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Post by jgblunners on Jul 5, 2021 14:58:29 GMT
This quite rightly got 4 stars in The Times today. I saw it on Saturday and had a fantastic time. Dearman really did give a star performance. I hope that Alex Parker and his production company do more of these short runs of lesser-seen shows.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 4, 2021 19:12:45 GMT
Saw this yesterday and had a fair few criticisms. The rest of the audience seemed to love it though, applause was rapturous and the standing ovation was almost immediate at the curtain call.
There are some gems in the cast - for me, Jon Robyns, Jamie Muscato, Gerard Carey and Josefina Gabrielle were all top notch and as good as the best I've seen before in those roles. Jenna Innes (2nd cover on for Eponine) was also sensational. Lucie Jones and Harry Apps are good but are victims of the direction of this production - in the hands of a great creative team I think they have fantastic performances in them but here they don't quite come to fruition. Everyone else is fairly mediocre in my opinion - the girl playing Cosette is the blandest I'd ever seen and Bradley Jaden's Javert verges on the ridiculous.
Having said that, the entire cast have to contend with the sometimes baffling choices that have been made by the creative team, not least of which is that I am sure this is more 'staged' then the original version at the Gielgud. I know it must be cheaper to run this production than a fully staged one, but there were entire sections of the show where the standing microphones seemed entirely superfluous, since all the principles were mic'd up anyway and spent a lot of time interacting properly. In some sections it feels like the cast have been told to shout instead of sing (not helped by the fact that where I was sitting, the vocals were notably louder than the band) and of course the Thenardiers have those awful new lines added in.
If I remember correctly (and there's no guarantee that I do!), in the Gielgud incarnation of this production, Alfonso Casado was remarkably restrained as MD and paced the show quite well. He is still listed as MD for this version, but was definitely not conducting yesterday. Under the new conductor's baton, the tempi are fast. Sometimes it felt like we were rushing through the show, but then moments of rubato/pauses were milked for all they were worth and it sounded a bit ridiculous in contrast with the otherwise lightning pace. The fast tempi also don't help with diction, which was poor for several cast members.
There also seems to be a tendency among the cast to bend the rhythms. I'm sure this is also in part due to the speed at which they have to go through some sections of music, but the rhythms were written that way for a reason and in my opinion it really hurt the music when they were messed with. I'm usually a fan of a good riff but when every other bar of music is altered (it felt that way sometimes!) it's quite detrimental.
And then there's the buttons. The buttons! Lots of transition music is cut, and instead of flowing smoothly from scene to scene, some numbers now end on a painfully extended note and a big fanfare chord that triggers the audience's applause. I don't recall whether this was the case at the Gielgud, but it felt really cheap yesterday.
In a nutshell, it feels like every last drop of nuance has been drained from this show. I can't see into the minds of Trevor Nunn, John Caird, et al but I'm fairly sure they'd be dismayed by this version of Les Mis. As I said though, rapturous applause all round, so clearly they're still doing something right. Or maybe Les Mis is just bulletproof and is so beloved that it will survive in any incarnation, no matter the quality.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 30, 2021 18:41:52 GMT
soundcloud.com/user-487955219/tom-deering-on-carousel-orchestrationFinally had a chance to listen to the Open Air Theatre podcast episode. Musical Supervisor + Orchestrator has excluded strings from the score of this piece and there will be changes to the key too to the songs. Theres a sample of how If I Loved You too. Not sure how I feel about this as I was hoping for a full orchestra but will wait to see it in person before I give a full opinion. Ooh that's really interesting!
For those like me who don't want to listen to the whole thing, you can hear snippets of If I Loved You at timestamps 10:25 and 13:00. Deering says he's using guitars and a glass harmonium to create the 'shimmer' of the strings - you can particularly hear that in the clip at 13:00.
It's certainly not traditional but I think that's quite exciting - theatre would be boring if every production of a show was the same!
