Calendar Girls the musical (was: The Girls)

You are going to get us in trouble dj14 discussing Bend It on The Girls thread. What would Gary say?!!

See, I was really hoping she would get nominated so when she was, I was happy. She was the best part for me! It was one hell of a category... Emma Williams, Amy Lennox, Preeya and Lara Pulver. I almost wish there were five nominees, as Gemma Sutton for Gypsy was deserving too, but if I had to bump one of them out for Gemma, it would probably be Preeya.

On that topic, still bitter Emma lost to Lara.

I find it utterly patronising and cliched in its' depiction of Yorkshire folk. It's the direction and clumsy set that bother me.

Seeing this tomorrow evening with a completely open mind. In principle I like to support new musical theatre writing. I loathe juke box shows, so appreciate a new score. However, musicals are notoriously difficult to write (many try and many fail) but the rewards are massive if you get it right, which is why so many people give it a go! However, if it's poor ... it's poor - new writing or not.

The show opens next week after a long preview period, so now the show is fixed, regular readers of this forum, no doubt, will be waiting with baited breath - not, to see what I think.

Saw this last Saturday matinee, and very much enjoyed it.

Some spoilers follow. . .

Going in completely cold, I instantly cringed at the tweeness of this Yorkshire with it's cheerful green hillock and pleasant gamboling villagers. I prejudged the first song, seeing the title, "Yorkshire," expecting a celebration of the soil and said green hillock which would be queasily exclusionary and nationalistic in tone. I was wrong. The modest lyrics were a universal celebration of human life at it's most modest, rooted in an amusing British defeatism, with descriptions of late buses stuck behind tractors and schoolchildren who don't appreciate the beauty of the Yorkshire mist, as well as an outward embrace of every other county, an embrace even extending to Europe, which ships the flowers that ride the trucks to Yorkshire.

I was still in two minds about the show when the second song, "Girls" embraced the easy and dated girls-are-like-this-boys-are-like-that nonsense that has been done to death in every comedy show since Shakespeare.

But then Joanna Riding's Annie came out and sang about her worries about losing her witty good-humoured husband, James Gaddas' John, himself uncomplainingly dying of cancer, in the song "Scarborough," and she broke my heart. A lot of this is performance, as Riding knows how to milk a moment, giving the impression of trying to withhold powerful emotions, while in fact deliberately showering the audience in a storm of sadness. But it is not only Riding that makes "Scarborough" brilliant, it's the lyric writing, which calmly rides the gently wilting waves of Gary Barlow's lovely melody to deliver sudden surprising punches to the emotional gut. As a frequent ticketbuyer, the idea that people I buy tickets for won't live to use them hurt, but so too did the idea that Annie might lose the man who can reach towels on high shelves or clear scary spiders from the bathtub. Maybe I'm just a sucker for emotional manipulation, but the specificity of the song, the banality of the details, the sense that these details describe the precious ordinary moments of every life, made "Scarborough" overwhelmingly emotional for me.

And I knew that the musical was a hit for me, when the fourth song "Who wants a silent night?" turned out to be a much needed and vastly successful change of pace, with a rollicking Claire Machin, as Cora, expressing every bit as much joie de vivre as Riding had expressed deep sadness.

As the musical went on, the love of Joanna Riding's Annie for her husband John, threatened to be forgotten as a story thread, as we move on to the shenanigans surrounding the nude calendar, but Tim Firth and Gary Barlow never allow that to happen, returning to the principle emotional thread periodically, in particular in the song, "Kilinanjaro," in Act 2.

The nude calendar fun delivers everything you would expect, in as tasteful a way as you would expect, proving that taste and fun do mix. And the thread with the teens, which involves an endearing Ben Hunter fretting about losing his virginity to a bolshy girl, delivers the kind of diverting moments which will make a trip to this show worth it for young ones forced to accompany their parents to see this. That is, these moments aren't integrated well, but they are somehow necessary anyway.

Overall, this is an excellent cast, performing a show which has something for everyone, but which derives it's greatest value from Joanna Riding's brilliant evocation of grief for her dying husband.

Recommended, if you like this sort of thing. 4 stars.

I too, was in attendance last night. This was my second viewing, after initially seeing the run in Leeds in '15. There were some major changes (for the worse, and for the better) and some minor, too.

The opening number, Yorkshire has been paced down considerably - with with more dialogue inserted as we are slowly introduced to each character. I personally preferred the original arrangement, which opened the show with a vibrance that hooked you in instantly. The other noteable change is the end of act one. The interval has moved forward by roughly five minutes, after Chris' big number, "Sunflower" where she comes up with the concept of the calendar. It makes a big difference, and it now feels as though it should've always been here. In Leeds, the interval came in on a big laugh, which now appears at the start of Act 2.

This is an emotional rollercoaster of a musical, with tears and laughter in equal measure. No doubt, as I've said before, this show wouldn't be what it is without the excellent writing of Tim Firth and the fantastic chemistry and wealth of experience the main cast bring to it. It is far from perfect, however it's still an enjoyable piece which deserves a prosperous future. I echo Steve's 4/5 review also. If you're yet to see it, do give it a chance. I'm already planning on going again for a third trip.

Very good, I thought. She slotted into the role perfectly I thought. To those who didn't know Michelle was ill, wouldn't have known any different.

A CD is fine but it would help if there was more than one decent song in it!

He *did* have his own label for 3 years but shut it to concentrate on his "solo career" and not at all coz it was sh*t.

A*M*E* released a single that got to #1 a few years ago but nothing else, prob works as a consultant now

Oh dear. Hope she recovers soon. I really liked Judith Street in Titanic.

I think for them to consider Jessie as lead role is a bit of a stretch. Still, here's hoping Michelle a restful recovery.

So a more considered view after getting home.....

Certainly not for me as I said above, but I have to report that a packed house of 80% women lapped it up - laughed and cried and a full standing ovation at the curtain call. The original "calendar girls" came on and joined the cast - I assume they are in town over the weekend doing promotion and for the gala and first night next week. I can't see them doing the full run!! So unlike other shows, the story certainly has a following and a strong emotional connection with an audience - everyone knows someone who has had cancer. So....I smell a hit?

The show itself has its highs and lows.

Lows first. As ever with new shows it could do with trimming, the running time 2.40 and the second act longer than the first - apparently they have moved the interval back? But 10 - 15 minutes too long.

The depiction of Yorkshire is ludicrous. I spent the first 20 years of my life in Yorkshire - so I should know - it looks and sounds nothing like what was on stage at the Phoenix Theatre! It was completely "Disneyfied". I think this is why I failed to connect with the piece really. The set, costumes and accents - the whole look was off.

The score is very bland apart from 3 good numbers - Scarborough, Dare and something about Sunflowers and formulaic - all the "girls" have to have a solo number and "their moment" Pathos has to be followed by a comedy number which in turn is followed by sentiment.

High points. Great to see a show with 6 strong female leads, led here by the fabulous Joanne Riding and Claire Moore (the original Ellen in Miss Saigon all those years ago! )They really work together well and elevate the material. A joy to watch them work. Sophie Louise Dan - hilarious (as usual - she does seem to play the same "type").

As said above - 3 great songs.

Some big laughs in Act 2 which was generally much stronger than the first act, climaxing (if that is an appropriate word) in an hilarious photo shoot scene which is cleverly and bravely staged by these leading actresses.

So, in summary not for me - I think women will enjoy it far more than men, but women buy the theatre tickets and so I think it will have a decent run and will receive very good reviews.