Saw the matinee, and adored it. In fact, it is the musical that most excites me. As split-focus and unwieldy as the story currently is, I would include the as-yet-non-existent cast recording in my desert island discs.
Spoilers follow. . .
This afternoon, Maria Omakinwa completed the whole show without a book, including her final showdown with Beverley Knight's Emmeline Pankhurst, which was fiery. Omakinwa is much more than an understudy. Having seen both Genesis Lynea and Omakinwa in the Sylvia role, I'd say the first is more gentle and soulful, the second more fierce and impassioned, and both worthy alternates for each other.
Beverley Knight is gold. She was the reason I went to see "The Bodyguard," and she is no less critical here, her charged soulful voice like a straight shot of adrenaline to the cortex.
With regard to the unwieldiness of the story, I feel that "Hamilton" has much of the same faults. Both are based on history, and both feel the need to clutter their story-lines with bits and bobs that a dramatically-inclined audience probably couldn't care less about. I mean, there are battles and banking info in Hamilton that feel like filler, and perhaps it is familiarity that makes us forgive those interludes. But I think Miranda's main triumph in "Hamilton," providing a salutary lesson to the Sylvia team as they hone their show, is how he defines his characters, so that the audience are so excited by them that they barely care how boring the story-lines are. Think about the roar and chants the characters get as they prance boldly onto the stage and introduce themselves, as the audience cheers, and sometimes sings along to chants of "Lafayette" and whatnot. In "Sylvia," too often the story-lines take precedence, the characters mere cogs to be ground through them, without ever getting promoted into the audience's affections.
SPOILERS FOLLOW (note, it has been shown that exposure to spoilers tends to make people enjoy musicals more, but don't read them if you don't fit that pattern lol): Since I don't expect this show to resurface for a while, and since I expect it to change majorly, I'll just note down some memories about it's song structure (I'm just making up the titles), so that when it does come back, we can figure out what changed:
First half (1 hour, 20 minutes):
A moment of crisis for Sylvia, in 1913, as her mother and sister disown her.
(1) "One Day:" acapella: a mournful song that sees Sylvia torn apart visually by having her flowing robes pulled in all directions by the ensemble. establishes the principal theme, that great achievements carry a great price;
(2) "Lavender:" guitars and no drums: a tender song about pleasant family memories and love shared, to be torn apart by events;
(3) "Long Way, the Marching Song" - a funky energetic call to arms has Beverley Knight killing it in her call to all women to MARCH! This is a killer song!
Flashback 10 years to 1903, when the family was working together to fight for suffrage. From here we move forward in history.
(4) "We are the Pankhursts" - brief mild intro song, which Miranda would have made into a turned into a character defining, rabble rousing, audience grabbing statement!
(5) "I Saw You" - Sylvia falls in love with Labour party leader, Keir Hardie. This is a stalking song like "Every breath you take," but it's much more tender and sweet. While I love this beautiful song, and I love love stories in general, the song sets Sylvia on a path to a soft definition that is never fully overcome. Where Hamilton was a firebrand from the start, allowed to get soft later, this positions Sylvia as soft from the start, and it's hard to take her seriously later as a consequence.
(6) "Women are Stronger in the Home" - This is a comic song, the second killer song in the musical, in which Jade Hackett's Lady Jennie Churchill defines the philosophy of the status quo, singing in Jamaican Patois. It also establishes Winston Churchill, the principal villain, as a mummy's boy who does and thinks what she tells him. It is slightly problematic that the anti-woman's suffrage philosophy prevailing is most fiercely promoted by a woman. Hackett brings the house down with this song though!
(7) "Clementine" - the second love song of the piece has Winston and Carly Bawden's Clemmie fall in love. Bawden is wonderful as Clemmie.
(8) "The Equality Song" - a raucous response from the ensemble that states the Suffragette's philosophy. It includes an intro to the melody of the song "Be the Change," to sweeten the audience for when the song is actually performed in full as the first half closer;
1905 or thereabouts.
(9) "No Angels in the House" - a delightful song, full of attack, which depicts the Suffragette ensemble assailing Parliament;
(10) "Only a man" - Keir Hardie soulfully admits he will never be able to achieve the women's vote by himself, the women will.
(11) "Make Some Noise" - This song is explosively good. Beverley Knight's piercing voice cuts through, and the whole ensemble really raise the roof of excitement with this one, the third astounding song of the piece, with all sorts of styling combined to make the most rabble rousing song I've heard in ages.
