Death Takes a Holiday, Charing Cross Theatre

I agree with most people here. It looked lovely, the costumes were gorgeous, the lead performers good (I knew Chris could sing, and was so glad to hear Zoe's lovely voice) - but I can't remember a single note of what was sung. I wanted to love it, but sadly was left indifferent. I'd adored Titanic and was looking forward to this, given its pedigree.

I was slightly concerned about the chairs - in fact, being in the front row, I was hoping and praying that no one lost their grip (for anyone who hasn't seen it, the cast 'dance' with the chairs in one scene and fling them around overhead). I had visions of one of them (a chair, that is) soaring over the stalls! If that is my clearest memory of the show, then that must prove something is not quite right!

Thinking that maybe I felt so unhappy with my seat because I was right at the end of the row and looking straight at the glowing emergency exit sign for the whole show.

I really enjoyed this show tonight. Loved the music and the plot. Will post fuller thoughts tomorrow. My only problem was with the ending.

What was your problem with the ending?

d'James, I am quoting you but removed your spoiler in order not to spoil anything...

The ending does come a bit fast but I see the ending in another way

 

I really enjoyed this last night... voices strong and blending beautifully, loved the power of the full company singing. Didn't make a Beauty & the Beast connection as I watched d'James but though I left the theatre humming the final song, I arrived at Marylebone humming Beauty & the Beast... then I read your earlier comments and burst out laughing!

I was rather more impressed with Chris Peluso's voice than I have been previously (not that there was anything particularly wrong with it in Showboat or Saigon, he just didn't wow me), and he mostly drew me in to the character so much that I stopped noticing his John Wayne walk... mostly but not entirely! I thought the Contessa and her Mario/Dario were charming, their duet 'December Time' reminding me somewhat of that of the old couple in Titanic.

The chairs were an interesting choice... found their frequent relocation slightly distracting initially but soon got used to it. The staging, generally, simple but effective.

Theatre about 40-50% full, audience enthusiastic but felt slightly below critical mass, if you know what I mean!

I really enjoyed this last night. Maybe Maure Yeston's score doesn't quite reach the glorious heights of Titanic but it comes darn close.

Chris Peluso and Zoe Duano are strong leads, the former quietly menacing beneath his calm exterior while Zoe made a role that could easily be quite bland anything but.

In addition to the two central performances, Mark Inscoe captured the turmoil of Duke Vittorio Lamberti's character extremely well and gave a commanding performance. It was also great to see Titanic alumna Scarlett Courtney back at the Charing Cross Theatre. She was equally engaging to watch in Death Takes a Holiday as she was playing Kate Mullins and gave Daisy Fenton a twinkle in her eye.

It's been interesting to read the different reactions to this musical. While some reviews have complemented several individual elements of the production but felt that as a whole something was missing, I felt that the lighting, set, costumes and music all combined exquisitely, underpinned by an excellent cast, to produce a beautiful spectacle that more than matched the sum of its parts.

There's something quite dream like about Maury Yeston's score, despite its more epic moments, which suits the theme of the story perfectly, while the set created a suitably foreboding atmosphere of the impending events. The moments where the ensemble gathered to observe a brief part of an exchange between Grazia and the Prince worked particularly well at heightening the tension. Even the imaginative use of the chairs added to the piece, although if I was on the front row for the opening number (when they're being flung around above heads) I might have been a tad nervous!

I was a little fearful this might effectively be a two hander with a largely redundant ensemble but I liked how we got an insight into some of the other characters too. The back story of Baron Dario Albione and Countess Evangelina was rather poignantly charming and the unrequited feelings of Daisy for Corrado made for an interesting additional strand.

I can understand some of the comments about the ending but I think the reaction of other characters, such as the Duke, being left unseen and unspoken actually makes the turn of events all the more powerful.

Overall then, this was a great evening at the Charing Cross Theatre. Around 75% full, so enough to give the place a decent atmosphere. It's good to see the days of Dusty and Wag seem to be behind it. Certainly, whenever the next Maury Yeston musical rolls into town, I'll be at the front of the queue.

You and children at this theatre! First Titanic, now this!

So I thought this was pretty good, well worth seeing. I really liked the big sweeping score and the full choral nature of many of the ensemble numbers. Also thought the majority of the solo and duet songs were good too, though there is a preponderance of songs that don't really have anything new to say in their lyrics.

A few faults - it tries to do the same thing as Titanic and give every character a subplot. It works in Titanic which is truly an ensemble piece, but less so here. Firstly, we don't care enough about the side-characters to engage with their stories, and it also detracts from our leads, not giving enough time to develop either Death's motivation or Grazia's attraction to him. And indeed, this was my other main problem with it. I never really engaged emotionally, because I didn't "believe" or understand the emotions the characters went through, as they are just too thinly drawn.

But overall, I did enjoy it. Good songs, an engaging story, and great performances. It also looks fantastic.

Pretty full this afternoon I'd say - and the kids in front of me stayed enraptured by the show throughout!

Well, I saw the matinee of this today (18th February). I understand why this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely adored it!

Maury Yeston is soon going to be one of my favourite composers after TITANIC (one of my highlights of last year) and now this. The score was GLORIOUS! There were so many moments of spine tingling beauty, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up multiple times throughout the show. It helps that I absolutely love these romantic, gothic and lyrical kind of shows. Just right up my street. It also helps that it was mostly so well sung by the cast - probably the best sung show in London at the moment. A proper singer's musical.

However, as others have said above, it wasn't just the score that made this a real highlight for me, but the whole sum of parts that made up the show. It looked gorgeous too. The sets, costumes and most of all, the lighting. There was a moment with the lighting towards the end of the show that was literally so simple, but it took my breath away, and coupled with THAT music, was sublime. When the lights came back up at the end of the show, I felt very emotional, and wanted to burst into tears. A feeling that I couldn't shake for at least half an hour afterwards.

This is the first show of the year for me, having had something of a "dry" January, but it is now well and truly off to a stonking start, and is already a highlight that will take some beating. One of the few shows that, if I didn't have a train to catch, I could have quite easily bought another ticket and seen it again this evening. A show I am still thinking about now, and will doubtless think about for days to come.

Sorry for the gush, but go and see while you can!

Nabbed one of the last dayseats for tonight, having heard positive things, I'm really looking forward to it!

Really enjoyed the show tonight! Emotional, funny, dramatic, a really pleasant evening in the theatre. The cast really are fantastic, and the set, costumes and lighting were really beautiful. I was already somewhat familiar in the concept (Meet Joe Black is one of my favourite films) but I thought the show worked really well with the original source material, which I have also read. And a really beautiful score too.