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Post by karloscar on Aug 26, 2018 15:51:08 GMT
God, I see the body fascists are out in force. What body type does Gabey have to conform to? It doesn't mention it in the script. He just needs to be strong enough to rescue his mates from the ocean. Nathaniel Hackman's slightly goofy naïvety suited the role perfectly. The whole cast was pretty spot on, but I loved Celinde Schoenmaker as Claire, a role that often loses out to whoever's playing Hilde. She was funny and sexy, and did a beautiful lead on Some Other Time. Will look out for her in future.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 25, 2018 11:47:11 GMT
Miss Crawford may have been the diva, but miss Brightman was a close second. She made a very quick recovery when she was feeling poorly in previews and Claire Moore went on with next to no rehearsals and outshone her in every way.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 25, 2018 11:22:05 GMT
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Calamity Jane have never had the magic on stage that they had on film. The casts, settings and choreography can never be equalled. Mary Poppins on film was always too saccharine and the children too nice, so I thought the stage version was far more exciting and also moving, and the new songs are even better than some of the originals. And much closer to what Pamela Travers would have wanted. Controversial I know.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 24, 2018 1:13:59 GMT
Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster is my first memory of her, but she seemed to be extremely versatile and talented. It's a shame she retired from acting at such a young age.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 23, 2018 17:06:37 GMT
Yes, he was touting for work and having a laugh, not announcing a role. Seemed perfectly obvious to me.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 14, 2018 10:31:25 GMT
Blood Brothers original run seems to have been mismanaged. Barbara Dickson was its main attraction, but surely a headline star could have been found to replace her once she wanted to leave. She herself says she wasn't really suited to an eight shows a week long run. And the show itself got far better reviews than Les Miserables did at the time. It seems odd that they didn't manage to market it well at all. (It played to packed houses on tour for ages with Rebecca Storm, before the Kiki Dee tour brought it back to the West End.)
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Post by karloscar on Aug 10, 2018 16:06:10 GMT
Metropolis was one of the most magnificent flops. Brian Blessed was Brian Blessed on acid, the set was amazing when it worked, the songs were tuneful, though the lyrics sucked, Graham Bickley was the drippiest leading man ever and then Judy Kuhn made you forget all that was wrong with it. Her ability to make dodgy material truthful and compelling is quite unbelievable.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 7, 2018 18:46:45 GMT
Don't Tell Me Not To Fly: Janie Dee. I thought she was funny and charming and sang well despite a couple of lyric slips, (understandable when you're not getting much of a run of performances). The use of projections with questions which are then repeated by some woman with an really obnoxious speaking voice was a complete waste of time and money. I'd much rather Janie had just had a chat and told us a few stories between songs. I presume each actress has to suffer similarly. Still Janie gets the prize for best use of a Magnum in a fringe show!
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Post by karloscar on Aug 3, 2018 15:24:36 GMT
You Can't Get a Man with a Gun. (Annie Get Your Gun) Unlikely Lovers (Falsettos) Another Winter in a Summer Town (Grey Gardens) Someone Else's Story (Chess) Unusual Way (Nine)
(Might change all of them tomorrow, but these five have never become 'tired'.)
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Post by karloscar on Aug 3, 2018 9:39:44 GMT
Streisand was at the peak of her relationship with John Peters and is in full blown annoying, cloyingly cute control freak mode. That said the songs are great and she delivers brilliantly in the concert scenes. You just wish it was her who dies at the end. Kristofferson is sexy and funny and makes it all bearable.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 2, 2018 11:02:46 GMT
The trailer makes it look like a scene for scene copy of the Streisand/Kristofferson version. Surely after forty years the story could be told a bit differently, the entertainment industry has completely changed in that time.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 25, 2018 11:00:49 GMT
Who's gonna go tell her off first? [/quotef] Considering the homicidal version of I Know Him So Well she did at the Tim Rice tribute a couple of years ago, I'd be telling her to pipe down for sure! ;-)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 23, 2018 15:04:21 GMT
Siobhan McCarthy is an example of a voice that sounds great live, but somehow loses character in the studio. The show would never have run if she had not delivered those huge songs in the theatre every night, and she was central to its initial success. (But nobody can compete with the original voices as has often been pointed out.)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 21, 2018 10:57:21 GMT
Quite a few MDs would benefit from a cattle prod now and again. And it's pretty impossible to hear what other singers are doing when your own voice is playing louder than anything else in your head, so he should shut up as well and concentrate on waving his wand. (Are there any female MDs in the Westend? Never seen one yet.)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 17, 2018 14:44:13 GMT
