mid-gasp. Sally Dexter’s French accent is life. Longest 20 seconds of his life and mine… I was anxious FOR him! 😂 It did feel like it was forever! It was so random, though because he was literally singing "till I hear you..." then silence.
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 16:45:34 GMT
Well. Phantom’s in it’s third year since reopening with (still) one of the largest orchestras of a sit down West End musical. And is close to sold out most nights. I guess when Rebecca’s in its third year we can compare the relative merits of their business models. (I rather suspect Rebecca isn’t gonna make a profit IDK 🤷🏻♂️). Which really proves the point that it never needed to substantially decrease it's orchestra. It recouped years decades ago, way before I was even born and is constantly selling out each night. Phantom is the last show on the West End that needs to worry about making money. BTW Lion King has 17 musicals, still the same number from when it first opened. Wicked has 17 as well I believe. To be fair, it's only in the last few months that Phantom ticket sales have increased so much - genuinely was looking like closing notices would be imminent around 6 months ago... Performing at literally around 60% capacity...
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 16:01:23 GMT
God that was beautiful. The ending is still bad (I don’t mind Christine dying or the way it happens, it’s the way it’s done on stage that I hate).
Looking forward to going back this evening!
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 14:37:46 GMT
So Norm lost his place mid way through Til I Hear You Sing and he just walked around the stage saying “sing, sing”, I guess trying to find his place again… lasted about 20 seconds.
Norm’s diction is horrendous. Beauty Underneath is 100% pre-recorded. His mic came back on mid-gasp.
Sally Dexter’s French accent is life.
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 12:54:57 GMT
Has the Coliseum staff gone completely mad though? £40 for a BALCONY SEAT? The turnaround has been amazing for this show. 2 months ago they were practically giving tickets anyway - literally "premium seats" for £10 in an effort to get people in seats. Personally, I'd never use the roulette feature on TodayTix. Seems a complete rip-off on all accounts.
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 12:50:16 GMT
Actually think I might have liked this a bit more than I initially thought. Spent this morning watching the Japanese proshot on YouTube (with subtitles!) and it's actually pretty great.
I don't know why they're saying it's a concert, though. The set for the Palladium is literally more of a set than the actual Japanese run had... It really isn't a concert; it's a fully fledged production.
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 12:49:02 GMT
Just walked past the theatre (stopping for coffee first!) and there were so many children dressed up as Phantom.
So excited for this. I went to the first ever public performance of Love Never Dies and then saw it again with Tam Mutu as Phantom (who was by far the superior Phantom!)
I hope this sees life after this...
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 8:19:36 GMT
Looking forward to seeing this twice today!
Can anyone confirm if the only merch is the programme? & which version of Beauty Underneath did they use? Out of everything in the Australian version, the slowed down version of Beauty Underneath is the one thing I really dislike - think the original was significantly better!
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 22:29:52 GMT
Saying this is a concert does it a complete disservice. It’s practically fully staged - full set, costumes, choreography. Can’t saying I’m loving it too much - I appreciate the songs but the sound quality is so bad that it’s hard to follow (No real idea of the plot). Adam Pascal is pretty great. Knowing the original made this easier but the sound operation was absolutely naff. Don’t really understand the point of staging, blocking and choreographing so much if the audience can’t hear a show properly due to poor sound. I expect there’ll be improvements tomorrow after some harsh words by producers / directors. Yes, the sound issues were borderline embarrassing. By the time we got to the second act, I heard audible moans at points. Overall, I did really enjoy it. I love Wildhorn, so I was probably going to love it anyway - a lot of the melodies are ripped from Rudolf and Monte Cristo. The fans were crazy, though. The merchandise queue was shocking - spiralled all the way back past the bar. I imagine there won't be any programmes left come tomorrow evening, it was honestly wild. People were buying 3-4 programmes each (I guess for their friends/fans of the anime?) I thought Dean John-Wilson was great. Obviously a lot of people were negative about him on the previous page. I'd never heard of him, or seem him before, but I thought his L was wonderful. Captivating, even. The woman behind me, however. Clearly a huge fan of the show. Bent forward the whole time - I could sometimes feel her breath on my neck. Her breath was shocking... never encountered a situation like that, so just suffered in silence...
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 19:39:18 GMT
Saying this is a concert does it a complete disservice. It’s practically fully staged - full set, costumes, choreography.
Can’t saying I’m loving it too much - I appreciate the songs but the sound quality is so bad that it’s hard to follow (No real idea of the plot). Adam Pascal is pretty great.
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 18:12:16 GMT
It is like a sauna in here. I am dying.
