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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2020 13:29:55 GMT
She's got a very high opinion of herself hasn't she! Excellent new interview with Barbara Dickson. Part 2 is what you want. Quite scathing about the productions of the show that were made after the original. doctortheatre.blogspot.com/ “It was MY name above the title, people were FLOCKING to see MEEEEEEEE!” 😏 |
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Post by justsaying113 on Jun 12, 2020 14:18:33 GMT
She's a great artist with a fine career but she does come across as a bit churlish in this interview. Call me old-fashioned but it's really not very gracious to be so critical of successes you should be grateful to have had but, hey, at 72 I guess she's entitled. She may, though, be in danger of going the LuPone route!
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Post by duncan on Jun 12, 2020 14:20:07 GMT
Excellent new interview with Barbara Dickson. Part 2 is what you want. Quite scathing about the productions of the show that were made after the original. doctortheatre.blogspot.com/ Ahem, Miss Barbara Dickson  |
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Post by clair on Jun 12, 2020 17:43:32 GMT
I gave up listening to this as she was just making me angry. In one breath BB was a great show with fabulous writing - in the next people were only going to see her, how arrogant. As for saying that stage fright is only real if you're headlining the show, is she seriously saying that anyone else in a show has no right to nerves/stage fright/whatever you like to call it?!
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 13, 2020 11:59:19 GMT
She's a great artist with a fine career but she does come across as a bit churlish in this interview. Call me old-fashioned but it's really not very gracious to be so critical of successes you should be grateful to have had but, hey, at 72 I guess she's entitled. She may, though, be in danger of going the LuPone route! She's saying that the original production of BB was a totally different beast to what came after. And the criticisms she highlights are the shortcomings I find too.
Interested to know how different this earthier original production was!....
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 13, 2020 12:05:21 GMT
She describes the current versions as “ melodramatic” which possibly sums up why I don’t want to see it again. They really do milk it. And that same “tell me it’s not so” refrain endlessly. No ta.
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Post by Jon on Jun 13, 2020 12:29:05 GMT
It would be good to see a production of Blood Brothers that isn’t the Kenwright production.
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 13, 2020 12:38:29 GMT
It would be good to see a production of Blood Brothers that isn’t the Kenwright production. totally. It could do with a major reinvention.  |
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Post by theatreian on Jun 13, 2020 13:03:49 GMT
Interested to know how different this earthier original production was!.... It was certainly darker with more menace. I saw it several times in Liverpool with Barbara at the Playhouse where it started. |
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Post by hannechalk on Jun 13, 2020 13:21:26 GMT
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Post by justsaying113 on Jun 14, 2020 11:15:52 GMT
I saw her in the original production - and despite her comments - she was, in my humble opinion, extraordinary; one of the truly great musical theatre performances of recent decades. And, yes, that original, was far more earthy and gritty, and all the better for it. Kenwright has milked this tour to death; BB needs a new production for these times. Incidentally, did anyone see Stephanie Beachman or Helen Reddy? Both fantastic, I thought.
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Post by theatreian on Jun 14, 2020 12:34:41 GMT
Incidentally, did anyone see Stephanie Beachman or Helen Reddy? Both fantastic, I thought. I think you mean Stephanie Lawrence. I saw both her and Helen Reddy. I remember Helen Reddy particularly as it was the week Diana died. I had come to London to sign the book of condolence and saw Blood Brothers in the afternoon. More emotional than usual! Both ladies were great though. |
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Post by Jon on Jun 14, 2020 14:15:16 GMT
Is there anything stopping a new production of Blood Brothers? Joseph had had productions in the past 13 years which were concurrent with the Kenwright tour in the West End and honestly, I think in the hands of say the Donmar or the National, it could be given a new lease of life.
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Post by xanady on Jun 14, 2020 15:15:24 GMT
Saw Dickson do it,but Steph Lawrence was in another league imo
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Post by Seriously on Jun 14, 2020 17:50:40 GMT
Is there anything stopping a new production of Blood Brothers? Joseph had had productions in the past 13 years which were concurrent with the Kenwright tour in the West End and honestly, I think in the hands of say the Donmar or the National, it could be given a new lease of life. Willy never wanted it in the West End in the first place, so he's probably not likely to allow a new production. |
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Post by Jon on Jun 14, 2020 18:11:04 GMT
Willy never wanted it in the West End in the first place, so he's probably not likely to allow a new production. I remember the story that Kenwright toured Blood Brothers three times before Willy Russell agreed to let it transfer to the West End. |
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Post by impossibleprincess73 on Jun 14, 2020 23:21:11 GMT
Totally agree with xanady, I have seen this show too many times to mention and with countless Mrs J's and for me Stephanie Lawrence will always be the one to beat. She was simply divine in that role, such a talented lady gone too soon. Sorry I know I should have just quoted the original post but I didn't know how to go back and add a quote when I was editing.
