City of Angels

I didn't think she was a seasoned MT actor before this, no. To my knowledge she had done some singles and a lot of TV.

You'll love her, she eats up every part of her role.

She’s done several musicals on Broadway, and is at least as seasoned a musical theatre actor as anyone else in this cast.

Lots of little teething problems. Stone's office door wouldn't close at one point and you kept seeing a hand trying to sort it out. There was a problem on the other side when you could hear a thud as Jonathan Slinger tried to enter through the door with the panel still in place, before it was quickly yanked across. During the nightclub singer bit Rosalie's dress got caught as she made her way down the stairs, though as it came loose pretty easily as she carried on down I doubt most people even noticed. Seemed to be quite a bit of noise from backstage/the wings in general.

None of that really matters though, I loved the show anyway.

Saw this on Friday and thought it was so classy, stylish and enchanting.

I didn't know anything about the show going in (the cast sold me) but it's such a slick musical. Easily the sexiest musical I've ever seen. It's just so self assured and unlike anything else!

The cast were pretty much all spectacular. Hadley Fraser is a dream (that man's voice goes on forever!), Theo James was a much better singer than I'd expected and also is so gorgeous, Rebecca Trehearn and Rosalie Craig are their usual excellent selves (Trehearn's performance of You Can Always Count On Me is knock-out). Vanessa Williams is everything I'd hoped she'd be and more (stylish, sly, sophisticated, cheeky and all the rest).
Jonny Slinger and Nicola Roberts are a little tricky - he can't really sing and she cant really act, but they just about get away with it. The ensemble are also excellent (and a special shout to Rob Houchen who gets to showcase his wonderful voice).

Such a wonderful design too - projections, set, COSTUMES (!) - well done Josie Rourke for this fantastic production. It wasn't technically on the money 100% yet (they had a door that wouldn't close or stay shut, which became a bit of a problem) but they'll work it out.

Back in a few weeks time on the £20 front row tickets and can't wait!

Yes. I thought he was good, but because the main principles were so good, he sort of falls a little by the wayside.

I thought the cast was exceptional but so is the production, band, costumes, set - everything really, so I'm sure it will be fabulous with a different cast.

Well, I went to see it on Friday night. Now - a slight disclaimer - I was lucky enough to see the original London production of City of Angels which I absolutely loved.

Unfortunately I can't say the same of this production which is hit and miss. First the good : The staging / set and lighting is fabulous - there were a few teething troubles as others have alluded to above, but by and large it worked very very well. The orchestra were also great.

The cast that remained from the Domnar production were all excellent. Hadley Fraser was outstanding as Stein. Rebecca Trehearn and Rosalie Craig were also great as Oolie and Gabby (although I still prefer Haydn Gwynne as Oolie - sorry!).  Newcomer Theo James did a very creditable job of Stone, despite looking a little too fresh and young (but then I am comparing to Roger Allam who does dishevelled brilliantly).

Then there are some remarkably "odd" casting choices. Vanessa Williams and her massive Biog promised a lot, but delivered little, and frankly her age made Stone look like he was molesting his grandmother (if you don't know who she is you won't be able to find her easily from her picture in the programme - some serious vanity photography in use there...). There was absolutely no chemistry on display and little to suggest that Stone would be believably attracted to Alaura. The Tennis song was flat as a pancake and very uncomfortable. Similarly rather than a slick suave but thick Jimmy Power, we had Rob Houchen who seemed like he was visiting from Me and My Girl. He sang nicely but has quite a strong vibrato - he's not a crooner and Jimmy Power is supposed to be a crooner. He also didn't come across as the sex symbol that could carry the movie, and that Alaura would be infatuated with. The whole dynamic just failed for me.

Then we move to Nicola Roberts. She sang nicely, but she is not a jazz singer and she couldn't deliver alluring blonde bombshell for Mallory or thick blonde bombshell for Avril. She was also the victim of a really odd directorial decision (unless it was her idea). The line in Stein's novel in this production alludes to Mallory not wearing much more than a sheet (it was changed from the original script). In this show however "not much more" comprises a full set of underwear and a shirt. In the original production Mallory was naked (although her nudity never shown to the audience except for the back) and used a sheet throughout the song to cover her modesty. This sets up the staging for the framing of Stone and sets up the joke - "I don't remember you coming back with those sheets from the laundry..." . Much more importantly, Stone is *not* supposed to be seduced by Mallory, but caught off guard for the incriminating photograph. In this production Stone seemed quite happy to get it on with everyone be it grandma or grand-daughter, thus ruining the narrative and making him look stupid. Stone isn't supposed to be stupid.

The archetypes are really important to make this show work and the casting needs to be done carefully. Dropping big names in to sell seats that don't fit the roles does no-one any favours.

Then we move to Jonathan Slinger. Maybe he was having a bed night, or was under rehearsed. He seemed to be nervous and seemed to be reading lines from his desk at one point. He was average vocally, and his acting was hit and miss. I wish they could have got Peter Polycarpou.

Another issue I couldn't quite pinpoint was with the Angel 4. They are used a lot to carry set changes and scene changes, which means that they are often quite distant from each other whilst trying to deliver what should be their very tight close jazz vocals. They were slightly off on occasions. I'm not sure if it was the bigger stage or if Manuel Pacific (Tenor) just wasn't quite on it sometimes. Their voices didn't quite gel as the vocal group. I imagine they will improve with time however - this was only the second preview.

So - generally a good show but I'd go see it after 25th July and hope they don't parachute more famous people in to fill seats.

Having seen it on Broadway and the original London cast (several times) this was always going to be a hard sell for me. It was good at the Donmar and slightly better here but not really re-imagined for a proscenium arch venue which was a shame. I agree with a previous poster about the laughs never "landing" and I, too couldn't quite work out why apart from the cast not being that well directed. It's (perhaps too) smart and stylish; I would have preferred the Angel City Four to have had closer, tighter harmonies and for the band to be bigger but nevertheless there is much to enjoy. Rebecca Trehearn is the standout here - she is simply terrific. Nice work from Vanessa Williams too; I can really take or leave Ms Craig and it's best to draw a veil over Ms Roberts. Theo James looks good but does lack that 1940s cynical mood and Hadley Fraser fine. The theatre was incredibly hot which could have led to an "incident" during Act 1 when someone was taken ill.

As far as I know, those lines are both in the original script. They weren’t added because of the casting.