869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Jan 17, 2024 20:08:15 GMT
Stop Casting Great Actors In Musicals. We want Singers, not Actors. I want to sit and be able to close my eyes, for the whole show, and hear it sung beautifully. Perfectly. Breath control. The works. I do not go to a musical to see it acted well. I only go for the songs. There are so many of our musical theatre stars who can sing mightily, and act sort of. Why didn’t they check them? Jesus, Mary, & Joseph…and the wee baby donkey. This isn't a fair comment. Musicals are meant to make you feel something. It is no good just being a fantastic singer if the audience aren't connecting with the story. You should leave the theatre feeling a whole hoard of emotions. Some of the finest MT performances have been from people who in fact aren't the best singers in the world but who give the lyrics new meaning and pull you in. You just have to watch the Sondheim Gala to understand this. That depends very much on the role and the show. Fred needs to be able to negotiate the tricky melody of So in Love, the bombast of Wunderbar and the patter of We Open in Venice just for starters. You need and accomplished singer, preferably one who looks good in doublet and hose!
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Jan 17, 2024 11:26:50 GMT
If they're bringing over SJB for Kate, why not get her husband Sebastian as well for Fred? He'll probably be here with her anyway.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Jan 17, 2024 9:23:32 GMT
It's odd that they're listing this as Adrian Dunbar's musical theatre debut when I saw him do Lady in the Dark with Maria Friedman at the National nearly thirty years ago! (What was that awful detective thing he did a few years ago when he sang at the end of every episode? Jo Riding was the only thing that made it worthwhile. )
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Jan 7, 2024 12:55:59 GMT
The idiotic panel is just so cringe that I can't bear to watch. But even they're not as bad as Graham Norton who can't need the money so badly he has to manufacture simpering sincerity to thick contestants on Wheel of Fakeness. Any respect I had for him is gone.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Jan 7, 2024 0:03:54 GMT
Junior BakeOff is providing some much needed smiles and laughs. Rudi's response when Harry suggested his pet bearded dragon might want a lady friend was hilarious, and his tears of disbelief when he got star baker were sweeter than any pavlova.
|
|
869 posts
|
Maestro
Dec 29, 2023 11:04:13 GMT
via mobile
Post by karloscar on Dec 29, 2023 11:04:13 GMT
People have been happily watching television and films for many decades. It implies that it's something that you chose to give your attention to rather than something that happened to be playing in the background by chance. I'd be far happier that someone made the effort to watch my performance than just glanced at it in passing.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 15, 2023 20:01:12 GMT
Matt Flint is the other choreographer who has been working with Ellie and Vito, and Layton and Nikita on their showdances ( not sure if he's also doing Bobby and Diane's too). All three couples are good enough to produce something spectacular for the finale, but it's been quite a few years since anyone pulled off a showdance that changed the expected outcome like ,say, Louis Smith did in 2012.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 12, 2023 13:13:35 GMT
Economically it's almost impossible to rely on theatre nowadays as a sole source of income for any actor, so she'll take work where she can get it, just like everyone else. Her return to the stage has raised her profile somewhat and her agent will find that more doors are open because of that, but in the fickle world of showbiz who knows how long that may last.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 10, 2023 7:18:45 GMT
It'll be interesting to see what they come up with as show dances for the final, given that Ellie's couple's choice was left until the semis and Layton's been doing show dances all series! (There have been several occasions in recent years where the finalists were less spectacular than expected.)
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 7, 2023 15:35:18 GMT
The public has no say in the Christmas special and what competition there is is pretty flimsy, so why would anyone care?
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 2, 2023 22:58:21 GMT
Michael Bennett and Bob Avian will be spinning in their graves with both Strictly and It Takes Two crediting their work on A Chorus Line to Fosse.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Dec 2, 2023 21:01:24 GMT
For Good is a lovely song that's pretty easy to sing well if you learn the timing properly. Tonight's version was bloody terrible.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 29, 2023 23:06:38 GMT
As often happens, the final was a bit of an anticlimax mainly due to a mixture of nerves and playing it too safe. I'm glad Matty won in the end, his endearing imposter syndrome seemed quite genuine and he did show the biggest improvement over the series. The judges did send home some of the more original and interesting contestants far too soon, but then none of us are tasting the bakes, so what do we know?
