1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Feb 21, 2017 22:24:28 GMT
Just back from seeing this in Oxford, and I enjoyed it (and would recommend it to others) but it definitely has its flaws.
First off, the good aspects: I really liked the music, and thought that the score was pretty strong throughout with a couple of stand-out numbers. I also really liked the set and costume design (although the set itself was a bit clunky at times) - I thought they fitted perfectly with the Wonderland setting. The most impressive aspect of the show for me though was the cast - firstly, for keeping the energy up despite playing to an auditorium that was almost empty (I reckon there can't have been more than about 60 people throughout the Stalls and Dress Circle, and the Balcony was closed) and secondly for doing such a good job with the characters, from the leads right down to the ensemble parts.
Unsurprisingly, the people who really impressed me were Natalie McQueen, Wendi Peters and Rachael Wooding. Natalie in particular was perfection - vocally brilliant, and absolutely nailed the characterisation. The same can be said of Wendi Peters, again wonderful characterisation and a really good voice. Both of them brought out their characters' quirks fantastically, making them believable and avoiding going over the top. Rachael Wooding was also very impressive vocally, and acted well, but I felt she was slightly going through the paces tonight. That may be a product of the empty house and the pretty dreadful book, though.
Speaking of which, the book is dire. In places I found it completely unbelievable that characters would be saying their lines, and it was so cheesy (particularly towards the end) that I just couldn't take the characters seriously sometimes because of the nonsense coming out of their mouths. I'm probably being overly critical, but I think that if the script was less cheesy and tried to take itself a bit more seriously then the show would be massively improved. My only other real complaint was the sound - I was sat in the front row of the circle, and while the volume was pretty much perfect, the balance was pretty dodgy. The band and ensemble were fine, but as soon as a soloist started to sing on top of them they got lost pretty easily. There were also a few missed mic cues at the start of the show, if i'm being really picky about sound.
So there you go. I hope this wasn't too long or too harsh, but those are my thoughts. In conclusion: a brilliant production of a pretty mediocre show that would be miles better with an overhauled book.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Feb 20, 2017 10:47:52 GMT
I don't have any problem with Half a Sixpence being classified as a new musical - given that there's more new material than old in the show, I think it would be a bit of an insult to Stiles and Drewe if it was considered a revival! I am also shocked at School of Rock winning, though. I haven't seen the show, but Dreamgirls, Half a Sixpence and Groundhog Day (which had my vote) were so sensational that I was convinced it was going to be a close competition between those three and SoR wouldn't stand a chance! Maybe I'll be even more blown away by School of Rock but somehow I doubt it.
Without wishing to stoke the fire on the legitimacy of these awards, I also find it very telling that Carrie Hope Fletcher was nominated for best supporting actress for a limited run in a touring production - I believe all the other leading/supporting nominations for both plays and musicals were for West End or Off-West End productions? I have no doubt that she was very good, but I think it's probably quite clear that she got the nomination because she has such a large and dedicated fanbase.
EDIT: scratch that, Ian Hallard was nominated for Boys in the Band which didn't make it to the West End until after nominations closed, and I don't think the Park Theatre counts as Off-West End. Pixie Lott also got nominated for Breakfast at Tiffany's which was a tour, although it did do a run in the West End. My point still stands for the musical actor/actress categories though.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Feb 20, 2017 10:39:57 GMT
Seeing Wonderland in Oxford on Tuesday, then The Wild Party on Wednesday. Might nab a student ticket for the Wicked matinee on Wednesday as well, depending on who's on
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Feb 17, 2017 9:41:04 GMT
Wasn't Natasha part of the ensemble anyway? That would be the key difference I guess. Yeah when Natasha became alternate she didn't play in the ensemble anymore. Only know this because I saw the show when she was covering as Fanny on her scheduled Monday night shownand one of the ushers told me Are you sure? I'm pretty sure she was on in her usual role (Jenny, I think? Fanny's maid?) when I saw the show towards the end of the run, at which point she would have been alternate.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Feb 8, 2017 7:05:40 GMT
The Play That Goes Wrong in London tonight
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Jan 19, 2017 14:48:34 GMT
Despite having discovered the cast recording several years ago, I only made my first trip to Wicked in 2015. Since then I've racked up 9 shows - 4 over the course of about 18 months during Emma and Savannah's time, then 5 since Rachel and Suzie came in. Those first four were definitely down to love for the show rather than wanting to see particular performers (although the last one was also out of desire to see Daniel Hope before he left - his Boq was so adorable!). At the time I had only heard the OBCR, so when I saw Emma I actually thought she was really good but wondered what it must have been like to see Idina, and as my love for the show grew I began to listen to recordings of other Elphabas, which was when I realised just how massive the show is and what a diverse range of performers have taken on the roles in the past decade. Although Emma was my first Elphaba, and I genuinely enjoyed her performances, the first time I heard a recording of Rachel I was affected in a way that I haven't been by any other Elphaba, and I realised that if Emma had impressed me, seeing Rachel live would be completely out of this world. Hence, 5 shows (with a 6th lined up - her last) since Rachel returned. I just can't get enough of her performance, and I feel so lucky that she was given the opportunity to come back to the London production so soon after I had discovered her. I definitely want to see Willemijn too, and Alice since she's gotten such good reviews, but I think after Rachel's last I'll take a break - 6 shows over 4 months is saturating me a bit and while Rachel still thrills me every time I see her perform, I don't want to go so often that it stops feeling special.
