Murder Ballad

I should be over sometime between 9:20/9:30... originally the show was listed as 90 minutes, but then it has since changed to be listed as 80 minutes. Whenever I have gone it has kinda been in between the two.

Watched the show with no expectations and some curiosity.

Interesting. It was quite good, but as one review said the love story was very cliched and very "BBC 9pm drama" style. I was hoping the murder and the lead up to it would have taken up more of the show.

Thought the twist was very clever.

Excellent cast - however Ramin's sexiness made it very distracting and I kept veering off from the plotline into other trains of thought!!!! I had to smirk to myself when he was singing a number which had lines line "you belong to me" and it was like he went into Phantom mode - not a bad thing at all!!

Kerry Ellis was a revelation because she was actually good! In anything else I've ever seen her in she's been wooden as hell.

Victoria HB (Pencil!) was superb. I love her in everything. She has a unique voice for musical theatre and great stage presence.

The show was very much in the "Rent" mode. Not surprisingly to read after that one of the writers won a "Jonathan Larson prize". A post-Rent era musical. EEK!

So a show that definitely had it's moments - great performances and a good score, but a lot of it didn't hang together and was not particularly strong as a piece. In terms of a study of human relationships, it wasn't a patch on The Last Five Years and comes across as lightweight by comparison.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I saw this Thursday evening...

So far I think it's the best I've ever seen Kerry Ellis act. Unlike other roles I've seen her in, she actually deployed some acting chops instead of solely relying on her power belting.

Great use of projections throughout. In fact, technically the production surpassed my expectations, having thought they'd use very basic theatre mechanics. S

I booked a ticket for the 2nd row, but requested if I can move a few rows back because it is indeed ridiculously steep. The theatre had drizzles of people, but suffice to say not even close to being full.

The show reminded me of that film with Julia Roberts about infidelity. Forgot what it's called.

My overall impression is..why? Why do we need this? What does it add? It's not specifically entertaining, challenging, original, melodious or anything in particular. So..why?

I am sure some of Kerry's super fans can beat that...

I think Kerry is wonderful. I'd book to see her singing the alphabet but some shows I could not watch more than once. This was one. Another was Cats.

The characters I thought were unlikable and there's lots of shouting.
Would give it 2/5

We seriously need a cast recording. I need to listen to VHB's amazing "again and again and again" again and again. Ugh, it gave me chills both times. Well, the whole show gave me chills, but she's just too incredible.

I decided to give this a second go this afternoon. I was intrigued by all the posts on here saying Victoria Hamilton-Barrett was the best thing about the show & 90 mins in a warm theatre was more appealing than wandering around a cold London killing time pre-Wicked. This time I got the cast I'd wanted to see the first time: plus Victoria Hamilton-Barrett & minus Kerry Ellis. I definitely preferred this performance. Natalie McQueen made me sympathise with Sara & it makes the show so much more watchable if you can sympathise with the leading lady. The show still isn't my cup of tea but at least I left feeling more positive about it than the first time.

Victoria Hamilton-Barrett has a very unusual voice. She sounded like she's been smoking 60 a day for years but still sang everything effortlessly. A lot of what the Narrator said & did made more sense 2nd time round, when I knew what was coming, so I got more from the role, though I didn't feel Victoria was better than Natalie had been, just different. I now regret not having seen Natalie as Elphaba, having been impressed by her in both roles in this.

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