287 posts
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Post by singingbird on Jun 30, 2021 13:59:14 GMT
Is this the first musical with an 'original' story that this director has directed? I have hated everything he has ever done (that I've seen) and that was with very well established and already brilliant shows. School of Rock is the only one I can think of that was 'originally' directed by him, but that was based on an already successful (and good) film and you can't go too far wrong with that. Directing a brand new musical, with an original story is a very different thing and much more difficult to do well. My fear was always that he wouldn't have the skill to make this work. I don't understand why he gets work, but could it be that ALW really likes to be in control and is able to do this with this director? Sometimes a show needs a really strong director to point out and work out what doesn't work and to be able to offer ways to put these issues right - from just reading the script etc - not during previews. Though I appreciate that even the best director can end up having to make many changes during this time. If this does end up with bad reviews it will be a great shame, but let's hope they manage to make the improvements needed before the press night. I look forward to seeing it sometime in the future and envy those who have got to see it at the very beginning. I will very much look forward to hearing from those who have seen it at this point and who will also see it on or after press night to find out what changes have been made. Thank you all so far for your thoughts and descriptions of what you have seen. It is so good to read about new work coming to life again in the West End. Connor is primarily a re-stager ( years on Les Mis doing this). School of Rock looked like it was 'directed' in an afternoon - astonishingly amateur . A new musical like like this needs a director with flair, imagination and wit. He has none of these qualities. When a new musical is competing with the skill and staging of say, Hamilton, directors really do need to up their game. The problem, of course , is that producers want a director who they can boss around, make casting decisions for them and have a very 'hands on ' approach to the staging. Experienced directors wouldn't tolerate that sort of intervention. Plus directors with a proven track-record want a big upfront fee plus a healthy cut of the box-office. Lesser directors - this one included - will accept a decreased fee plus a smaller cut of profits. More profit for the producer - but the trade-off is that the show may not actually run as long as it could have with an experienced pair of hands behind the wheel. Does anyone know anything about him and his background? He appears to have no credits before working with CM & ALW, but he must have done something. Where did he come from? How did he become their 'pet director'? He seems affable enough but he really isn't the person they needed to pull this show together and make it something surprising, sparky and original. |
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Post by Seriously on Jun 30, 2021 14:26:44 GMT
If you put the word "Bad" in the title of the show, every reviewer will do the same thing: "Was it bad?"
And then your reviews just become about that.
As for ALW, he finds people who can "translate" what he wants. If he says something is too "mushy" or "confused", he likes people around him who know how to translate that. Unfortunately, nobody in the room says "No" to him.
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4,189 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 30, 2021 16:05:00 GMT
Don't know if someone has posted the already bu Carrie Hope Fletcher is scheduled to ne on Sunday brunch this weekend She might not be on for the Sunday matinee I guess then? Unless she is on early enough to get away? She will have done 2 performances on the Saturday and potentially an early start on the Sunday so it might be a rest day off for her. Or she might not even be in the studio. She may Skype in from the theatre |
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3,347 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jun 30, 2021 16:16:46 GMT
She might not be on for the Sunday matinee I guess then? Unless she is on early enough to get away? She will have done 2 performances on the Saturday and potentially an early start on the Sunday so it might be a rest day off for her. Or she might not even be in the studio. She may Skype in from the theatre Sunday Brunch finishes at 12:30 and it's filmed at Television Centre (Wood Lane), just down the road from where I live. You can easily do the journey door-to-door in 30 minutes on the Central Line. Carrie may well be driven back to the theatre, but even so, it's not really a risk time wise, even if she stays to the very end. |
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1,258 posts
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Post by theatrelover123 on Jun 30, 2021 16:16:56 GMT
She might not be on for the Sunday matinee I guess then? Unless she is on early enough to get away? She will have done 2 performances on the Saturday and potentially an early start on the Sunday so it might be a rest day off for her. Or she might not even be in the studio. She may Skype in from the theatre True, anthony40. Very true. We shall see |
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 30, 2021 20:01:19 GMT
At the interval now…
This show is a HOT HORRIBLE MESS.
How on EARTH has the compose of Evita, Sunset, Joseph, Phantom and Starlight written such awful songs.