I don't really understand why I feel such a strong connection to Wicked - It's my most seen show and probably my favourite, but I just can't put my finger on why. There are many aspects of the show that I absolutely love, but there are several shows that I could say that about. What is it about Wicked specifically that keeps me coming back? It's strange to think about.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Jan 11, 2017 22:59:35 GMT
Saw the show tonight and thought I would post a few thoughts here, since reading all the previous posts got me thinking quite a bit. Helen Moore was on as Glinda, and her voice was beautiful. Not as much vibrato as other Glindas, which was refreshing and nice to hear. I thought she played Glinda less playful than others have, but I also think that, more than any other actress I've seen in the role, her Glinda was really struggling to put on the 'good witch' facade and hide her concern for Elphaba, which was an interesting element. Do you mean Helen Woolf was on as Glinda? Oops! Yes, thanks for pointing that out. Corrected now 🙂
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Jan 11, 2017 22:54:31 GMT
Saw the show tonight and thought I would post a few thoughts here, since reading all the previous posts got me thinking quite a bit.
This was my 4th time seeing Rachel, and once again I noticed aspects of her characterisation tonight that I've not noticed before - every show from her really is unique and she is so at one with her Elphaba, it's really wonderful to watch. Vocally, she was very impressive as usual and (without wishing to start mockery of riff obsession) she did the 'things I've never felt' riff in the wizard and I, which sounded glorious. I only have Emma Hatton to compare her to, but she seems like the perfect Elphaba to me.
Helen Woolf was on as Glinda, and her voice was beautiful. Not as much vibrato as other Glindas, which was refreshing and nice to hear. I thought she played Glinda less playful than others have, but I also think that, more than any other actress I've seen in the role, her Glinda was really struggling to put on the 'good witch' facade and hide her concern for Elphaba, which was an interesting element.
I don't want to make this too long, so a few closing thoughts - Oliver Saville was brilliant as usual and Idriss Kargbo has come on leaps and bounds since I first saw him when he started as Boq. Katie Rowley Jones was vocally strong, but quite bland with her acting tonight. Anita Dobson is much better than when she started, especially vocally, but I still think she's not quite sure how to deliver some of her lines. For me, Mark Curry is a bit too over the top as the wizard, and weak vocally.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Dec 16, 2016 0:32:15 GMT
Baz is saying on twitter that there are 4 different shows in talks to go into the Piccadilly when Jersey Boys closes
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Dec 13, 2016 11:15:05 GMT
Does anyone know who the understudy is? I'm booked in on the 1st of Feb through GILT and although I would love to see Charlie Stemp again it will certainly be interesting to see how the understudy shapes up given that he doesn't get much time on - someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Charlie's missed a show yet, in Chichester or London!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Dec 12, 2016 14:08:37 GMT
Apparently there's going to be a live action version of The Little Mermaid to follow the new Beauty and the Beast that's coming next year, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is working on the music with Alan Menken!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 19, 2016 22:13:55 GMT
Saw this tonight and was really impressed after hearing many mixed opinions. Brilliant performances from the 3 leads, and I actually didn't mind the cinematic style - it took a couple of scene changes to get used to, but then I embraced it and found that, in combination with the set design, I found it quite effective. Speaking of set - wow! Thinking back, I just want to pull those screens back and see how it all fits together. I always find sets at the National to be wonderful, probably because of the unique and diverse nature of the theatres.
As for the play itself - probably the quickest 2 hours I've ever spent in a theatre. Despite many pauses and atmospheric spaces in the dialogue, the pace felt very good and carried me through without losing my attention. I was sceptical about how much of a thriller it would turn out to be as it progressed, but found that in the last 20/30 minutes my heart was pounding and I was genuinely quite invested and begging to find out what would happen next. Yes, there are moments where the speech seems a little unnatural but all in all I was very impressed.
Now I just wish that Entry Pass tickets for it hadn't sold out so that I could watch again and look out for all the little things that I'm sure will jump out with knowledge of how the plot unfolds!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 19, 2016 11:37:17 GMT
The Last Five Years then The Red Barn for me today!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 18, 2016 15:39:15 GMT
Just thought I'd mention that the Cast Recording was released today and it's glorious - the score sounds sublime, all the performances are brilliant and Cam Mac really has perfected the art of live recording - apparently this was recorded over the last 3 shows in Chichester but it sounds like studio quality!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 16, 2016 11:17:53 GMT
Today I'm at the Queen's for the Les Mis matinee, then hopping down to southwark for Side Show in the evening!
