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Post by forevercolours on Oct 26, 2021 11:07:51 GMT
I don’t know if people agree with me on this one but I think this show would be a lot better if they took the whole *bad* Cinderella thing in their stride.
In the show now she is ‘bad’ because she spray paints a statue, has black hair and wears dark clothes. This is just a dumb stereotypical portrayal of someone bad and she doesn’t teally live up to her name.
If they rolled with it more and actually had Cinderella be more reprehensible, making questionable decisions and completely flipping the story on its head then it would have been a much more interesting take. This show tries its best to be different from the fairytale but still follows a very similar plotline to the one we know.
Imagine if Cinderella was genuinely bad. What if she plotted against her stepmother/sisters? What if she used the prince to get fame and fortune for her own gain? Yes, it’s farfetched but it is different enough from the original story and would not just mean it is a forgettable addition to the Cinderella adaptation list.
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Post by singingbird on Oct 26, 2021 11:25:16 GMT
I don’t know if people agree with me on this one but I think this show would be a lot better if they took the whole *bad* Cinderella thing in their stride. In the show now she is ‘bad’ because she spray paints a statue, has black hair and wears dark clothes. This is just a dumb stereotypical portrayal of someone bad and she doesn’t teally live up to her name. If they rolled with it more and actually had Cinderella be more reprehensible, making questionable decisions and completely flipping the story on its head then it would have been a much more interesting take. This show tries its best to be different from the fairytale but still follows a very similar plotline to the one we know. Imagine if Cinderella was genuinely bad. What if she plotted against her stepmother/sisters? What if she used the prince to get fame and fortune for her own gain? Yes, it’s farfetched but it is different enough from the original story and would not just mean it is a forgettable addition to the Cinderella adaptation list. This could have made for a much more interesting show. I think they were trying to go for pre-teen, teenage and hen-night audiences. It sort of falls between all these stools. What you're describing would have been a much edgier adult musical, and, IMO, all the better for it! |
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Post by karloscar on Oct 26, 2021 11:38:37 GMT
The problem is not so much that Cinderella's not really bad, but that she's not really very interesting either. Other versions of the role have had much more depth.
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Post by Oliver on Oct 26, 2021 12:30:40 GMT
I don’t know if people agree with me on this one but I think this show would be a lot better if they took the whole *bad* Cinderella thing in their stride. In the show now she is ‘bad’ because she spray paints a statue, has black hair and wears dark clothes. This is just a dumb stereotypical portrayal of someone bad and she doesn’t teally live up to her name. If they rolled with it more and actually had Cinderella be more reprehensible, making questionable decisions and completely flipping the story on its head then it would have been a much more interesting take. This show tries its best to be different from the fairytale but still follows a very similar plotline to the one we know. Imagine if Cinderella was genuinely bad. What if she plotted against her stepmother/sisters? What if she used the prince to get fame and fortune for her own gain? Yes, it’s farfetched but it is different enough from the original story and would not just mean it is a forgettable addition to the Cinderella adaptation list. That would be the obvious thing to do, unsubtle, uninteresting. I like the fact that she has a touch of rebelliousness, some modern sensibilities, yet is also romantic and likeable in many respects. It gives the show more nuance than what you are suggesting here. |
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Post by forevercolours on Oct 26, 2021 12:38:37 GMT
I don’t know if people agree with me on this one but I think this show would be a lot better if they took the whole *bad* Cinderella thing in their stride. In the show now she is ‘bad’ because she spray paints a statue, has black hair and wears dark clothes. This is just a dumb stereotypical portrayal of someone bad and she doesn’t teally live up to her name. If they rolled with it more and actually had Cinderella be more reprehensible, making questionable decisions and completely flipping the story on its head then it would have been a much more interesting take. This show tries its best to be different from the fairytale but still follows a very similar plotline to the one we know. Imagine if Cinderella was genuinely bad. What if she plotted against her stepmother/sisters? What if she used the prince to get fame and fortune for her own gain? Yes, it’s farfetched but it is different enough from the original story and would not just mean it is a forgettable addition to the Cinderella adaptation list. That would be the obvious thing to do, unsubtle, uninteresting. I like the fact that she has a touch of rebelliousness, some modern sensibilities, yet is also romantic and likeable in many respects. It gives the show more nuance than what you are suggesting here. I didn’t find her likeable at all. She is slightly rebellious and doesn’t follow social norms. She is dull and uninteresting. I genuinely couldn’t care about her character less. The stepsisters were much more interesting and had a better story than Cinderella. |
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Post by Oliver on Oct 26, 2021 12:42:45 GMT
That would be the obvious thing to do, unsubtle, uninteresting. I like the fact that she has a touch of rebelliousness, some modern sensibilities, yet is also romantic and likeable in many respects. It gives the show more nuance than what you are suggesting here. I didn’t find her likeable at all. She is slightly rebellious and doesn’t follow social norms. She is dull and uninteresting. I genuinely couldn’t care about her character less. The stepsisters were much more interesting and had a better story than Cinderella. It may be that I found her likable because of CHF's portrayal rather than the drama itself. That's possible. It could be that her character needs to be more clearly defined. |
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Post by cezbear on Oct 26, 2021 12:45:44 GMT
Funnily enough, I found the character very unlikable when I saw CHF but much more likable when I saw Georgina's take. So I put some of it on the actress but the character could be written better, for sure.