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 13:28:37 GMT
The translation has me *very* nervous. It genuinely feels like they've just translated the German lyrics and then tried to shove them in like-for-like and a lot of the time it doesn't work. You can see it a bit in Help Me Face the Night, but it's awful here. "the windows should be opened every now and then" "I will not use stationary from someone who is dead and gone" (What a line!) "It's handy to have the writing paper and the envelopes" It just sounds... childish? I don't think it's too bad! I am probably the wrong person to get into lyrics analysis with though, I confess. Whilst I do like clever lyrics I also genuinely like camp and cheesy as well and am amused by much that others really don't feel. (I genuinely liked the Bad Cinderella lyrics). But yes you're right. My German isn't great (can't speak it at all bit can often follow/get the gist and can hear where words start/end) but it does sound like a pretty direct translation. In Vienna I followed along via the English subtitles and certainly did find them cheesy/camp. It's poss where I got the idea that that was part of what this show served as my Austrian friends certainly don't view it as camp (though come on - Willemijn's Danvers?!?! - maybe it's my gay Britishness but could not have been more camp lol). Anyway there we are. Wasn't a lot of the criticism of the Broadway production that never made it that people that heard the bootlegs etc didn't like the lyrics? I don't think this production would live or die on lyrics though - suspect there's a long list the GBP would have not to buy tickets to this that wouldn't get as far as the libretto. I guess it could affect repeat visits from die hard fans - a teeny proportion of the grosses. I guess semantically words probably have different weightings/understandings in German. Personally, I think that they need to be moving as far away from camp as possible with the show - we saw the damage it did with Dance of the Vampires (although that is extreme - they thought the lyrics were camp so upped it by 1000%) I don't think the British public are nuanced enough to appreciate this if it comes across as camp at all. Look at Aspects of Love - many genuinely didn't seem the get that the show itself is serious but some bits are genuinely funny (if you look back at the thread just after it opened, many were critically because they thought the audience were laughing because it was bad, or awkward, not because it was genuinely meant to be funny at that moment, but then serious moments later!) Agree with voices - Lauren Jones is wonderful! Haven't heard enough for Kara Lane, but she was Alice in Addams Family, which is vocally the most demanding role in that show, so I'm sure she'll be great. Edit: was wrong about Kara's age - seems that she just shoves '90' on the end of everything - assumed it was reference to birth year!
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 12:41:49 GMT
"Mrs de Winter bin ich" (or Mrs de Winter is here!) has just been released: This is actually one of my favourite songs from the show. It feels really slow and the translation a little bit clunky. Interesting the title is "Mrs de Winter is here" when I actually sings "Mrs de Winter is me". It's somewhat of an odd decision to release this song, to be honest. They should have went with either She's Invincible or Rebecca - genuinely think those two would have sparked some interest. My boyfriend: "It sounds like one of those YouTube songs that has been put through Google translate 10 times before being translated back to English". Oh I dunno, funnily enough this is my fave song from the show. The camp was off the charts in Vienna and on both the CDs from there! But yes I do think you're right that it might have limited appeal and is perhaps not a stand alone banger for advertising purposes. Also given how much they've been banging on about the orchestra, wonder if it might have been an idea to wait until sitzprobe to be releasing song vids. Guess they wanna generate interest/an advance now. It's a hard sell. Glorious though this musical is to me, it couldn't be further from the trend in musicals in the UK in 2023. (Sadly). The translation has me *very* nervous. It genuinely feels like they've just translated the German lyrics and then tried to shove them in like-for-like and a lot of the time it doesn't work. You can see it a bit in Help Me Face the Night, but it's awful here. "the windows should be opened every now and then" "I will not use stationary from someone who is dead and gone" (What a line!) "It's handy to have the writing paper and the envelopes" "Mrs de Winter acquired it in the auction house" It just sounds... childish?
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Post by anthony on Aug 21, 2023 12:11:28 GMT
"Mrs de Winter bin ich" (or Mrs de Winter is here!) has just been released:
This is actually one of my favourite songs from the show. It feels really slow and the translation a little bit clunky. Interesting the title is "Mrs de Winter is here" when I actually sings "Mrs de Winter is me". It's somewhat of an odd decision to release this song, to be honest. They should have went with either She's Invincible or Rebecca - genuinely think those two would have sparked some interest.
My boyfriend: "It sounds like one of those YouTube songs that has been put through Google translate 10 times before being translated back to English".
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 21:25:21 GMT
Perfect final performance. Everyone was amazing - Seeing is Believing was honestly electric.
Really lovely touch having all of the swings and young Jenny’s in the ensemble. The ensemble was huge as a result, but it was just wonderful. Everyone got to perform tonight - actually think this should be the norm for final performances! Perfect send off!
