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Post by jgblunners on Dec 1, 2018 9:29:33 GMT
West End Does: Christmas matinee today
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 30, 2018 0:10:16 GMT
And the AMAZING Linzi, belting her head off every night, in that beaded bolero jacket, with that fabulous short hair crop.... I’m eternally frustrated that I’m just too young to have caught that production - the cast album was my first musical theatre obsession and hearing Linzi’s voice on it still thrills me!
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 30, 2018 0:07:02 GMT
YES. We deserve so much better than the BK production, which does nothing to showcase the quality of this musical. Now we just have to avoid stunt casting (let’s face it, Joseph doesn’t need it to sell) and everything is golden!
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 24, 2018 12:07:14 GMT
I think the only person who's realistically giving Patti any competition is Ruthie Ann Miles. I can't recall any other performances that could really be strong contenders in the Supporting Actress category.
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 23, 2018 22:43:04 GMT
It left me cold too - from this teaser, it looks like they’ve basically just re-created the original film shot-for-shot but using CGI instead of animation. I also don’t think ‘Live Action’ should be synonymous with ‘Motion Capture/CGI’ and it’s false advertising if they were saying it would be the former.
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 22, 2018 20:53:18 GMT
Nice little pre-show announcement saying that they’re not actually recording tonight, but the cameras are rehearsing ready for the shows they’re recording at the start of next week.
The band are on fire tonight, they’re sounding great. A few mic issues for Philip (there always seem to be mic issues for Billy!) but he’s lovely. Steph is doing well as Maggie but isn’t quite as funny as Jasna (a very hard feat to be fair to her!). Bonnie is absolutely brilliant - it’s my first time seeing her and she is nailing the comedy and smashing the songs.
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 22, 2018 19:20:09 GMT
6 cameras spread through side and rear Stalls, 1 at the front of the Royal Circle, 1 at the front of the Upper Circle. All fixed on tripods. Philip on for Billy and Steph for Maggie so I’m very excited!
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 22, 2018 18:43:03 GMT
The full article on the Phantom website says Tim Howar will return to the role in May 2019 (can’t remember exact date) after his Mike & The Mechanics Tour has finished.
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 22, 2018 18:38:30 GMT
I’m also there tonight - got a day seat this morning as a treat after a tough week. No mention of filming by the box office staff, but I’ll keep an eye out!
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Post by jgblunners on Nov 13, 2018 23:50:33 GMT
Wednesday: Fantastique! concert at Royal Festival Hall Saturday matinee: Porgy and Bess (ENO) Saturday evening: War Horse
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 29, 2018 0:05:41 GMT
Monday: Blood Brothers Saturday matinee: A Very Very Very Dark Matter Saturday evening: Girlfriends (LMTO Concert)
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 28, 2018 9:20:15 GMT
I'm pleased that I've now been within spitting distance of the Grand High Priestess Lupone, even if she did fluff one of her lines... All performers mess up every now and again, you didn't have to spit on her for it 😉
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 28, 2018 8:01:46 GMT
I was also there last night - a perfectly enjoyable evening, but it didn’t blow me away. I think Scott Alan is a much better composer than lyricist (although the more comedic numbers were very well written). There was too much ‘Disney princess’ talk at the beginning for my liking, but Act Two was stronger. The cast are brilliant though, and really make the most of the material. Jodie Jacobs steals the show as usual, and Andy Coxon and Adrian Hansel are adorable.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 27, 2018 12:35:17 GMT
I saw this last night and thought it couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be - a comedy about a middle-class woman and the various potential fathers of her child or a touching and thoughtful drama about what it means to be (or to want to be) a mother. The comedy scenes were on the whole very well written, but the scenes in which Raine was clearly trying to say something serious or make some kind of moral/introspective point were a bit rough around the edges and the naturalistic style of her writing started to falter. Good performances all round, though, particularly from Sam Troughton. Nice set and lighting too. 3 stars.
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Company
Oct 25, 2018 8:33:21 GMT
via mobile
Post by jgblunners on Oct 25, 2018 8:33:21 GMT
This was quite an overwhelming experience last night. Sitting on the front row, you end up looking up nostrils in a couple of moments, but it pays off as you are totally immersed in every scene. It didn’t quite move me to actual tears, but I was welling up in both of Bobbie’s solos.