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Post by forevercolours on Oct 26, 2021 12:55:16 GMT
I didn’t find her likeable at all. She is slightly rebellious and doesn’t follow social norms. She is dull and uninteresting. I genuinely couldn’t care about her character less. The stepsisters were much more interesting and had a better story than Cinderella. It may be that I found her likable because of CHF's portrayal rather than the drama itself. That's possible. It could be that her character needs to be more clearly defined. I thought CHF did an okay job with the material she was given. Her singing performances were great but I still found (most) of them unenjoyable because of how boring I thought it was. I have also had reservations about her acting skills over the years and was hoping this would hope to sway me one way or the other but like I said, the material she has been given isn’t be best to showcase real acting chops imo. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 26, 2021 12:57:23 GMT
I don’t know if people agree with me on this one but I think this show would be a lot better if they took the whole *bad* Cinderella thing in their stride. In the show now she is ‘bad’ because she spray paints a statue, has black hair and wears dark clothes. This is just a dumb stereotypical portrayal of someone bad and she doesn’t teally live up to her name. If they rolled with it more and actually had Cinderella be more reprehensible, making questionable decisions and completely flipping the story on its head then it would have been a much more interesting take. This show tries its best to be different from the fairytale but still follows a very similar plotline to the one we know. Imagine if Cinderella was genuinely bad. What if she plotted against her stepmother/sisters? What if she used the prince to get fame and fortune for her own gain? Yes, it’s farfetched but it is different enough from the original story and would not just mean it is a forgettable addition to the Cinderella adaptation list. This could have made for a much more interesting show. I think they were trying to go for pre-teen, teenage and hen-night audiences. It sort of falls between all these stools. What you're describing would have been a much edgier adult musical, and, IMO, all the better for it! Stools is in the key word with ALW's take on this story. |
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Post by danb on Oct 26, 2021 13:09:01 GMT
The drama that the writer has chosen to inject is very small and soapy. The only remotely dramatic song of any consequence now is the Godmothers; however she doesn’t explain why she should be back by midnight nor the possible consequences. This is the dramatic peak of act one. The fantastic sea witch song (yes, that again) could have been the dramatic peak of act two but it is of no consequence to the plot. Instead, just more soapy nonsense. No actual jeopardy (or cute talking mice).
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Post by Oliver on Oct 26, 2021 13:12:11 GMT
This could have made for a much more interesting show. I think they were trying to go for pre-teen, teenage and hen-night audiences. It sort of falls between all these stools. What you're describing would have been a much edgier adult musical, and, IMO, all the better for it! Stools is in the key word with ALW's take on this story. It's not edgy or clever to simply take a sympathetic character and make her the extreme opposite. It's the oldest device in the book, a total cliche, it would remove all nuance and make the character nothing more than a caricature. I'm not saying they got her character right, necessarily, but this idea is far worse. |
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Post by Oliver on Oct 26, 2021 13:15:49 GMT
The drama that the writer has chosen to inject is very small and soapy. The only remotely dramatic song of any consequence now is the Godmothers; however she doesn’t explain why she should be back by midnight nor the possible consequences. This is the dramatic peak of act one. The fantastic sea witch song (yes, that again) could have been the dramatic peak of act two but it is of no consequence to the plot. Instead, just more soapy nonsense. No actual jeopardy (or cute talking mice). I would be interested to know what you think is 'fantastic' about the sea witch song? |
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Post by danb on Oct 26, 2021 15:13:30 GMT
1.) I like Adam Lamberts voice
2.) It doesn’t sound like any of the other ones
3.) It would create a dramatic peak with its’ unexpected absurdity
4.) It would make Charming appear a lot more dynamic and heroic
5.) It isn’t just two women talking round in circles
6.) It has at least 3 great hooks
7.) It has an amazing title
8.) It is my opinion. I’m not about to try and convince anyone to hold the same one, or sound incredulous that nobody thinks the same, or insinuate that anyone not holding said opinion is wrong. It is just my personal taste.
Forgot to mention that it would create a wider world outside of Belleville and an interesting supernatural element. Quite a leap Acknowledging the existence of a giant sea monster ‘n stuff.
