The Woman in White - Charing Cross Theatre

Well. I thought this was rather marvellous. I'd never seen the original (I was but a mere child at the time) and it's not a show by The Lord that I really took much time to listen to either so, in the words of Helen Keller, I went in blind. I found it smashing but it's rather a melodramatic one isn't it? I really liked the set and the moving arches where people appeared and disappeared which looked rather impressive from where I was sat, I also really liked the train sequence which I thought was very effective for the space. There's a fair bit of walking about which gave me scary flashbacks to 'Salome' at the Nash but that passed after a while. For the size and space of the stage, it was very nicely done.

Now, I have to disagree with @parsley about the cast not being able to sing. I thought they were all terrific. There wasn't a duff note between 'em to my ears. I don't think I could single one out for praise more than the others to be honest. I also liked how they cast the lovely Chris Peluso as the villain and didn't try to make him nice in the slightest. Bad people have lovely voices too everyone! I also realised that I am a touch psychotic, all through the first act I thought that Anna O'Byrne would make a smashing Eliza Doolittle and then I read the program and discovered that Dame Julie Andrews had exactly the same thought as me and had in fact cast her as Eliza before. Spooky.

Parsley said the singing was bad? I thought it was just superb! Utter nonsense....

As I have said many times before

Some people

Find Nando’s superb

That’s fine for them

Did you put money into Wimpey?

I have booked to see the matinee of this on December 23rd before Hamilton in the evening (through the TodayTix £15 offer) and am interested to see a different version after seeing the original version 3 times including closing night. Might get a Nando's in between...

Let me just go and check how much I care.  Be right back.

I’ve had two treats in the past two days this week and it’s only Thursday! First the Follies talk at the NT and now this. I can hardly wait for next Wednesday when I get to see the much talked about Carol at the Old Vic... A sure sign Christmas is a comin’!

This production of The Woman in White has almost everything going for it. Almost. I can remember seeing the original at the Palace, but the fact that I can’t remember much about it except Maria Friedman ‘running up the stairs’ and the sight of Michael Crawford with a rat in a ridiculous fat suit (Mr C that is, not the rat) speaks volumes I suppose.

This version focuses less on gimmicks and more on telling a rather good story, at the heart of which is the appalling treatment of its heroines- overridden, tricked, locked away, drugged, beaten and chloroformed. And it is artfully staged with screens which make characters appear and disappear, ghost-like, with added atmosphere in spades created by superb but simple lighting. We feel drawn into the melodrama by Thom Southerland’s clever staging, played out like a series of gothic tableaux. At times breath-taking, it evokes the kind of sights you can imagine spying down a Victorian viewfinder, some rather lavish and some, like the scene just before the close of Act One, which are both shocking and disturbing.

The cast is universally outstanding. Anna O’Byrne, whose name I know only from the DVD of Love Never Dies, is a joy, as is Chris Peluso who I remember from the New London Showboat last summer. Add to this Carolyn Maitland, Ashley Stillburn, Greg Castiglioni and Sophie Reeves, not to mention the hugely talented young girl I saw yesterday, and it’s full credit to the Charing Cross Theatre for attracting some of the finest voices on one stage. This is a more intimate version of the piece, more suited to a smaller theatre, although I’m not convinced this particular venue ticks all the boxes here with its over-long auditorium creating a distance between the actors and the audience at the back.

I was initially surprised at the ticket prices for this; the last time I came for a musical, things were done on a shoestring. Admittedly there are a couple of things here I’d change- the spray painted ivy to the sides of the stage add nothing. Get rid! And Mr Peluso definitely deserves a better fitting black trouser… But for the most part you can see where your money has gone. The orchestra is great if a little distant sounding at times, lacking the ‘warmth’ I’d like, although when there’s a crescendo, there really is a crescendo!

So what’s not to like then? Now I speak as a dedicated fan of Lloyd Webber, but I have to say that if anything it’s the music that doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s a curious hotchpotch of soaring ballads that don’t quite soar high enough, a comedy number and some incredibly dull recitative which is- frankly- hard on the ear. You feel the show never quite recovers from its uninspired opening on the railway lines. It really does need an overture to draw us in. There are recognizable scraps from Sunday and from Aspects, and unworked snippets that would be developed properly for Love Never Dies and Stephen Ward. Unfortunately, despite the similarities in content with Phantom, it never reaches its heights. I own the brilliantly recorded live CD although I rarely play it, and I can honestly say I’ve never heard another artist cover any of the songs. A shame really as you feel this one could almost disappear unnoticed.

The lukewarm reception from the (let’s call it an) ‘interesting’ audience at yesterday’s matinee was unwarranted. I clapped even more loudly to make up for it!

If you get a chance it’s definitely worth catching.

I'm happy to have learned the term "recitative". I've never known what to call it - but I know I never like it!
Great review,caiaphas.

What’s the running time?

Finishes 21.55

They are the best singers in London on that STAGE!!!

To me the real stand out song was "Trying not to notice" - by far one of my all time favorite ALW's (much more so than I believe my heart)