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Post by kathryn on Aug 28, 2019 16:48:23 GMT
Just saw it this afternoon! Fabulous work from the cast - didn’t bother myself figuring out what the ‘story’ was meant to be, in all honesty, as it’s really just an excuse to sing some sultry songs.
I enjoyed it a lot - not as much as the woman next to me, who was foot-tapping away, making the seats rock with her enthusiasm, and generally reacting noisily to everything. She was with a friend who must have been something to do with either the Tricycle-that-was or the Donmar production, as they were searching the programme for her to be name-checked before the show, and were greeted by a woman with a lanyard afterwards. ‘Did you hear us screaming?’ they asked her. I’m pretty sure everyone heard you, I didn’t say on my way past her to the door.
But that was a minor irritation compared to the phone ringing - and not being turned off - at the start of Sharon D Clarke’s big emotional number in the second act. Eventually an older chap on the front row got up and left - though he apparently didn’t manage to turn it off or answer the damn thing right away, because we could still hear it faintly from outside the auditorium!
Ugh.
All in all that I enjoyed it as much as I did is a testament to the quality of the cast!
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Post by robertb213 on Aug 28, 2019 17:53:19 GMT
Just saw it this afternoon! Fabulous work from the cast - didn’t bother myself figuring out what the ‘story’ was meant to be, in all honesty, as it’s really just an excuse to sing some sultry songs. I enjoyed it a lot - not as much as the woman next to me, who was foot-tapping away, making the seats rock with her enthusiasm, and generally reacting noisily to everything. She was with a friend who must have been something to do with either the Tricycle-that-was or the Donmar production, as they were searching the programme for her to be name-checked before the show, and were greeted by a woman with a lanyard afterwards. ‘Did you hear us screaming?’ they asked her. I’m pretty sure everyone heard you, I didn’t say on my way past her to the door. But that was a minor irritation compared to the phone ringing - and not being turned off - at the start of Sharon D Clarke’s big emotional number in the second act. Eventually an older chap on the front row got up and left - though he apparently didn’t manage to turn it off or answer the damn thing right away, because we could still hear it faintly from outside the auditorium! Ugh. All in all that I enjoyed it as much as I did is a testament to the quality of the cast! I heard that phone from the circle! At first I thought it was some strange background tune that was meant to fit into the arrangement of the song, but then I saw the guy get up! Some people eh 😂 |
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Post by n1david on Aug 28, 2019 22:42:27 GMT
There really isn't a story, it's just a revue. I enjoyed it very much, some great songs and very good performances - of course, Sharon and Clive foremost amongst them.
Not sure I'd call this a musical as such, it really is just a great selection of songs - having said that, this music isn't my normal listening pleasure, but could go with this in this format.
Enjoyable, but not sure it's necessarily what I'd call "theatre".
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Post by sf on Aug 29, 2019 9:31:22 GMT
But that was a minor irritation compared to the phone ringing - and not being turned off - at the start of Sharon D Clarke’s big emotional number in the second act. Eventually an older chap on the front row got up and left - though he apparently didn’t manage to turn it off or answer the damn thing right away, because we could still hear it faintly from outside the auditorium! There was another phone that went off a little later in the second act - right behind me (I was sitting in the front row, at the opposite end from the gentleman whose phone rang and rang). The owner dealt with it fairly quickly, but it was still annoying. The show is what it is - a slender framework on which to hang a stack of really terrific songs. The singing is spectacular, the band is superb, it may well be as thrilling a musical experience as you'll find in a theatre this year, and anyone who goes to this show looking for a musical with a plot is likely to come away disappointed. For me, it was more than worth the money (and the train journey), and in 'Kitchen Man' it was great, after seeing Sharon D. Clarke play a couple of really dour roles over the last couple of years, to be reminded of how funny she can be. There's no commercial case for it, but this is one of those productions where I really wish someone would make a cast album. |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 1, 2019 11:13:57 GMT
I thought this was going to be terrific - in the end it was just OK.
First of all I should say that I have been playing most of these songs (mainly on piano) for around 50 years and I know and love their intricacies very well.