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Post by singingbird on Oct 26, 2021 16:34:17 GMT
Stools is in the key word with ALW's take on this story. It's not edgy or clever to simply take a sympathetic character and make her the extreme opposite. It's the oldest device in the book, a total cliche, it would remove all nuance and make the character nothing more than a caricature. I'm not saying they got her character right, necessarily, but this idea is far worse. Hmmm - I sort of know what you mean, but I still think the character could be much more nuanced and complex, and I'd have liked her more if she'd been flawed and mixed-up, and a bit dangerous. Around the same time I Cinderella I saw the Disney film Cruella. The central character in that was how I'd have liked this Cinderella to be. |
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Post by Oliver on Oct 26, 2021 16:44:49 GMT
It's not edgy or clever to simply take a sympathetic character and make her the extreme opposite. It's the oldest device in the book, a total cliche, it would remove all nuance and make the character nothing more than a caricature. I'm not saying they got her character right, necessarily, but this idea is far worse. Hmmm - I sort of know what you mean, but I still think the character could be much more nuanced and complex, and I'd have liked her more if she'd been flawed and mixed-up, and a bit dangerous. Around the same time I Cinderella I saw the Disney film Cruella. The central character in that was how I'd have liked this Cinderella to be. Yes that sounds interesting. It would need a very different kind of musical treatment though. |
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Post by greeny11 on Oct 27, 2021 18:13:13 GMT
Saw this for a second time this afternoon, this time with Georgina in the lead role. Seeing it for the second time did rather show up some of the flaws in the book rhat I missed the first time. Pretty much any Cinderella/Sebastian interaction is very cheesy and I couldn’t get into into their partnership. I also was less of a fan of Ivano this time, his voice is fine, but having heard an audio, I would have preferred to see Michael Hamway. His acting was rather hammy too. I liked Georgina a lot as Cinderella, and she has a great voice, but I think I prefer Carrie. We had Michelle Bishop as the Stepmother and she played it in almost exactly the same way as VHB - she was very funny. I think the score is the strongest part of this show, and I really like it, but the book needs significant improvements if this is to make it to Broadway.
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Post by cezbear on Oct 27, 2021 19:11:36 GMT
As Michael Hamway was mentioned above, thought I'd add my thoughts having caught him this week. I wasn't a fan unfortunately, found him quite bland (his voice was decent however) and lacking in the charm of Ivano who I really do like. I also thought he looked too old - whether this is because Georgina is quite young, I'm not sure, but it didn't feel a believable pairing for me. I did really enjoy Georgina again, but would like to catch Carrie again soon to see if she's grown on me.
Audience was very into it, although there were two phones going off... sigh.
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Post by stagebyte on Oct 27, 2021 20:26:00 GMT
As Michael Hamway was mentioned above, thought I'd add my thoughts having caught him this week. I wasn't a fan unfortunately, found him quite bland (his voice was decent however) and lacking in the charm of Ivano who I really do like. I also thought he looked too old - whether this is because Georgina is quite young, I'm not sure, but it didn't feel a believable pairing for me. I did really enjoy Georgina again, but would like to catch Carrie again soon to see if she's grown on me. Audience was very into it, although there were two phones going off... sigh. So interesting. I thought Hamway was the right look age wise for Carrie whereas I thought Ivano looked like her little brother. I just couldn’t believe in romance between the two of them at all. Both had nice voices. |
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Post by cezbear on Oct 27, 2021 20:36:29 GMT
I wonder if Michael would have looked more suited to Carrie. I think they're roughly similar ages, and Ivano/Georgina also close in age. With that said I didn't find the Carrie/Ivano pairing the mismatch I'd expected before going, however he had more chemistry with Georgina (IMO).
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Post by forevercolours on Oct 28, 2021 11:33:25 GMT
Special charity Gala night performance in aid of the Malala Fund scheduled for Monday 22nd November. Tickets currently £100 or £175. Think I’ll pass! I paid £45 for my ticket and thought that was too much!
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Post by danb on Oct 28, 2021 11:36:39 GMT
Too. Many. Words. Thoughts. Must. Keep. Hidden.
How about Millionaire, Philanthropist and Oxymoron. They’re words aren’t they?
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Post by inthenose on Oct 28, 2021 12:54:28 GMT
I've just had this email, "inviting" me to this wonderful opportunity to spend £175 watching a show I could see for £28 the day prior. What an offer!
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Post by cezbear on Oct 28, 2021 13:12:39 GMT
But... you'd get to be in the presence of the Lord! Can you put a price on that.
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Post by inthenose on Oct 28, 2021 13:20:45 GMT
Yes, my dignity
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2021 15:02:19 GMT
I hope a certain fan of Cinderella in this thread will buying a whole block of tickets!
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