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Post by bobwordsmith on Apr 14, 2019 11:57:19 GMT
Saw this again a few nights ago and it was even better this time. (Saw it previously in previews and also saw it twice in New York.) Really love this show! Hilariously funny and heartbreakingly moving in places - wonderful writing by James Lapine and William Finn's score is packed with his usual biting wit, subtlety of emotion and beautiful melodies. (Days later I am still walking around with some of the songs in my head!)
And every member of the Arcola cast delivers a brilliant performance. If I lived in London I would definitely be back again. Will have to settle for seeing it somewhere on tour instead .
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Post by bobwordsmith on Apr 2, 2019 13:59:29 GMT
Really enjoyed BIG when I saw it on Broadway in 1996. Have also seen an amateur production of the revised version. There are some fantastic songs in the score - and I love Maltby & Shire's work in general. So I really want to see this at the Dominion. But just checked ticket prices and the cheapest I could find in the stalls were £82 (and up to £130 for "good" seats). That is simply insane!
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Post by bobwordsmith on Apr 1, 2019 20:00:26 GMT
Love this score! Have always wanted to see the show. And the cast that has just been announced is pretty stunning. I have booked to see it twice!
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 31, 2019 10:27:11 GMT
I fell in love with this score when I first heard the studio cast recording many years ago (Charles Strouse's very best score imo). I saw - and loved - the production at the Bridewell in 2001 (with Sally Ann Triplett) and also the concert production in the West End in 2014 (with Caroline Sheen).
I saw this revised version at Hope Mill a week ago and was seriously blown away. So powerful in that space and the music and vocals simply soared. Every member of the cast was brilliant - and Rebecca Trehearn was incredible (as always). It is quite a trek to Manchester for me but worth every second of the train journey just to hear Rebecca sing Children Of The Wind. If this does not transfer to London, there is no God. lol
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 31, 2019 10:07:57 GMT
This is such a fantastic show - hilarious and heartbreaking. Bill Russell's Book & Lyrics are pure genius - just stunning writing with so many layers. And Janet Hood's music is beautiful. Have seen a number of productions and am excited to see this again at the Union (my favourite theatre in London). Looking forward eagerly to the cast announcement.
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 31, 2019 10:04:05 GMT
I saw this show twice at Second Stage in New York and was totally blown away! Wonderful score, really funny and very moving. I saw the second preview at the Arcola and was equally blown away. Some changes from the original but still a fantastic piece of musical theatre. And the Arcola cast are superb. I will be seeing it again in 2 weeks.
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Post by bobwordsmith on Jun 5, 2016 10:15:11 GMT
Rob Houchen (Titanic, Les Miserables, Godspell) launches his debut EP today - and it's fantastic. It's called "RH" and is available on iTunes.
There are some brilliant brand new songs plus a stunning cover of Hallelujah - and a duet with Rachelle Ann Go (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon). And Rob Houchen's vocals are nothing short of sensational. Well worth downloading!
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Post by bobwordsmith on May 19, 2016 9:45:01 GMT
In case anyone may be interested in new writing – composer Rob Eyles and I will be presenting a new cabaret showcase of our songs performed by a stellar cast of West End and Off-West End vocalists at The Pheasantry in Chelsea on Sunday June 12, to coincide with the release of the album of our songs (AS LONG AS I HAVE MUSIC), recorded at Auburn Jam Music with a vocal cast of West End stars. The evening will feature songs from our musical “A Pebble For Aaron” (a finalist for the Stiles And Drewe Mentorship Award) , world premiere performances of songs from “The Wonderful Musician” (a new musical-in-development based on the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale) and songs from our album. Our previous concert at The Pheasantry last October – 'I Wasn’t Thinking At All' – was a total sell-out – so if you’d like to come along, I recommend booking asap: www.pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/as-long-as-i-have-music-the-songs-of-eyles-and-gould
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 25, 2016 23:48:17 GMT
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 25, 2016 23:33:40 GMT
Ideally you need both as there are differences in the scores (and the 2014 recoding also has the bonus track of the cut title song). But if you can only get one, definitely the OBC because Alice and Emily are astonishing.
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 25, 2016 23:11:51 GMT
A few personal observations (but hell what do I know?! lol):
IMO Killian should win for Best Actor in a Musical - such a beautifully crafted performance in Kinky Boots and his vocals are nothing short of astonishing in anything he does (thought he should have won last year for Memphis - one the of best male performances I have ever seen in a West End show). Though I have to say I was also blown away by Ian Bartholomew in Mrs Henderson Presents. Imelda is pretty much a lock for Best Actress in a Musical - but for her, Laura Pitt-Pulford would be my choice from the "also rans" (she's a phenomenal talent).
It seems that the Best Musical award is a fight between Kinky Boots and Bend It Like Beckham - really enjoyed both of these shows, slightly favouring Bend It of the two. But for me IN THE HEIGHTS is in a different class altogether from any of the other nominees - ground breaking, unique with a score that can only be described as pure genius and the production has SO much energy performed by a cast to die for. But sadly I fear it does not have enough of a high profile to win. (Though if Drew McOnie does not win for choreography, there is no God!)
You can probably ignore all of my comments though - I didn't agree with hardly any of the winners last year LOL.
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 25, 2016 22:53:45 GMT
Saw Bad Girls last Sunday and really enjoyed it. Some great songs in the score - the Book is a little flawed but I guess it helps if you loved the TV series (I was an avid watcher of it!) Some really terrific performances in the cast too - especially from Sinead Long as Shell Dockley, Imelda Warren-Green as Denny Blood and the always fantastic Ceili O'Connor as Nikki Wade.
As for the sound - I've seen dozens of shows at the Union and even my ancient ears have had not problem hearing and understanding every syllable. Intimate spaces such as this never use mics - and do not need to when the cast are basically close enough to shake hands with the audience. And I have to say that I thought the Bad Girls cast in particular had pretty much perfect diction. To be honest, I much prefer the "unplugged" and far more natural sound to the heavily synthetic sound that a mic'd performance would create.
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Post by bobwordsmith on Mar 8, 2016 9:04:45 GMT
Basically I would say that understudies are all amazing - but in particular in recent years some seriously amazing performances by First Covers that I have had the privilege to witness have been Jonathan Williams as Valjean in Les Mis, Adam Bayjou as Valjean in Les Mis, Carolyn Maitland as Ellen in Miss Saigon, Kane Oliver Parry as Fiyero in Wicked and Shaun McCourt as Joseph in the UK tour (genuinely in a totally superior league to the celebrity cast in the role). The current cast of Phantom has two astonishing covers as the Phantom and Christine - Kieran Brown and Lisa Anne Wood - and the current alternate Donna in Mamma Mia (Shona White) is fantastic.
And as for Natasha Barnes in Funny Girl, this is what Mark Shenton wrote in The Stage:
"She's like a quirky, young Imelda Staunton, burning with a quiet intensity, heartbreakingly good acting and a singing voice that reminded me of the great, late Judy Garland."
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Post by bobwordsmith on Feb 7, 2016 22:07:54 GMT
LOVED the John Doyle production(saw it at the Public Theatre in New York and at the Choc Factory) - think there are some seriously great songs in the score (Notably THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAS HAPENED, WASTE, ISN'T HE SOMETHING?, GET OUT/GO and the ravishingly beautiful YOU). It may not be Sondheim's best score but any Sondheim score is stronger than pretty much anything else out there. Really looking forward to seeing this new production on March 5 (love the Union - my favourite theatre in London!).
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