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 28, 2021 8:41:21 GMT
I wasn’t going to book for this but I just realised I’ve got a whole bunch of credit vouchers for the Southbank Centre from cancelled events, so I’ve managed to get a ticket for half price! I’m sure it’ll be great to hear those scores with such a big orchestra.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 24, 2021 17:41:05 GMT
Looks like the run is now starting on Tuesday 20 July and Linzi’s first show is the matinee on Wednesday 18 August - these are the latest dates on LW Theatres website at least. Still closing on 5 September with extra matinees added throughout. Gosh, that new schedule has them doing 10 shows a week. I know it’s not a particularly long show but that’s still going to be exhausting for the cast members. Plus there are 4 weeks between the opening and Linzi’s first scheduled show - I wonder if Alexandra Burke is going to do all of those performances (I doubt it) or if they’re re-organising which shows Linzi will do in those weeks and just haven’t updated the website yet.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 21, 2021 18:29:59 GMT
The only one from the list that I haven’t visited is the Lyric, but now that Thriller has moved out I’m much more likely to make a trip there!
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 20, 2021 19:45:50 GMT
Could somebody who has seen the show let me know what the framing device is please? With spoiler tags. Thanks. The opening scene is set in a care home for the elderly. The village is then brought to life from the memories of one resident who is particularly afflicted by dementia - the other residents and staff of the care home populate his memories and play the roles of the various townspeople.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 20, 2021 19:34:12 GMT
I had a totally different experience to the post above when I attended on Saturday evening. Our seats were front stalls so our arrival time was 7:10-7:20 and we got there around 7:15. No queue outside, we got straight through all of the arrival stations very smoothly and I was very impressed by how proactive and knowledgeable the staff were about the whole process.
As for the play itself, I agree with some other people who have said that the framing device didn’t really add much (and the transition from the new scene into the actual Dylan Thomas was painfully obvious), but otherwise I very much enjoyed it. I found both the language very atmospheric and lyrical and didn’t mind the lack of plot - in fact I think the strength of the piece is that it sweeps you into the lives of the people in this village and all you have to do is sit back and let it wash over you.
And how wonderful it was to be back in the NT once again!
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 9, 2021 10:12:47 GMT
It'll be interesting to see how this sells given the bad luck since Charing Cross moved from end-on to traverse. Personally there would have to be a cracking cast to tempt me to book for this since the Hope Mill/Southwark Playhouse production was so good and is still fairly fresh in my mind, but I'm sure the 'Summer of Love' setting will be a draw for some.
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Post by jgblunners on May 23, 2021 10:17:42 GMT
I think James Graham sums up our problem pretty nicely:
Someone else on twitter (I now can't find the tweet) said that the top scoring countries essentially performed a music video live on stage. Eurovision is about so much more than just having a decent song, and the team that put together the UK act seem not to get that.
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Post by jgblunners on May 20, 2021 23:06:19 GMT
Pleased to see there's a lot of women on the creative team - correct me if I'm wrong but this is the first time a woman has directed a major production of Cabaret right? (West End or Broadway) Not the first time - Gillian Lynne directed and choreographed a West End revival in the 80s starring Wayne Sleep.
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Post by jgblunners on Apr 11, 2021 5:56:55 GMT
It’s time for Sally Ann Triplett to return to the West End...
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 24, 2021 17:05:31 GMT
I’d pick Marsha Songcome - I was thoroughly impressed when she went on as Eva in the Regent’s Park Evita.
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Post by jgblunners on Jan 18, 2021 16:16:38 GMT
On the 2001 London Cast Recording, there's a snippet of it in 'Get Me to the Church on Time' (around the 2:40 mark).
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Post by jgblunners on Jan 10, 2021 13:31:09 GMT
Rafe Spall? Too young perhaps...
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Post by jgblunners on Dec 10, 2020 15:28:19 GMT
I'm very much looking forward to watching this tomorrow - I love the Broadway cast album. Regarding Corden's casting, I found this Guardian article very good for explaining why performances like the one he has reportedly given are distasteful or even offensive.