(12) "Watch the Stars" - Sylvia and Keir get their second love song, as they watch the stars together. Since the maths of the show is that Keir = poor people's advocate and Emeline = rich women's advocate; Sylvia is the bridge between the two, establishing her title role as the advocate for poor women. This means that her love story is not some side story, but a bridging link to the way history unfolds;
(13) "Rap Battle -Petticoat Government:" the Suffragettes take on the Anti-Women-League, the B-villains of the piece (to Churchill's A-villain status). These guys are actually way worthier opponents for the Suffragettes, but are never well defined at all. The hip hop battle rocks!
(14) "Be the Change that you wanna Be" - an absolutely unforgettable and brilliant empowerment anthem that ends the first half. At the very end, Churchill gloats that he has the votes to be able to stop the Suffragettes.
Second Half: (1 hour, 20 minutes):
1911 or thereabouts.
(1) "Revolutions Coming" - Beverley Knight hits it out of the park again!
(2) "Watch your back" - the male reactionaries make veiled threats of retaliatory violence
(3) "Men are made better than Women" - Euthanasia results are trotted out proving that men are better than women, whereupon a literal sexism train dance hilariously takes place, with John Dagleish in his non-Keir-Hardie role the most reluctant sexist, caveing in to cavemanery regardless. A brilliant song, one of the two funniest, along with Jade Hackett's song, that helpfully relieves the overall tension of the piece by giving the audience a good laugh;
(4) "Yours Ordinarily" - Carly Bawden nails the sarcy fury of Clemmie's letter, a secret pro-Suffragette stance that will ultimately prove of invaluable assistance to the movement;
(5) "Catch me if you can" - Emmeline and Witney White's powerful Christabel turn seriously terrorist. This terrorism, eg arson, is the likely reason, other than her promoting poor women, for Sylvia's name above the title of the musical. In Sylvia's anti-violence stance, we have the more acceptable face of Suffragette MLK-style non-violence, as opposed to Emmeline's uncompromising Malcolm X type terrorism. Beverley Knight's uncompromisingly fierce and unlikable characterisation, coupled with her addictive war-cry of a voice, is one of the show's most unexpected and original delights;
(6) "Running:" - One of my favourite songs, a Jessie Ware reminiscent soul pop number, "Running" simultaneously depicts all the key characters in pairs on stage, comparing and contrasting their progress and development;
(7) "Ada's song" - Little sister Ada, banished to Oz by Emmeline for her softness, sings a letter home;
(8) "STAND UP NOW" - to my mind the single greatest song of the show, a gospel infused acapella soul number that depicts the entire ensemble taking blows, and falling down one by one, then getting up again, Chumbawamba style, and singing on, like the band onthe Titanic. TEARS IN MY EYES MOMENT.
(9) Loyalty" - Great number, sees Knight's Emmeline sever herself from Sylvia's softness. We are back where we started the show.
(10) Be what you wanna Be" reprise
(11) "Vote women"
(12) "Better" - Sylvia lifts herself up, and gives it her all to develop a better attitude and philosophy, all by herself.
Keir Hardie dies. His socialist dream lives on in Sylvia.
(13) "Sylvia and Sylvio" - out of nowhere, a new love interest for Sylvia, Sylvio Corio, the anarchist, offers Todd Holdsworth an opportunity to sing the most upbeat love song of the whole piece, whereby he comes at a grieving Sylvia sideways, like a sneaky crab, creeping on her with his upbeat r and b love stylings. This song pleased the most young people, I noticed. Consequently, it's a keeper.
(14) "Get Back on your Feet" - After rich women get the vote, an upbeat Sylvia gets everyone back on their feet to pursue the dreams and votes of poor women.
(15) "Lavender" reprise - a downbeat Sylvia counts the personal cost of Suffrage, by remembering her family's onetime unity against the ravaged reality of her broken family. The ultimate theme of the piece emerges: those who achieve great things pay a great price.
(16) "The Marching song" reprise - Well, you can't end on a downbeat note.
And that's that.
Obviously, the 3 hour 10 minute running time cannot stand, the characters must be made to pop earlier and brighter, and the storylines need to be trimmed for agency; but all that said, this is a BRILLIANT musical, with so much melded eclectic musical styles, a thrilling touching overall story, and some serious bangers among the songs.
Simply put, this is one of my favourite musicals in town, and it isn't even finished.
I do feel particularly lucky that today's matinee played through from start to finish, with a terrific lead actress who did not consult her book at all, and with the amazing Beverley Knight and Jade Hackett and Carly Bawden and Witney White and John Dagleish all singing up a storm!
4 and a half stars.