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 15:26:55 GMT
Busy few days!
Tonight: Aspects of Love Monday: Death Note Tuesday: Love Never Dies x 2 (matinee and evening!)
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 13:48:43 GMT
Seems another round of illness is doing its round in the company. This evening's performance will borrow Adam Robert Lewis from Les Mis (currently playing Courfreyrac) to play Phantom - a role he understudied 4 years ago. Today Adam Robert Lewis will play The Phantom during today's Matinee, before going back over to the Sondheim to play Javert this evening! Adam was scheduled to play Javert during the Les Mis matinee today, so if anyone is there, you might be getting 2nd u/s Javert (or an emergency cover?) which is also really exciting! Looks like Adam Robert Lewis will now play both performances - contradicts what was earlier confirmed, but Phantom's official channels have just posted that he will perform in both performances today.
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 13:01:46 GMT
Seems another round of illness is doing its round in the company. This evening's performance will borrow Adam Robert Lewis from Les Mis (currently playing Courfreyrac) to play Phantom - a role he understudied 4 years ago. Today Adam Robert Lewis will play The Phantom during today's Matinee, before going back over to the Sondheim to play Javert this evening! Adam was scheduled to play Javert during the Les Mis matinee today, so if anyone is there, you might be getting 2nd u/s Javert (or an emergency cover?) which is also really exciting!
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 13:00:57 GMT
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Post by anthony on Aug 19, 2023 11:29:36 GMT
Booked tickets for this evening. 4th time. It's sad this wasn't more successful. I genuinely don't really understand quite a bit of the criticism this receives.
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Post by anthony on Aug 16, 2023 22:00:27 GMT
English version of Jenseits der Nacht has been released! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Some interesting translating choices "abandoned spirits" from Ich sounding particularly odd, but it sounds sooo good overall. omg.
I listened to the song fist & then looked up whereabouts it comes in the show. I was surprised to find it comes almost at the end, as from the lyrics I had thought it would be from early in their marriage. Still, it has made my interest in seeing the show go from very low to possible. It also makes me feel old as I think of Maxim de Winter as being middle aged (this is prpobably influenced by having seen a play version with Nigel Havers in 2005 when he would have been mid 50s) & Richard Carson looks fairly young.
To be fair, the translation confused me a little bit too. The German version is sung in past tense - Maxim *was* looking into the abyss; he *was* afraid because of the "invisible shadows". In the song he questions what would have happened to him if he didn't find I. The song is about what happens next - Janseits der Nacht translates to 'beyond the night' and the lyrics are about forgetting and it uses the metaphor of "waking up". The song comes after "Mrs de Winter, bin ich" (I am Mrs de Winter), which is Ich standing up to Danvers, so I's part of the song doesn't really fit - she's already found that resolve at this point in the show. It does make it wonder if, for the English production, they've moved it. Otherwise, the translation just isn't clear enough: "show me what love can do" < it has already happened. Maxim is free, he's been honest with I already. I guess the English translation is in past tense, but it is confusing nonetheless.
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Post by anthony on Aug 16, 2023 19:08:00 GMT
Also don't think anyone is being harsh towards Kunze? At all, actually. Oh, I'm happy to be harsh on Kunze myself Just felt the phrasing of him being "cut throat" and that he "wouldn't try again" (if this fails) warranted a bit of explaining why I can perfectly understand his attitude after all the disappointments. I think "Elisabeth" missed its chance in the 90s, when Princess Diana was still alive (or in the first years after her death when she was still massively beloved) since it could have played on their similarities to make Elisabeth's story more interesting for a British audience. These days I don't think it stands a chance anymore compared to the current approach of turning any kind of historical figure into either a rapper or a sassy YASSS QUEEEN!! type. Mozart can go die in a fire, it was really just a bottom-drawer recycling of the tunes they didn't use for Elisabeth. That said, I've been saying for years, someone should put on a season of foreign shows to showcase them - Elisabeth and/or Rebecca from Austria, one of the French spectacles, one of the original East Asian shows, and so on. PS: Not sure where you live, Anthony, but if you're keen on seeing Elisabeth, there's a new production being planned in the Netherlands next season. PPS: I doubt Rebecca will be able to recoup. People are SO used to the Charing X Theatre discounting, many are probably waiting for that. Me included Ooh, nice re: Elisabeth. I've been waiting for a proper performance for years. I don't fancy seeing the concert version (which I believe is eventually being put to rest now!). Might have to make a trip - just had a look and it doesn't look like anything has been released yet? A foreign language showcase could work, I think. Notre Dame de Paris is having a very successful world tour, so the language issue doesn't seem to put people off. We could have some Takarazuka, even! That would be immense.
