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Post by anthony40 on Aug 18, 2023 9:32:51 GMT
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Post by interval99 on Aug 18, 2023 9:45:30 GMT
Anyone seen his solo concerts and can give feedback on them. His musical resume of Evita and Sunday in the park should make this a must see but both a long time ago and possibly more know for his tv work now. Do like that the shows include weekend 3pm matinées on Saturday and Sunday which makes it's better for out of London visitors to see the show and get home early evening.
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853 posts
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Post by bordeaux on Aug 18, 2023 10:14:25 GMT
I saw him at the Almeida in 1996 when he was touring his Oscar and Steve album and enjoyed it very much indeed. Clearly the voice is unusual but if you like that, I'm sure he'll do a great show. I have just googled the 1996 reviews and there is a mixed one from Edward Seckerson in the Independent if you want another view. I loved his albums from the 90s - I'd recommend Experiment if you don't know his work.
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7,533 posts
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Post by alece10 on Aug 18, 2023 10:20:57 GMT
I saw him in concert several years ago at the Vaudeville Theatre (if I remember correctly). For the most part I enjoyed it but have to say it was quite a strange concert. A whole section was in Yiddish and I thought he was quite self indulgent. Glad I went but unless there are some offers nearer the time I don't think I'd want to go again.
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3,780 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 18, 2023 10:47:40 GMT
I saw him at the Almeida in 1996 when he was touring his Oscar and Steve album and enjoyed it very much indeed. Clearly the voice is unusual but if you like that, I'm sure he'll do a great show. I have just googled the 1996 reviews and there is a mixed one from Edward Seckerson in the Independent if you want another view. I loved his albums from the 90s - I'd recommend Experiment if you don't know his work. I too saw that concert. That was when I was living here on my two-year work visa. I remember it was a weekend and we were queuing fir tickets and he walked right past us to get into the theatre to get ready- eeek!
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Post by toomasj on Aug 18, 2023 14:20:30 GMT
Saw him in 2009 and loathed every minute I’m afraid. I just remember interminable screeching. He was under the impression he had this amazing rock falsetto thing going on. I remember it being brutal. It’s a no from me!
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Post by theatremiss on Aug 18, 2023 16:18:51 GMT
I’ve booked, worth a punt
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Post by londonmzfitz on Aug 18, 2023 16:29:08 GMT
Saw him in 2009 and loathed every minute I’m afraid. I just remember interminable screeching. He was under the impression he had this amazing rock falsetto thing going on. I remember it being brutal. It’s a no from me! I love the man, I love his twitter feed, but I also saw him in 2009 and it was, well, an odd night. Everything sang in the same falsetto, didn't feel much of the persona. It's not that I didn't enjoy the evening, I really enjoyed the songs, but - Most memorable about the evening was the fact that I was sat in front of Ronnie Corbett and his bejewelled wife and felt I should slip down in my seat so he could have a look at the bloke on the stage.
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7,533 posts
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Post by alece10 on Aug 18, 2023 17:11:46 GMT
And I am sure most of us have tried to block from our memories him in Paradise Found at the Menier.
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Post by interval99 on Sept 24, 2023 10:23:16 GMT
From a whats on stage ticket offer email today's its a 90 minute's no interval show with Adam Ben-Davies on piano.
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3,780 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 30, 2023 11:09:55 GMT
With his upcoming concerts the Magic Radio channel- Magic at the Musicals interviewed Mandy Pantinkin. Despite his talent, personally I find him a bit hit-and-miss however this it was quite an interesting listen. For anyone interested this was last night from 7-8pm.
He talked about how he got started. He was singing in the choir at his local synagogue in Chicago. He also spoke a little Yiddish when recalling his time there.
The three shows they really focused on and played songs from were Evita- his Broadway debut, Sunday in the Park with George and The Secret Garden. They also played Anyone Can Whistle.
Amongst other things, he mentioned how when he went to Steve’s (Sondheim’s) house there would always be scraps of paper or notepads open on the piano just trying to find the right word to not only rhyme, but to convey the right meaning of the lyric.
They also asked out of his films, television work (Homeland) and stage work/concerts, which did he prefer and he said, now, it’s concerts. He’s a grandfather now and stated that the dialogue between songs is him, and this can change from show to show, picked upped and dropped again. He gave an example how after once show his son said to him, you don’t need to tell that story again.
He also spoke about acting styles/methods but frequently- whether deliberately or co-incidentally- he kept making reference to themes from Sunday in the Park with George; things like moving on and making a connection and how important that is. He discussed the song Beautiful and how George almost makes the connection with his mother, but this fails.
Surprisingly, he actually said this concert would not be a Sondheim concert; that a whole other concert. However I think, given his association with Sondheim and his involvement with his shows, it seems pretty difficult to not sing one or two.
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3,780 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 6, 2023 19:56:26 GMT
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Post by interval99 on Nov 7, 2023 22:03:12 GMT
Any board members attend the first night and can feedback how it was?
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Nov 10, 2023 10:24:25 GMT
Well that was an interesting evening.
No songs from his own resume, lots of different songs and medleys that allowed him to play numerous parts within it and very little in the way of chat to set the songs up or give any context to why he was singing them. We had a few stories at the end, but that felt tagged on rather than part of the evening.
He's now 70 years old, so don't expect any big notes. He is giving Tracie Bennett a run for her money in the widest vibrato you could drive a train through category.
I enjoyed it, mostly, and was great to see him on stage again, but was hoping for something different. One for the major fans only.
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Post by interval99 on Nov 19, 2023 19:15:34 GMT
His last matinee came in just under two hours and as bobbievanhusean notes was a random , widely varying mix of songs but it worked chiefly as this was a chance to see a seasoned performer who has the skills and experience on how to get and hold a mesmerised audience to follow every note. Fully inhabiting the song even when the lyrics were abstract he sold a lyric of a tale of a pony and boat with the same conviction he brought to my boy bill or being alive. Just like Bernadette Peters solos in old friends you almost feel they are encountering the emotions of the lyrics for the first time not repeating what they likely have sung hundreds of times before.
In this age of interchangeable leads its been a great westend visit to see two broadway stalwarts perform and show pure stagecraft.
Special mention also to Adam Ben-Davis a perfect foil on the piano to Mandy and a very talented performer in his own right.
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