Post by distantcousin on Sept 22, 2022 12:35:29 GMT
Just happened to catch the second preview of a revival production of this, whilst on holiday in the Austrian capital this past week!
I'd heard bits about it, but never taken a major interest. I quite enjoyed it.
The show was presented with (what I hoped would be) surtitles (i.e. above the stage), but they were on screens above side boxes - which made it extremely difficult to keep adjusting focus for.
The show is clearly much loved and every song was met with warm applause and the odd shriek of delight!
It is definitely a "mega musical" throwback. Which I enjoyed very much in terms of production values - a long time since I've seen such a gloriously lavish physical production. The high melodrama of the piece though, does come across as dated, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment - just a tad twee.
The music was fine. Perhaps it will grow on me, but most of the tunes and arrangements were unremarkable (third rate Boublil and Schoenberg). A few stood out, in particular the title song.
It's a shame the Broadway and West End productions never got off the ground. The translated lyrics could be hard work at times - they lacked finesse or much sense of poetry!
The star for me was Willlimijn Verkaik as Mrs Danvers - who's Broadway and West End experience is patently obvious and was undoubtedly the best actor in the piece. I though the romantic leads were fine, but not good enough actors to bring out the subtext of these complex characters.
The final big scene was incredible - however it's a shame they didn't end the show like the Hitchcock film and instead give us an epilogue, based, I understand on a section towards the beginning of the original novel.
www.musicalvienna.at/en/schedule-and-tickets/schedule/production/1052/REBECCA/calendar
I'd heard bits about it, but never taken a major interest. I quite enjoyed it.
The show was presented with (what I hoped would be) surtitles (i.e. above the stage), but they were on screens above side boxes - which made it extremely difficult to keep adjusting focus for.
The show is clearly much loved and every song was met with warm applause and the odd shriek of delight!
It is definitely a "mega musical" throwback. Which I enjoyed very much in terms of production values - a long time since I've seen such a gloriously lavish physical production. The high melodrama of the piece though, does come across as dated, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment - just a tad twee.
The music was fine. Perhaps it will grow on me, but most of the tunes and arrangements were unremarkable (third rate Boublil and Schoenberg). A few stood out, in particular the title song.
It's a shame the Broadway and West End productions never got off the ground. The translated lyrics could be hard work at times - they lacked finesse or much sense of poetry!
The star for me was Willlimijn Verkaik as Mrs Danvers - who's Broadway and West End experience is patently obvious and was undoubtedly the best actor in the piece. I though the romantic leads were fine, but not good enough actors to bring out the subtext of these complex characters.
The final big scene was incredible - however it's a shame they didn't end the show like the Hitchcock film and instead give us an epilogue, based, I understand on a section towards the beginning of the original novel.
www.musicalvienna.at/en/schedule-and-tickets/schedule/production/1052/REBECCA/calendar