Marianne Elliott has done an incredible job with this show - this was the first time I’d seen any production of Company and I couldn’t be happier that her version was my first. Her direction was so clever - in turns both bold and subtle, and always fundamentally personal. We go on this journey with Bobbie and by the end we feel like we’re a part of her - when she sings Being Alive, it begins as a response to her friends, who spur her on, but as the song evolves and Bobbie really opens up, it feels like we are the first people she has ever really let in and allowed to see her deepest emotions.
I was honestly surprised by how hilarious the show was - perhaps something I should’ve expected from Angels, but Elliott somehow managed to take a fundamentally American show and infuse it with a dry, cutting, British sense of humour. The priest in Getting Married Today was such a perfect touch.
Bunny Christie deserves praise too for her inspired set - clearly drawing on elements of her previous work, this felt slick and simple but was infused with so many little touches that you don’t notice until you’re suddenly struck by their brilliance. Christie took the abstract nature of the show and turned it into something that actually made sense on stage.
The performances have been lauded endlessly, and the whole cast is really superb, but Rosalie Craig, Patti LuPone, and Jonny Bailey give absolutely stonking performances. Craig pulls off the challenge of making Bobbie the centre of the show despite the fact that she’s rarely the centre of attention. Her voice is gorgeous (I thought her Marry Me A Little and Being Alive were pretty perfect) and being so close to her I really appreciated how her performance gets deeper and more raw as the show goes on.
Patti is Patti. Enough said. You can’t take your eyes off her, you can always hear her voice, she is incomparable. The Ladies Who Lunch was totally captivating and she makes it look effortless. Bailey, on the other hand, clearly puts his all into his performance, and carries what is perhaps the funniest and most heartbreaking scene of the show (another moment where a tear nearly fell) with a brilliantly pitched performance.
If I have one criticism, it’s that I wasn’t really a fan of the orchestration for Another Hundred People or how George Blagden has been directed to sing it. I understand the choices they went with, but personally I would’ve liked something a little more lyrical and less staccato.
That, however, is a minor criticism of what in all other cases is a truly phenomenal show. I could talk about every aspect of the production, every performer involved, for hours on end, and if anything is a sign that a production is truly special, it’s that you just can’t stop thinking about it. Thank you Sondheim and Elliott for taking this nearly 50-year-old show and making it feel like it was written yesterday. It’s what we need in the West End right now - something innovative but classy, clever but not elite, and with some banging tunes to top it all off.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 22, 2018 18:33:27 GMT
I'll be there on Saturday night - booked after hearing the video of Lucie Jones and Lauren Samuels singing on LMTO's twitter (and also because Rob Houchen's in it...)
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 21, 2018 15:12:52 GMT
I stand by my opinion that Iddon Jones is wrong for Boq and gives a disappointing performance I totally disagree. Since he joined I have watched him many many times and he always puts in an incredible amount of effort. Someone said earlier in the thread he was going through the motions but, for me, he is very much in the Sam Lupton category and could be performing this a thousand times and every time really going for it. The contrast between his meek act one and angry WWOTE scene is huge. I think it's perhaps more the case that when you have seen the show more than a few times characters like Boq and Nessa become much of a muchness and it's all about the green, Glinda and whichever ensemble performer we fancy the most this week. Fair enough - I admit that you’re right about the meek/angry transition. I think his performance just isn’t to my taste. And as for ensemble member of the week, it’s got to be Benjamin Yates, right? Those cheekbones...
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 20, 2018 23:19:54 GMT
If all goes to plan, in the coming week I should be seeing Company, Jersey Boys, and Stories. Might try to catch The Distance You Have Come too.
I haven’t posted much recently as my life has been a little overwhelming but I’m hoping to get back into it now that things have calmed down 😊
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 20, 2018 23:08:27 GMT
I haven’t posted on here much recently, but tonight I saw the show in Southampton and it was the best trip to Wicked that I’ve had since Rachel Tucker’s last show so I felt the urge to put some thoughts down.
This touring production of Wicked is miles ahead of its West End counterpart - it’s slicker and more energetic, the lighting/sets/costumes are more polished, and the sound design isn’t total garbage. Today I really noticed the extra lighting that’s been added on top of the design from the West End - in particular there’s a kind of ripple effect during the final section of Defying Gravity which was really beautiful. There are also some differences in the direction - I don’t mean working around the aspects of the West End production that can’t be included since this is a touring production, but rather distinct differences in where things are played for laughs and how characters have been interpreted. On the whole, these differences are for the better and make the show that little bit more coherent. By comparison, the West End production really feels like it’s 12 years old and just trudging along.