The style is a mixture of Blackadder, panto, drama school show, love island and a rubbish regional gothic meets 17th century French chamber musical with a good cast but with recorded tinny Casio keyboard music and average set.
I’m SOOOO dissapointed. The awful gym song, terrible forest scene duet Carrie/Sebastian have and the screen change end of act one I laughed out loud!!!
The ONLY good thing in this show is Sebastian’s solo Only You, Lonely you. (And then he needs to keep still!)
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913 posts
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Post by karloscar on Jun 30, 2021 20:45:21 GMT
Has Sebastian's breathing and phrasing improved any on his big number? It was bloody awful when he first performed it.
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5,866 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jun 30, 2021 21:11:23 GMT
At the interval now… This show is a HOT HORRIBLE MESS. How on EARTH has the compose of Evita, Sunset, Joseph, Phantom and Starlight written such awful songs. The style is a mixture of Blackadder, panto, drama school show, love island and a rubbish regional gothic meets 17th century French chamber musical with a good cast but with recorded tinny Casio keyboard music and average set. I’m SOOOO dissapointed. The awful gym song, terrible forest scene duet Carrie/Sebastian have and the screen change end of act one I laughed out loud!!! The ONLY good thing in this show is Sebastian’s solo Only You, Lonely you. (And then he needs to keep still!) But apart from that you love it? |
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 30, 2021 21:19:51 GMT
Has Sebastian's breathing and phrasing improved any on his big number? It was bloody awful when he first performed it. His breathing and phrasing is awful. He was also terribly flat in many parts in act 2 and I've heard better amateur singers. That said, his dancing in act 2 is sensational. Full review coming up! …… (it’s not gonna be nice I’m warning you all) |
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Post by max on Jun 30, 2021 21:32:15 GMT
Would be great to hear more detail from some of the 5 Star givers in the poll, just as some have asked of the 1 Star givers. Not compulsory on this board of course, but would be interesting as it's such a polarising show it seems.
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Post by max on Jun 30, 2021 21:38:11 GMT
deleted double post - can't think of anything to put here to pretend I didn't make a mistake lol
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Post by scarpia on Jun 30, 2021 21:43:59 GMT
Connor is primarily a re-stager ( years on Les Mis doing this). School of Rock looked like it was 'directed' in an afternoon - astonishingly amateur . A new musical like like this needs a director with flair, imagination and wit. He has none of these qualities. When a new musical is competing with the skill and staging of say, Hamilton, directors really do need to up their game. The problem, of course , is that producers want a director who they can boss around, make casting decisions for them and have a very 'hands on ' approach to the staging. Experienced directors wouldn't tolerate that sort of intervention. Plus directors with a proven track-record want a big upfront fee plus a healthy cut of the box-office. Lesser directors - this one included - will accept a decreased fee plus a smaller cut of profits. More profit for the producer - but the trade-off is that the show may not actually run as long as it could have with an experienced pair of hands behind the wheel. Does anyone know anything about him and his background? He appears to have no credits before working with CM & ALW, but he must have done something. Where did he come from? How did he become their 'pet director'? He seems affable enough but he really isn't the person they needed to pull this show together and make it something surprising, sparky and original. He's a Cameron yes-man. Basically, he performed in the original production of Miz (along with James Powell, who now shares co-directing credits with him for the 'new' decade-old touring production that replaced the original). Then he gave up on acting and eventually became the resident director of Phantom at Her Majesty's. Even then his ideas were weird and didn't work...there was much tension backstage when he insisted on 'Music of the Night' becoming a 'lesson on music' rather than, as Hal Prince conceived, a seduction (Connor then later pursued that idea for the 25th-anniversary production of Phantom which had the most ridiculous staging of that number I've ever seen, complete with a blindfold). His big gig was to do the reduced Saigon, which was basically a watered-down version of the Hytner original, so that it could tour (and this was the same production that became the short-lived West End revival). Then he became Cameron's go-to man for turning all his 'mega' shows into shoestring shows 'for the 21st century'. And from there, he got the attention of ALW...and Tim Rice, since he also staged that abysmally disappointing revival of Chess at the ENO, which merely exposed all the flaws of the piece rather than hiding them as a good director of musicals should do. He gets hired because: (a) he's a lot cheaper than someone like Trevor Nunn (Hal Prince got a 4% cut of the gross of Phantom...Connor will not get ANYTHING like that); (b) he won't say no to ALW or Cameron, who have both surrounded themselves with yes men; and (c) effectively this way ALW/Cameron can control the entire project, and Connor knows he'll get the boot if he dissents. The 25th-anniversary Miz only works because, as Trevor Nunn himself has said, it largely plagiarises the original. It's not as if 'One Day More' etc were really restaged in any meaningful way. His Phantom was ill-received enough for Cameron and ALW to think again about how to do a cheaper version of the original (and the director of THAT, Seth Sklar-Heyn is also not really a director, but rather an ex stagehand from the Majestic on Broadway). I thought his Superstar and Chess were appalling. To get the megahit he wants ALW needs to relinquish some control, but he won't do so and doesn't learn. |
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Post by kt12 on Jun 30, 2021 21:54:51 GMT
Thank you for this overview. It sounds as if you either have insider knowledge or have first-hand experience of working for him. Either way, it's a succinct take on quite why he is were he is.