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Post by justsaying113 on Jun 15, 2020 10:16:38 GMT
Incidentally, did anyone see Stephanie Beachman or Helen Reddy? Both fantastic, I thought. I think you mean Stephanie Lawrence. I saw both her and Helen Reddy. I remember Helen Reddy particularly as it was the week Diana died. I had come to London to sign the book of condolence and saw Blood Brothers in the afternoon. More emotional than usual! Both ladies were great though. Yep, not sure Stephanie Beacham would have been much cop as Mrs J Ian! |
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Post by TallPaul on Jun 15, 2020 10:58:46 GMT
With nothing much else to do yesterday afternoon, I had a quick read of the most recent annual accounts of WR Limited. Willy Russell and his wife, Ann, 'paid' themselves dividends of £200,000, a slight increase from £195,000 the previous year.
At 72 years of age, he's probably reasonably satisfied with the current licensing arrangements.
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Post by drowseychap on Jun 16, 2020 0:50:16 GMT
Totally agree with these comments over last few days great to see ..... I’ve been banging on and getting some not so nice replies ... over the years at the even mention of maybe a new production of BB .... it’s crying out for it so many other shows do it ... I think it’s time
And I love the show seen it 56 times over the past 20 + years
Lovely to see so many people who too like me despite all the other performances of Mrs j fab or not so as they have been my ultimate has been Stephanie Lawrence when she was on form she knocked it out of the park xx 😚
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Post by Scswp on Jun 16, 2020 6:56:03 GMT
Totally agree with these comments over last few days great to see ..... I’ve been banging on and getting some not so nice replies ... over the years at the even mention of maybe a new production of BB .... it’s crying out for it so many other shows do it ... I think it’s time And I love the show seen it 56 times over the past 20 + years Lovely to see so many people who too like me despite all the other performances of Mrs j fab or not so as they have been my ultimate has been Stephanie Lawrence when she was on form she knocked it out of the park xx 😚 I’ve seen BB three times over the years. I saw Helen Reddy first, then Stephanie Lawrence. Reddy’s performance didn’t do much for me, I’m afraid. Stephanie Lawrence was good, but I didn’t find it to be the amazing performance that so many people talk about - either vocally or emotionally. The best Mrs. J I saw was - by some margin - Niki Evans. Yes, I know she’s an X Factor graduate, but I’m not a fan of X Factor at all, so I was not influenced by the fact that ‘she had been on the telly.’ Her vocals were rich and powerful and her acting was superb. She was the only actress (vocally and emotionally) who was the complete package for me. |
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Post by clair on Jun 16, 2020 7:41:46 GMT
I love BB, it's one of the very few shows that I've seen many times, into double figures in fact. That said I'm completely open to it being given a new look - always with the caveat that the new look is enhancing the show rather than change for the sake of it. However I also feel that the tours are too long, they should be cut down with regular long breaks. I say this simply because a couple of years ago I managed to see it in the first week of a new tour and it was like seeing a different show. The cast had such increased energy levels and enthusiasm that I was drawn in and swept up in it in a way that I hadn't been for a long time. I know it's a cash cow for Kenwright and sells brilliantly but give the cast a break, they are all great but I do feel that shorter tours would enable them to keep that energy going throughout and breathe new life into it even without changes being made.
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Post by Seriously on Jun 16, 2020 10:06:15 GMT
...give the cast a break, they are all great but I do feel that shorter tours would enable them to keep that energy going throughout and breathe new life into it even without changes being made. Or perhaps recast more regularly. |
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Post by clair on Jun 16, 2020 10:11:37 GMT
...give the cast a break, they are all great but I do feel that shorter tours would enable them to keep that energy going throughout and breathe new life into it even without changes being made. Or perhaps recast more regularly. Possibly - although as I said I think they just need slightly shorter runs to catch their breath, and their emotions as it must be emotionally exhausting as a show. I've seen various people in most roles so the impression of a different show could just as easily be that joy of being back together again as well. |
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Post by hannechalk on Jun 16, 2020 18:08:32 GMT
Or perhaps recast more regularly. Possibly - although as I said I think they just need slightly shorter runs to catch their breath, and their emotions as it must be emotionally exhausting as a show. I've seen various people in most roles so the impression of a different show could just as easily be that joy of being back together again as well. According to a source, everyone has to (re)audition regularly for their part, with others in contention too. Noone is guaranteed their place from one leg to the next. Tours are usually 3-4 months, with approx. 2 months 'break' in winter, and 3-4 months in summer. The break in winter is by most filled with panto. One person did say it's exhausting to regularly have 3-4 double show days in exchange for Mondays off. It's all good and well to say shorter runs and longer breaks, but it's not like the cast, band and crew get paid holidays. If they don't work, they don't have an income, and many can't afford just to take a break because the show is not on. |
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