Amy Ross was great when I saw her in Bristol, and her performance has grown and improved since then. Her vocal tone is still very pure, but it is now richer and more resonant. As an actress, she remains one of the best of all the Elphabas I’ve seen, and the overwhelming thought in my head tonight was how her performance proves that vocal acrobatics (a.k.a. riffing) should never come at the expense of acting through song. She does very little of the former, but carries out the latter brilliantly.
Helen Woolf is very good - funny and has a strong voice. I don’t rate her particularly highly as I find her voice a little too shrill for my liking, and tonight her Glinda was perhaps a little too hysteric, but I can’t deny that she’s very talented.
Kim Ismay didn’t blow me away in Bristol - she was fine but nothing to write home about. Tonight was completely different. Her stage presence was mammoth and she got Morrible’s comedy just right but still pulled off the transition to the menacing schemer. Coupled with Steven Pinder’s unique interpretation of both Dillamond and The Wizard (both of which I love), the two were a dream team tonight.
Emily Shaw also impressed more than in Bristol - tonight she gave perhaps the best acted performance of Nessa that I’ve seen, and her voice was much better, although she could still afford a bit more power for her big moment in Wicked Witch Of The East. Similarly, Aaron Sidwell, who acts Fiyero quite well, is a good singer when he gives his voice enough support, but needs to be more consistent.
I don’t want to be mean, but I stand by my opinion that Iddon Jones is wrong for Boq and gives a disappointing performance. The ensemble, on the other hand, are top notch. Full of energy and great dancers, they really give this show the liveliness that it holds over the West End production.
The moral of the story here is that the West End show needs a serious revamp (as many people have said before me) and should absolutely take this touring production as the standard to meet.
[Bonus fun fact: both Ross and Woolf hit the money low note in I’m Not That Girl, which almost every Elphaba (and some Glindas) I’ve seen in the West End has opted out of]
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 4, 2018 21:51:03 GMT
I’m meant to be taking my sister today, but can’t see anything online to suggest she is ill It was an Instagram story which disappears after 24 hours. It said she was under the weather but from what I can see she still went ahead with radio promo and the show. She was in very fine voice at the matinee today - even stronger than when I saw the show in early previews at TOP. Nice to hear her voice grow as she's settled into the role, which is almost certainly the biggest sing of all the roles she's played.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 1, 2018 6:22:27 GMT
Wednesday: Exit the King Thursday matinee: Heathers
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 26, 2018 10:42:04 GMT
Saw this last night and loved it. One of the best pieces of storytelling I've ever seen on stage - bravo to the whole creative team for taking a subject matter that I honestly have almost no interest in and turning it into such an engaging piece of theatre. The three actors are simply sublime, full of charisma and each of them has the audience in the palm of his hand. Brilliant design - I always love the 'less is more' approach - and the pianist was a lovely touch too. Plus they had a revolve so that's instant bonus points in my book. God I love the NT.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 26, 2018 10:36:12 GMT
That is absolutely brilliant - a wonderful idea, and Bonnie fits right in, what a talented woman! I really hope they keep this in the show permanently, or at the very least let her do it again on closing night. I can't imagine how breathtaking it must be to see in person.
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 26, 2018 10:32:53 GMT
I was also there yesterday afternoon - I seriously considered leaving during the show stop, but I'm glad I stayed as while Act One was pretty abysmal, Act Two was actually quite good. I agree that if they made some heavy cuts and took it down to a one act show it could have real potential. As it stands, transitions between songs and scenes are not smooth at all, a lot of the lyrics are clunky (and hard to hear despite great diction from the cast) and while the lighter music is very pleasant, the heavier rock songs are really quite terribly written. The programme notes begin by comparing the Brontës to the Beatles, and I can't help but think this show would work much better with Bealtes-style music rather than heavy rock. Credit to the performers though, who worked very hard for a small crowd. I could listen to Natasha Barnes sing for the rest of time and some of the best moments of this show were when she was allowed to really let rip with her voice. Molly Lynch's soprano is beautiful and she surprised me with the strength of her belt too, and while Siobhan Athwal seemed to be channelling some odd hybrid of Kate Bush and Gollum, she had a solid voice too. I loved the lighting, and the set was pretty standard for Southwark but a good use of the space nonetheless (although the wired microphones were just awkward, the cast were constantly fighting to untangle them).
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 25, 2018 6:57:07 GMT
Today - Wasted and The Lehman Trilogy Wednesday - Unexpected Joy Thursday - Strictly Ballroom
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