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287 posts
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Post by singingbird on Jun 30, 2021 21:56:10 GMT
Does anyone know anything about him and his background? He appears to have no credits before working with CM & ALW, but he must have done something. Where did he come from? How did he become their 'pet director'? He seems affable enough but he really isn't the person they needed to pull this show together and make it something surprising, sparky and original. He's a Cameron yes-man. Basically, he performed in the original production of Miz (along with James Powell, who now shares co-directing credits with him for the 'new' decade-old touring production that replaced the original). Then he gave up on acting and eventually became the resident director of Phantom at Her Majesty's. Even then his ideas were weird and didn't work...there was much tension backstage when he insisted on 'Music of the Night' becoming a 'lesson on music' rather than, as Hal Prince conceived, a seduction (Connor then later pursued that idea for the 25th-anniversary production of Phantom which had the most ridiculous staging of that number I've ever seen, complete with a blindfold). His big gig was to do the reduced Saigon, which was basically a watered-down version of the Hytner original, so that it could tour (and this was the same production that became the short-lived West End revival). Then he became Cameron's go-to man for turning all his 'mega' shows into shoestring shows 'for the 21st century'. And from there, he got the attention of ALW...and Tim Rice, since he also staged that abysmally disappointing revival of Chess at the ENO, which merely exposed all the flaws of the piece rather than hiding them as a good director of musicals should do. He gets hired because: (a) he's a lot cheaper than someone like Trevor Nunn (Hal Prince got a 4% cut of the gross of Phantom...Connor will not get ANYTHING like that); (b) he won't say no to ALW or Cameron, who have both surrounded themselves with yes men; and (c) effectively this way ALW/Cameron can control the entire project, and Connor knows he'll get the boot if he dissents. The 25th-anniversary Miz only works because, as Trevor Nunn himself has said, it largely plagiarises the original. It's not as if 'One Day More' etc were really restaged in any meaningful way. His Phantom was ill-received enough for Cameron and ALW to think again about how to do a cheaper version of the original (and the director of THAT, Seth Sklar-Heyn is also not really a director, but rather an ex stagehand from the Majestic on Broadway). I thought his Superstar and Chess were appalling. To get the megahit he wants ALW needs to relinquish some control, but he won't do so and doesn't learn. Thank you. That's so interesting. I couldn't figure his back story at all, but that makes absolute sense. Depressingly so, actually. |
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Post by inthenose on Jun 30, 2021 22:11:53 GMT
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Post by stagebyte on Jun 30, 2021 22:23:40 GMT
Do you have a screenshot? It’s behind a paywall. Did they go ahead with it? |
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7,142 posts
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Post by Jon on Jun 30, 2021 22:27:17 GMT
I find it interesting that for the 2008 Oliver! revival Rupert Goold directed it in place of Sam Mendes but I wonder if Mendes was the one who stipulated that he wanted Goold as I imagine Cameron would have hired Laurence Connor.
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Post by inthenose on Jun 30, 2021 22:33:28 GMT
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 30, 2021 22:35:16 GMT
So my review!
A revamped subversive modern twist on Cinderella? As I said above it was a hot mess.