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 13, 2016 20:14:07 GMT
Yeah, Charlie Stemp said in an interview that it was recorded over the last 3 performances in Chichester, so it'll have that version of Back The Right Horse on it.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 13, 2016 14:16:12 GMT
'Back The Right Horse' has been completely rewritten this week. It's now more about critics in theatre. Interesting, I wonder why they felt the need to change it now? Especially given that it's the old version that will be on the cast recording...
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 9, 2016 12:12:54 GMT
May b going to Vaudeville in new year..... Does anyone know a Vaughn running time for this...? It was pretty much 2 hours including interval at the Park Theatre. Maybe a few mins less...
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Nov 6, 2016 14:33:32 GMT
that's exactly the point, it's a choral piece, it's meant not to have a central protagonist. The choral piece would apply to how the score is delievered, the central protagonist is what is the central character in the book, where the plot stems from, this is missing in Ragtime. The script is full of derogatory racist terms, that became unnecessary. I haven't read the novel on which the show is based, but from descriptions from other people I gather that it also does not have a central protagonist, so the author and the creative team behind the musical clearly want to focus on the relationships between people, and the way they affect each others' lives, rather than telling the story of one particular person. Interestingly, in the programme for this production one of the creative team (I think it might actually be the author of the novel, but I can't remember) mentions how different people he speaks to have very different interpretations of who the 'central' character of the piece is. With regard to the racism - to remove the slurs from the script would be to dilute the hatred and abuse that immigrants and people of colour at that time were subjected to. Since one of the purposes of the story is to make clear to us just how badly these people were treated, it would be detrimental to the piece if we weren't shown these shocking scenes.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Oct 20, 2016 0:34:53 GMT
For the first time tonight I felt that my experience at the theatre was genuinely brought down a level from where it should have been because of the behaviour of the audience around me. Lion King evening performance - I was expecting the non-stop rustling of wrappers and packets throughout the show, but on top of that there was the ridiculous number and frequency of people checking their phones during the show. They didn't even attempt to hide it, just let their faces be lit up for all to see! I probably could have ignored that if I had been in a good mood, but the icing on the cake was the talking. Almost non-stop, people were chatting throughout the show, and not quietly! I was sat in the stalls, so tickets weren't cheap - maybe people think that if they pay that much money they buy the right to behave how they want, but it made me so sad that they seemed to have no respect for other audience members or the performers.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Oct 18, 2016 13:53:32 GMT
Alice singing The Wizard and I at her fourth performance. I am totally blown over. Did not expect this AT ALL. Wow, brilliant! Quite amusing that she does a 'melt' riff now that Rachel appears to have stopped doing it
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Grease
Oct 13, 2016 10:59:04 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Oct 13, 2016 10:59:04 GMT
The shows twitter page has confirmed the casting too... 'UKs top boy band' really? does anyone think that? Must say, this is underwhelming, especially after the excitement over the Curve production. Guess it will appeal to a younger audience, though, and possibly get them into the theatre for the first time. We'll just have to wait and see how he turns out..
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Grease
Oct 13, 2016 10:31:19 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Oct 13, 2016 10:31:19 GMT
Email from ATG - Tom Parker from 'The Wanted' to star as Danny Zuko...
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Post by jgblunners on Oct 12, 2016 12:39:18 GMT
Anyone know if Eva or her cover have announced any of her holiday dates? (I'm aware they technically aren't allowed to - thanks, Cam Mac...)
I normally wouldn't worry about a cover being on, but after seeing Eva in Miss Saigon I really don't want to miss her Eponine.
On another note, Adam Bayjou does Monday evenings, doesn't he? I'm not a great fan of Peter Lockyer so would be nice to see a different Valjean.
|
|
1,046 posts
|
Cats
Sept 14, 2016 21:14:21 GMT
Post by jgblunners on Sept 14, 2016 21:14:21 GMT
Was at the opening night in Glasgow last night where it played to a full theatre (almost sold out tonight also). The magic of the show was enough to withstand the character assassination of Rum Tum Tugger. Going by the comments of those around me and the reactions of the audience in general, I would say the majority attending were seeing it for the first time. Life left in the old musical yet. RE: The new Tugger, how are people generally reacting to it? I saw the show for the first time in Southampton, but knew the original Tugger song quite well from cast recordings, so was surprised to see it had been changed. I understand that they want to keep the show modern by adding a hip-hop segment, but the 'new' number is just a bad re-hash of the old one. I think they would've done better to completely re-write it Edit: What pained me the most was that the ensemble was singing the tune from the old number, but it felt so slow and just made the whole number drag, which was awful because the whole point of hip-hop/rap is surely for it to be fast-paced and energetic?
|
|