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 28, 2023 12:34:59 GMT
Bobby and Leyton for the dance off based on those choices. Step in Time's a crowd pleaser, For Good is a tearjerker, and Ellie and Vito as Belle and Gaston could be both sublime and hilarious judging by previous performances.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 26, 2023 21:42:46 GMT
Vito's destruction of tuna mayo pasta salad was another series highlight. Celebrity MasterChef awaits.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 26, 2023 17:52:37 GMT
Musicals week should in theory play out well for both Layton and Nigel provided they get the right dance combined with a suitable song and don't stray too far from the requirements of that dance. Ellie hasn't done couples choice yet, so if they're going to do it at all it will be next week rather than the semifinals which might be risky. That leaves Annabel and Bobby looking most vulnerable, but it all depends on who comes up with the goods on the night.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 22, 2023 12:15:39 GMT
Given that It's All Coming Back to Me Now is almost seven minutes long (well the Jeremy Jordan cover is, and it's the only version worth hearing) , how do you condense that into 90 seconds?
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 21, 2023 16:07:16 GMT
Vito's Instagram page has some great rehearsal footage from last week's Charleston. Those lifts were not achieved without considerable pain. Mainly his!
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 20, 2023 9:03:08 GMT
Three episodes to go and still a bit of dead wood to clear out. But the first one I’d get rid of is Jessie Ware. Super critical of everything at the start of every episode, continually drawing focus by singing/bobbing along and commenting during the performances, the acts like it’s a really tough decision and gets all misty eyed during the elimination. Just annoying. She can only draw focus because the producers put her on screen. Not like it's live or anything.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 19, 2023 20:29:46 GMT
Great farewell speech by la Rippon. Angela should be paid a huge sum to teach Tess how to fake sincerity that well. The whole nation cringes every time she opens her gob.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 19, 2023 18:43:24 GMT
Given that it's mainly the same people voting week after week, it'll be interesting to see where the votes transfer to as the field gets smaller. Almost 25% of the total vote is pretty amazing at this stage.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 18, 2023 20:46:31 GMT
I didn't see it as Johannes in drag at all, and he certainly wasn't taking anything away from one of the female dancers. How about his friendship with Luba inspired him to express himself and wear whatever he likes?
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 12, 2023 22:34:18 GMT
I think she'd prefer to go out on a high, rather than struggling to keep up, so next weekend will probably be the one when Angela R goes unless someone else has a complete disaster. Johannes usually comes up with something spectacular for Blackpool and I can't see the judges sending anyone else home before Angela except Annabelle.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 10, 2023 16:20:03 GMT
I don't know the film but the plot (washed up alcoholic actress haunted by ghost of a dead fan while attempting a comeback) sounds like Sunset Boulevard meets All About Eve. Could be a triumph or a complete disaster. It'll be interesting to see who else gets cast in the supporting roles.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 9, 2023 11:27:40 GMT
Most of his music demands a vocal flexibility and range of someone like Audra McDonald. I'm interested to see what they're planning. If the musical is being written with Sheridan in mind he isn't going to write music that is out of her vocal range. That would just be silly. It's never stopped Andrew Lloyd Webber when writing for female voices in the past! Rufus writes songs that tend to stretch his own vocal abilities to the limit, so I doubt he'll give Sheridan an easy time. Besides, nobody knows what the project is yet.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 9, 2023 0:16:47 GMT
Most of his music demands a vocal flexibility and range of someone like Audra McDonald. I'm interested to see what they're planning.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 6, 2023 19:34:51 GMT
Her autobiography is an event I suppose, but why is it on the six o'clock news? Both of her long delayed film projects are officially cancelled and she's not going to sing in public again. Any music releases are from the archives. Is she more or less announcing her retirement? Seems like it.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 6, 2023 0:49:11 GMT
The main complaint on various forums on Saturday night was that Layton and Nikita did more of a showdance than an actual jive. Doing everything at a high octane level gets tiring to watch. Sometimes less is more, and a bit of subtlety goes a long way.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 5, 2023 20:04:06 GMT
Angela and Kai's dance off performance was much worse than it was on Saturday. None of the judges seemed to notice that she nearly toppled over at one point. Adam wasn't great either but he deserved one vote at least.
|
|
869 posts
|
Post by karloscar on Nov 4, 2023 22:34:32 GMT
I've no idea if Ellie can sing (she seems quite tuneful when messing about in rehearsal) but the way she's taken to the discipline of mastering new dance skills every week might signal a career in musical theatre could lie ahead if she wanted one. That American smooth wouldn't look out of place in Crazy for You or Top Hat.
|
|