The set and scenery is mixture of styles, it doesn’t know what musical it is dressing and not even the revolving seats helps this. The folding dated flats that constantly come on and off look cheap sadly and like cardboard cut-outs dotted underneath the gold baroque framing of the pros arch / it just looks like a muddled Phantom meets Panto. Moving stalls aside, it’s a serviceable average set and it doesn’t marry together.
Same for the costumes - there is a mixture of gothic, love island, 17th century France, panto, drag, gladiator, Beauty and the Beast… and unlike something genius like Wicked, though it’s a fantasy world, it made no sense.
The worst part of this new musical is the music. This is second to Stephen Ward as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worst score. When he released Far Too Late, I know I Have a Heart AND Only You, Lonely You I was excited to hear the rest of the score - that WAS the score! Though all ALW plonky they are decent tunes. I couldn’t believe it. The rest of the show was forgettable, lacked decent melodies, tedious, below average and… well…. rubbish.
The casting was questionable, swearing uneccessary, I don’t think Carrie should have been cast against Ivano who plays Sebastian, I found the colour blind casting questionable (why is the Queen white?), I found the wokey gay sub plot and characters actually OFFENSIVE rather than fresh and contemporary, the hot buns and gym scene weird, the screen change in the awful end of act of one TERRIBLE and the Godmother/plastic surgeon character just bizarre.
A massive thumbs down from me and a 1 star. Dare I say this, I don’t understand the appeal of Carrie either or what her journey in the show was meant to be (though to be fair she sang well - it was the direction and show that makes the cast look bad. This will flop terribly sadly and no rewrites can save it. It needs a new set, to be recast, 8 new songs and an clearer book and story.
I can’t believe this was written by the same man who gave us Sunset, Evita and Phantom! The fact that this awful show sounds like it’s played on a click track meets tinny Casio keyboard is the icing on the cake!
Ugh
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3,468 posts
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Post by ceebee on Jun 30, 2021 22:35:38 GMT
I think that's a fairer review than I was expecting... Just be mindful of the people behind the efforts you gleefully trash.
I wish some folk could be a little kinder, even if it is just their own version of the truth.
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913 posts
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Post by karloscar on Jun 30, 2021 22:53:33 GMT
The worst part of this new musical is the music. This is second to Stephen Ward as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worst score. When he released Far Too Late, I know I Have a Heart AND Only You, Lonely You I was excited to hear the rest of the score - that WAS the score! I couldn’t believe it. The rest of the show was unforgettable, tedious, below average and… well…. rubbish.
Do you mean unmemorable rather than unforgettable? I've not been impressed by any of the songs I've heard or the way they're performed either. . I'm unlikely to see the show, not really my cup of tea, but it sounds like they've nicked bits of every other Cinders and chucked them all in a blender producing a rather lumpy unappetising smoothy.
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1,210 posts
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Post by musicalmarge on Jun 30, 2021 23:01:17 GMT
The worst part of this new musical is the music. This is second to Stephen Ward as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worst score. When he released Far Too Late, I know I Have a Heart AND Only You, Lonely You I was excited to hear the rest of the score - that WAS the score! I couldn’t believe it. The rest of the show was unforgettable, tedious, below average and… well…. rubbish. Do you mean unmemorable rather than unforgettable? I've not been impressed by any of the songs I've heard or the way they're performed either. . I'm unlikely to see the show, not really my cup of tea, but it sounds like they've nicked bits of every other Cinders and chucked them all in a blender producing a rather lumpy unappetising smoothy. Sorry… rushing typing on my iPhone. FORGETTABLE! |
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Post by max on Jun 30, 2021 23:13:00 GMT
Does the King feature in this production (the counterpart to Rebecca Trehearn's Queen?), or, if not seen on stage, is he depicted in some way, such as a portrait?
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Post by FairyGodmother on Jun 30, 2021 23:21:42 GMT
I'd like to read the book as a... book. Because it sounds like something isn't quite working, and I'd like to know Emerald's actual story.
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Post by max on Jun 30, 2021 23:23:12 GMT
Does the King feature in this production (the counterpart to Rebecca Trehearn's Queen?), or, if not seen on stage, is he depicted in some way, such as a portrait? You can see where I'm going with this.....sighs.... |
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