The Witches of Eastwick In Concert - Sondheim Theatre

I had to request a refund - as logistics meant this weekend was the only time to escape London for family plans this week because of the absurd RMT strikes. 

I'm glad everyone had a lovely time - really hope a full scale production gets mounted.

To echo what's been said; I read the 'bitches' line as Daryl being frustrated at the situation not misogyny...

I think its valid, as John Partridge delivered it with an element of menace as affronted at being outwitted by women, whereas Ian McShane snarled it as a "oh well, you win some you lose some". JPs intonation was more sinister and could have been interpreted as misogynistic.

Flying in a short frock? Not a great look on anyone, except maybe Tinkerbell..

If I didn't know they were singing, I'd say they'd just realised how high up they were and weren't very happy about it.

I suppose Natasha was not attached to the project for long as she did replace Danielle Steers ^ Glad you enjoyed.

But it's always been like that, that's not new. And it's how Jane's character shifts - I think it's great!

quote author="mrbarnaby" source="/post/431076/thread" timestamp="1655762508"]
My my, you are giddy with delight ! Your words spring forth like a new born foal chasing a butterfly in the dappled light of summer[/quote]


That made me laugh out loud!

Yes, during the interval, I was excited that, against all odds, this turned out to be, for me, one of the most entertaining nights of the year!

As it happens, I felt exactly the same when the show ended, and was ready to leap in with a 5 star appraisal of the evening, when I realised, that because the show had finished before 10pm, I could pounce onto ITV Hub, put on ITV2 live, click the "Watch from the start" button and watch the sequel to "The Witches of Eastwick," "Love Island" on the train all the way home! Ekin-su is about as popular as Felicia lol!

And I must say, I loved Claire Moore's Felicia's rendition of "Evil," with her hair done by Boris Johnson's hairdresser, looking like the Bride of Frankenstein! Felicia may be repressed, but Claire Moore's increasingly building frenzy had a manic hysterical shrieking climax of "EVIL!" that brought the house down lol!

Brenda (I didn't buy the programme, so I apologise for not knowing who played her), as has been noted here, managed a similar gleefully ecstatic attachment to gossip, that was as amusing as it was thrilling to watch.

Same again for Nathan Amzi's Clyde, who during both "Who's the Man" and "Dance with the Devil," principally performed by an aggressively pumped-up wild and crazy Partridge, gave off serious Dewey-Finn-discovering-rock-and-roll-for-the-first-time vibes.

Someone earlier in the thread described these performances as "OTT," and they really were! In a delightful way. In an infectious way. In a way that made the audience elated again and again and again! Felicia, Brenda, Clyde, the Witches themselves, Partridge, all had such a performative ball I was either laughing or smiling the entire time.

And I think this is what playing Sukie taught Friedman: that the emotion of "letting go," of infectious frenzy, is really what this piece is all about!

Because let's face it: the book is unreadably vulgar and tedious; the movie seems about to climax but just goes into reverse before the real fun begins, and Jack is actually kind of gross: neither of these versions of the story succeeded, in my opinion, as either cathartic release OR cautionary tale. Just stuck in limbo.

The musical picks a side: it's about release, empowerment, and Friedman played to that in all her choices.

Even her choice to leave out "Loose Ends" was undoubtedly right. In the context of rollercoaster highs each topping themselves, it would have been a sentimental downer.

As an encore, it was the opposite of a downer: it was reliving an original; it was two generations of performer sharing the stage performing the same character; it was passing the baton! It was beautiful as an end, as a winding down, if not a loose one, just as "I wish I may" wound our emotions down just before the interval.

By the way, the Witches didn't only go up and down twice in the flying sequence. I recall that Jane and Alex flew up without Sukie, then Sukie says her line about not really wanting to fly, then the other two swooped down and pulled her up as well. And then Sukie flew off North Eastwards lol, getting a bit of side action as well as up and down.

Still, for me, it was that first winding down moment of "I wish I may," when the Witches come out, when Carrie Hope Fletcher's pristine voice hit peak tenderness that I found myself in tears. A downer before the second half upper!

This show was a ball! What a high!

5 stars, of sheer exuberant fun, for me.

OH! I 100% couldnt see that from where I was sitting in the Grand Circle!!

In which case...yeah you're very right!

^^^^^^^^^^^

FOR REALZ???