College Productions

Thanks for the reminder Steve just got some of the last stalls seats for Woods

Bruce Guthrie is directing and his Merrily was one of the best I've ever seen

❤️ 💙 💜

RAM are producing both Into The Woods and Spring Awakening. Both should be excellent, but there's already discussion on the previous page.

RADA have Urinetown from 30 May to 8 June if anyone hasn't spotted it. That's a long run for a student production.

Sunday - Mountview

Beautiful

Very good Sunday at Mountview.

Would have liked a slightly fuller orchestra and a couple of different directional choices but still very much enjoyed.

Great - Lots of 'Spring Awakening' around; been and gone at Urdang, but also coming up at the Royal Academy of Music 6 - 9 June

Sunday in the Park at Mountview this evening

Loved it!

Also love that this forum has introduced me to this great way of seeing shows. It’s lovely to see material that I haven’t before, at such an accessible price for quality productions

I also saw the Colour Cast of "Sunday in the Park with George" this evening at Mountview, and also LOVED it.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I liked the regional accents standing in for class differences in the first act Paris section, with Dot's heavy Geordie accent differentiating her from George's received pronunciation, as a kind of shorthand for the gulf between them.

It also helped Romona Lewis-Malley get a lot of laughs as the plain-speaking Dot, speaking so brazenly, differently and distinctly.

And I liked how when she soared into pitch perfect singing, you had that beautiful blend of bitter sweetness as rough speaking hit soaring notes.

She really carried Act 1 for me.

The comedy of Will Forgrave's Jules, with his lolloping walking stick, dandyish gait, pursed lips and furrowed brow pretensions also had me laughing, as did Sam Defeo's broad Southern accent and Daniel Meehan's fast-spoken lightly-but-savagely-cutting Scottish brogue as the Boatman.

I liked the use of empty frames, to represent the paintings, through which we could see Josh Rosewood's Seurat, facing us, dotting it with his pointillism in time with the music.

I loved the way they held the tableau of the "Sunday at La Grand Jatte" Painting as we walked into the interval, and seemed to still be there 20 minutes later when we walked back in.

I loved Josh Rosewood's transformation from the obsessed but confident and staid Seurat into his nervy salesman descendant, George, now with an American accent. That nervy energy carried the second act, I felt.

The Chromolume wasn't up to much, but hey ho, it was effective enough for the budget lol.

All in all, a really lovely show to the tune of 4 stars from me.

Sunday in the Park with George at Mountview, Peckham.

Sunday in the Park with George is a work of musical theatre genius apart from the extended Chromolume #7 scene which defeats me. I think the work is profound in its provocatively almost too obvious and simplistic statements about the creative process: "Starting on a hat, finishing a hat. Look, I made a hat. Where there never was a hat." That's what it comes down to but some hats are better than others, and the whole notion of encapsulating creativity through a hat is amusingly undercut in Company with the contemptuous "Does anyone still wear a hat?" Well, I think it's funny - as well as being profound.
Georges and Dot (Light cast) excellent though Dot's voice lost it a bit under pressure. Otherwise a lovely light soprano. Might have been due to the small auditorium. Meticulously rehearsed with obvious commitment and talent throughout the cast. Ensemble singing excellent and very well-balanced. Chamber orchestra lovely. The first scene in Act2 in particular stood out - this was where everything (voices, music, movement, lighting, direction) came together wonderfully and made you very glad to have been there.
I never thought I would ever go to Peckham.

Sweeney Todd (LSMT)

Was I saying yesterday that Sunday in the Park with George is my favourite musical theatre score of all time? Hmm, I may have to revise that. This was my first time seeing any production of Sweeney Todd since the David Bedella-led version in Twickenham almost a decade ago.

LSMT’s Kidney cast did not disappoint. Compared with lots of musicals, even other Sondheim’s, this is a really big and difficult piece to pull off. But staging it literally on Fleet Street is a good place to start. Also, despite not being explicitly referenced, I enjoyed the fact it was clearly set in modern times (with Judge Turpin even scrolling on his phone while receiving a shave). Bob Sterrett’s costume design was spot on, especially with Mrs Lovett’s various outfits.

And on the subject of our Nellie, it’s fair to say Lydia Duval stole the show. It did take a little while to adjust to the fact that the cast playing these roles were so young (obviously, it comes with the territory). There is a great deal of acting and vocal depth needed and Duval really understood the assignment; I was hugely impressed. Her By The Sea was probably the highlight for me.

Alex Maxwell really grew into the role of Sweeney. He took a little while to warm up but once Epiphany came around, he had the audience at the end of his blade. Sophie Alibert sang beautifully as Johanna (I don’t think there’s loads of sopranos on MT courses these days!), while Aaliya Mai was absolutely brilliant as the Beggar Woman. I’d love to see her in a bigger role further down the line.

A curious choice was to make the characters of Beadle Bamford and Pirelli female. Whether out of directorial choice or necessity, it worked with the former Analagh Murphy’s Scouse Beadle was a masterstroke. I did feel Pirelli ought to remain male though, if only for his sincere obnoxiousness.

I didn’t think the lighting was great and one thing I want to see from any Sweeney production is blood. Sadly, like GSA’s recent Carrie, it was lacking in that department - although I enjoyed the dripping corpses (more of that please!).

Overall, this was a really strong production. Sweeney is a really multilayered piece and bolder direction could have taken it up a notch.

I’ve nothing to say (well, nothing that’s not been said), but: I also loved Sunday at Mountview, I saw the matinee last Wednesday, colour cast (fantastic throughout!).

My only - very minor - criticism was the second soldier, “the one on the right”, being played by a real person instead of a cut-out. I think it didn’t add much but took out some fun.

I am also immensely grateful for this thread and all your contributions and updates!