Post by capybara on Nov 23, 2024 2:03:21 GMT
This was very much an early stages concert presentation of Elan Butler’s new musical. It was performed on-book by a talented company and, while there is definitely the genesis of an idea there, the show is a little too laboured and flabby in its current form.
The music itself is described as hip-hop meets folk and it generally delivers on that score. There are some lovely compositions that give the performers lots of opportunity to harmonise and riff. However, I’d like to see a little more variety.
The lyrics and particularly the book could do with some work. With the heavy caveat of it being really early on in Cliffs’ life, a fair few scenes are just too clunky and take too long to resolve. Butler has taken on music, lyrics and book; perhaps a new pair of eyes on the material would prove fruitful.
The company were clearly invested in this new piece of work and that shone through in their performances. Zoe Athena was compelling as Teddy, while George Renshaw played the humour well as Harry. Leah Deal was a star as Chloe too, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see what she gets up to next.
Overall, this musical shows promise but it is far too long at the moment. The book needs way more focus to avoid the storytelling becoming muddled. But there is something here; let’s see what it becomes.
The music itself is described as hip-hop meets folk and it generally delivers on that score. There are some lovely compositions that give the performers lots of opportunity to harmonise and riff. However, I’d like to see a little more variety.
The lyrics and particularly the book could do with some work. With the heavy caveat of it being really early on in Cliffs’ life, a fair few scenes are just too clunky and take too long to resolve. Butler has taken on music, lyrics and book; perhaps a new pair of eyes on the material would prove fruitful.
The company were clearly invested in this new piece of work and that shone through in their performances. Zoe Athena was compelling as Teddy, while George Renshaw played the humour well as Harry. Leah Deal was a star as Chloe too, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see what she gets up to next.
Overall, this musical shows promise but it is far too long at the moment. The book needs way more focus to avoid the storytelling becoming muddled. But there is something here; let’s see what it becomes.