Let's start with what I liked. Lovely atmospheric set, fabulously natural sound balance and an outstanding pianist and MD in Mark Dickman who musically stole the show from everyone else. Sharon D Clarke was predictably superb; the show was worth seeing for her alone. The reason why she was so good defined why the rest of the cast were to some extent unsatisfactory; ie. she got the style of vocal delivery right for the bluesy material. If you listen to the greatest exponents of this sort of stuff like Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and to a certain extent Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Lena Horne and Louis Armstrong, they're quite minimalist in their approach to the songs, just relying on their fabulous sense of rhythm, understanding of the natural arc in a musical phrase and spot-on pitching of the notes. Next best was Debbie Kurup - she did a very good version of Billy Strayhorn's masterpiece Lush Life, one of the most difficult songs of this type to sing in the repertoire. Next was Clive Rowe. He is one of my favourite music theatre artists but he is really not a natural at this stuff. The songs sat uncomfortably within his vocal range and he was at his best when singing falsetto. He also gave the songs way too much histrionics. In the latter regard Gemma Sutton was truly awful, over-emoting at every opportunity. She gave a quite shocking performance of Vernon Duke's wonderful 'Taking a Chance on Love' - a song that is so immaculate that, as greats like Sinatra have shown us, you need to to do very little to pull it off. She distorted the melody ridiculously and her intonation completely suffered to point where she was singing in a different key to the band at the end. In this regard the show was like the recent Ain't Misbehavin' at Southwark Playhouse where most of the singers were trying way too hard to 'interpret' the songs.
There are singers out there who could do this show justice - Anna-Jane Casey and Louise Dearman come to mind.
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 1, 2019 13:29:50 GMT
Well, on the flip side of the above - I really enjoyed this!
I knew nothing going in, and it was the cast that sold me, and none of them disappointed in any way.
We all know that Sharon D Clark is an insane talent (apart from the woman behind me who only knew her from Holby City) and she just gets a wonderful chance to show it here. She is vocally superb, but also manages to find real drama and emotion in an almost non existent book - her Act 2 showstopper really is a masterclass.
Thought Debbie Kurup, Clive Rowe and Gemma Sutton we’re also all very good (it’s very different to anything I’ve seen Gemma do before but she more than held her own I felt).
It’s a beautiful set, that almost took my breath away when I first saw it - really wonderful to look at.
And a big shout out to the 5 piece band who manage to make it sound like there are three times more than that many players.
There is very little plot, but the thread that there is works nicely. For the £10 I paid with the Young Persons ticket, I more than get my money’s worth.
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Post by sf on Sept 1, 2019 16:33:04 GMT
In the latter regard Gemma Sutton was truly awful, over-emoting at every opportunity. She gave a quite shocking performance of Vernon Duke's wonderful 'Taking a Chance on Love' - a song that is so immaculate that, as greats like Sinatra have shown us, you need to to do very little to pull it off. She distorted the melody ridiculously and her intonation completely suffered to point where she was singing in a different key to the band at the end. I liked her more than you did - but yes, that's exactly the difference between Sutton and Maria Friedman in the original London production (and on the cast album). Friedman didn't mess around with it, and didn't try to pretend to be anything she wasn't; her performance is one I've listened to a lot over the years, and she's terrific. Gemma Sutton tried way too hard, and less would have been (much) more. if she'd trusted the song, and trusted her voice, and thrown out all the mannered ornamentations she added (or was directed to add), her performance would have been about a thousand percent better. |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 1, 2019 18:35:52 GMT
sf I have been previously impressed with Gemma Sutton, having seen her in quite a few productions including Follies, The Rink and Sweet Charity but frankly she was poor in all of her songs (not necessarily her fault since she was presumably encouraged in her approach by the director and M.D) but honestly most of her efforts sounded like a bad audition for Dreamgirls.
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Post by Fleance on Sept 1, 2019 18:57:12 GMT
I loved this concert/"play." My only quibble was that I did not like the arrangement of "Taking a Chance on Love." I've heard many better jazz arrangements of that great song.
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