Odd that the American critics seem to be most dismissive of the songs that weren't hit singles being used in the movie, one even calling them "crap". Abba had relatively few US hits compared to most other countries, even some big songs failed to chart there. Very much a case of " this is unfamiliar so I won't even bother to listen properly", which is pretty shoddy work for someone making a living criticizing other peoples' art.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 16, 2018 20:35:55 GMT
neither Catherine Johnson or Phyllida Lloyd were interested in doing the sequel but gave Judy the blessing to develop it. Catherine Johnson does have story credit so I wonder what her involvement was Read more: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/2876/mamma-mia-again?page=21#ixzz5LS4c7iGrCatherine created the characters and the original story which the prequel/sequel builds on, so only right that she gets a credit.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 13, 2018 9:29:15 GMT
I doubt Lily James will be signing up for a run in a stage musical any time soon. She'll be in great demand in Hollywood after this.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 9, 2018 13:29:59 GMT
American writing, to me at least, always tends towards stating very baldly the emotions out loud. There's no attempt to analyse or reason it through, it is always, "I am feeling this, please will you validate it because I have said it." That is how a younger person reacts too. Read more: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/2748/fun-home-young-vic?page=31#ixzz5KlN0Sh3nEvery American writer does this? What a load of twaddle. Alison spends the whole show analysing and reflecting on her relationship with her father, looking for answers that aren't always forthcoming.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 8, 2018 18:58:20 GMT
For those complaining about the lack of Bechdel's cartoons in the design of Fun Home, the idea was tried out in early workshops and dropped fairly quickly because it didn't work well and got in the way of the story. It's a long process from the page to the stage.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 29, 2018 11:42:27 GMT
Has anyone who's seen this yet read the graphic novel beforehand? Would be interested to know what you thought - I read the graphic novel a couple of years ago and it was honestly one of the best things I've ever read, I don't think I've ever read anything that felt as raw and personal, you feel like Bechdel is splurging her feelings regarding her father onto the pages but in the most beautiful manner. Whilst I thought this production was brilliant and actually did a good job on maintaining the essence of the graphic novel, I think the fact that I had read the graphic novel and loved it so much did hamper my enjoyment slightly and I think would make me see it as a 4* production rather than a 5* production. I think the comments above about it being too slight are interesting as the graphic novel feels much more epic and substantial, and Bruce definitely feels way more developed in the novel. Having said that, I think if I hadn't read the novel beforehand I would have been completely bawled over, as it is just such an interesting story and very well done. Also, Alison Bechdel was sitting next to me when I saw it which was a bit of a unique experience considering you're literally watching her life story on stage! Bear in mind that Ring of Keys is based on one single image in the graphic novel. With a book of so many riches it's a major editing job to know what to leave out or you end up with a big flabby mess. Lisa Kron has done an amazing job transforming Fun Home into a piece of theatre. In her first attempt at a full musical she found the right voice for the story, and the lyrics and book say far more that it first appears, and much more succinctly than most other writers manage to convey in the same amount of time. Maybe it leaves you wanting to know more, but it's no bad thing to have questions at the end of a show.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 27, 2018 13:22:21 GMT
There is more about Helen Bechdel in the graphic novel of Fun Home than in the musical,but you get a much clearer picture of her and Alison's relationship in Are You My Mother? Bear in mind that Bruce had been dead for two decades before it was written, and Helen was very much alive until shortly before the musical was written, so it's easier to be honest and candid about someone who's no no longer alive.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 19, 2018 10:23:26 GMT
It played on a prosc arch stage before and after Broadway at the Public and extensively on tour. The in the round production was fantastic, but the show plays just as well in other spaces.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 19, 2018 8:30:12 GMT
Eddie Mair would be the best choice by far. He's refreshingly different from your usual BBC types. He takes the piss out of anyone who gets too up themselves, and always seems to be unbiased which was Dimblebore's worst failing. (That and his patronising attitude to women.) The show has become incredibly dull and predictable. They need a wider variety of guests and possibly a team of chairpersons rather than one constantly displaying their prejudices.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 16, 2018 15:28:13 GMT
I saw the original production twenty years ago in New York and it was looked and sounded magnificent especially the choral work. I appeared in production a decade ago with a 20 piece orchestra and over 90 people on stage. Being in the midst of that number of voices singing Maury Yeston's score was quite moving and powerful for all concerned. I think it's one of those shows that loses a lot by being scaled down in any way. You don't need the scenery perhaps but you need at least 40 people on stage to make it work.
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Follies
Jun 10, 2018 22:32:15 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jun 10, 2018 22:32:15 GMT
Vicky Clark or better still Judy Kuhn who has never played Sally, but does brilliant versions of In Buddy's Eyes and Losing My Mind in her cabaret act.
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