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 30, 2020 13:41:04 GMT
I actually quite like the tune and think that CHF sounds great, but this is really let down by uneven lyrics and a poor orchestration. The percussion track in particular is just awful, and overall I think it would be better if it had a more rocky sound with the guitars brought forward in the mix and the synth toned down a bit. Between this and the track that was released from the stage of Her Maj's, I think there's definite promise for this show but I'm really hoping that there are some real belters that ALW is keeping under wraps until the show opens. Perhaps the stepmother will have a whopper of a number?
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Post by jgblunners on Oct 6, 2020 7:51:29 GMT
Just returned a single stalls seat for the matinee - should be up for resale through the official website later today if anyone's Interested!
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 17, 2020 7:54:58 GMT
It's a lovely theatre but I've only been there for White Christmas and West Side Story, which were both fantastic! Will definitely be trying to get there more often post-covid.
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Post by jgblunners on May 1, 2020 10:16:22 GMT
Am I right in thinking the cut a scene in the recording?
I don't know it it was a whole scene (I can't remember the original in enough detail) but there was a really jarring jump from the Creature grabbing Elizabeth to everyone wailing and her lying dead. It was really clunky, and I can't think why they'd have cut it there.
I haven't seen the recording so don't know if this was cut, but this is what I remember of that scene from seeing it on stage. Quite graphic so I'll put it in spoilers for anyone who might find it unpleasant: {Spoiler - click to view} There was a sequence in which the creature chased her around the room, grabbed her and dragged her to the bed, and then raped her. When Victor walked in and threatened to shoot the creature, he snapped her neck and fled out of a window.
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Post by jgblunners on Apr 16, 2020 16:50:23 GMT
I had heard that Into The Woods was scheduled for the very start of 2021, so that suggests that it was always planned to follow A Christmas Carol after the holiday period.
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 13, 2020 9:58:45 GMT
I'm torn - I have a standing ticket for tonight and Kaufmann has called out again so David Butt Philip will be on. On one hand, I've heard that Lise Davidsen is excellent and it's always a treat to hear the ROH orchestra under Papanno. On the other, it is a little disappointing that I won't be able to see Kaufmann and with the current Covid-19 situation I'm not sure whether I should be cutting back my theatre attendance. If I had paid top whack for central stalls I would probably still go, but given I've just got a standing place I'm reassessing whether I should make the trip...
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 12, 2020 10:48:27 GMT
^Nope, I have a row A seat for "Corn," and there were a good few in priority booking. Ah interesting, clearly they just didn’t want the young folk to have them!
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 12, 2020 10:14:37 GMT
This morning was the smoothest 16-25 (the new version of Entry Pass) booking I've ever had. Having forgotten to get to the website early, I got to the 16-25 booking page at 09:31 and found that there was a grand total of 1 person in front of me in the queue. A few moments later, I was through and booked everything I wanted. Perhaps the low turn-out is due to the new system (you now access the tickets through a link on the 16-25 webpage rather than having to log in with an Entry Pass account). Or perhaps there is just less interest in this batch of shows.
One thing I noticed is that there were no stalls row A tickets available for The Corn is Green in the Lyttelton. Perhaps another case of a jutting-out set that they have yet to finalise?
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 3, 2020 18:07:08 GMT
The only two nominations that baffle me are Judy Kuhn and Petula Clark. I say baffled, but I do understand that they are both beloved in the theatre community and had probably secured nominations as soon as they were cast. However, it seems odd in the first case to put Golde in the leading female category when she really doesn't have that much to do in the show. In the second case, I find it incredibly frustrating that someone can receive a nomination for hobbling around on stage and barely getting a song out of their mouth. I'm not joking when I say that she could barely move around that stage.
Anyway, aside from that I think these nominations are quite reasonable, especially when compared to recent years. Interesting that none of the Waitress cast are nominated, although maybe that was a strategic move to avoid any arguments about which of the 500 lineups should be eligible. Glad to see some Amelie love, I was sure that it would be unfairly overlooked.
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