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Post by anthony on Aug 16, 2023 19:06:24 GMT
I really hope this has new orchestrations. I feel the dated soft rock/pop style (snare drum beat in the chorus of the above song, for instance) really won’t go down too well over here. It needs to sound lush, orchestral and a bit more trad. it will be the same I imagine based on VBW having their logo all over every poster I would guess the entire show (apart from design and direction) will be copy paste. I imagine you're right -Janseits der Nacht was one of the songs that was performed publicly from the cancelled Broadway production and that had amended orchestrations and it had a different layout to the song - Ich sang first. The video we got yesterday reverts back to how it's been done in the German-language productions, with having Maxim start. So certainly implies it'll be cut and paste - not that that is a bad thing, in my opinion.
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Post by anthony on Aug 16, 2023 11:34:04 GMT
I watched an interview with Kunze last night where he is very cut throat about an English language production - if Charing Cross doesn't work, he won't try again... and he isn't even sure about doing an English language version of the show anymore... That's interesting. I do wonder what measures Kunze would use to judge this production as having "worked". The bar isn't exactly high for English language attempts at his shows thus far. Would a production that mostly stayed true to his intentions, achieved a modest run without any major production disasters, and got some mixed reviews, be enough? (I don't mean this in a particularly snarky way; I just don't want this production to require raves and a West End transfer* or something, in order for the rest of the world to have a chance of seeing the show in English someday.) (*Edit: or is this technically a West End theatre?) I have a feeling success will be judged on how well it sells, as opposed to financial gains. I hope it does well in reviews, but I have a feeling it won't, sadly - these type of shows never seem to perform well anymore. Financially, it's probably going to make a loss, right? I mean I don't know how much the musicians and actors are being paid, but obviously with an 18-piece orchestra (well, the Stage is now reporting it's a 19-piece orchestra?), surely this is going to struggle to make back its investment? It presently isn't selling tremendously well. Either way, I hope it does well enough so that Kunze tries some other shows at venues like Charing Cross (GIVE ME ELISABETH, ALREADY! AND MOZART!). You know, could even try going the Notre Dame de Paris world tour route and just bring it in German for a limited run...
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Post by anthony on Aug 16, 2023 11:31:08 GMT
Cut the man some slack, he's turning 80 this year. He was at the height of his musical theatre fame in the 90s and 00s with Elisabeth, Tanz der Vampire and then Rebecca and he was very vocal about wanting to make it in London and on Broadway then, talking about exporting Vienna's musicals to the world. Well, Tanz der Vampire flopped spectacularly in New York and Rebecca didn't get off the ground twice, first in London with the mysterious lake under the Shaftesbury Theatre and then the whole saga around the non-existant investor on Broadway. In the meantime, his musicals are still popular in the German-speaking regions and other parts of Europe as well as in Japan and South Korea, where he and Levay wrote three musicals on commission. I'm sure he's reached a point at his age where he's content with what he has achieved in continental Europe and Asia and doesn't care for fame in the Anglo-American sphere anymore, especially since taste in musicals has drastically diverged in the last 10-20 years. AT least, unlike certain other composers, he seems to understand that his style does not match the current trends anymore and doesn't desperately try and keep up with the young'uns. I'm not sure anyone is disagreeing with you. Also don't think anyone is being harsh towards Kunze? At all, actually.
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Post by anthony on Aug 15, 2023 16:43:04 GMT
Let your brother know while standing in the foyer, take your seat five minutes before the show, and save the person sitting next to you from having to think, based on inductive evidence, "Oh, God, I hope this isn't going to be one of the ones who's on the phone during the show." You seem content that "causing unfound anxiety to strangers is not at all important to me". A considerate person wouldn't think like that. It is not unfounded because, alas, people playing with their phones before the start of the show often do so after, as well--that is a matter of most theatre-goers' experience. The person next to you has no advance info that you are saintly. Or perhaps you could say to them, "Be assured I won't be using this once the show starts." That would be nice. Or I could just ignore what a very strange and judgemental person on an internet forum says and continue to live a happy life? I think I’ll do that instead, Paul. Thanks for the advice though! Just want to say that I completely agree with you. The comment from Paul is utterly ridiculous. Quite frankly, I don't care what people do until the moment the lights go down. I also sit on my phone until the moment it hits 19:30 (or whatever time the show is due to start). I don't see the problem with it. Certainly not inconsiderate to do so. If you're spending your time worrying that someone next to you might use their phone during the performance because they're using it before the performance, then you probably just shouldn't go out. /shrug
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