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Post by karloscar on Jun 3, 2018 9:56:40 GMT
Saw her as herself for the first time in a postponed Edinburgh concert on Saturday. Some of the material in the first half hour was a bit mediocre (mostly from her new album) but once she got onto better songs it was a terrific show. Relying on the audience to sing all of Glinda's part in For Good was decidedly risky, but the fans did well in the end. Lots of stuff to please the Queen and Wicked fans, a new Frank Wildhorn song that hasn't been recorded yet, and her final phrase of Someone to Love demonstrated why she has the best belt in the West End, controlled,exciting, pitch perfect and sustained for forever. Well impressed.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 1, 2018 18:19:11 GMT
I didn't realise Sam Gold was directing. Looks like a very promising cast. Hope it gets lots of attention.
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Post by karloscar on May 28, 2018 19:43:49 GMT
Excellent work from all concerned, but David Steele was far too tall!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 27, 2018 16:52:18 GMT
The pension plan is doing fine, getting Cher,Meryl Streep and hundreds of others to do the work. The Abbatar tour will make them more money while they sit at home. Must be after the elusive Christmas number one!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 17, 2018 10:48:22 GMT
Is she the one who no one really knows who she is according to Alice? Yes she’s in the Tour but for no apparent reason. I wondered if the character was a ‘hangover’ from previous productions. Did she have a song or anything? It’s a shame the line about cards has been cut, I bet that would get a massive laugh. She's the anti-establishment figure who ruffles the feathers of the first class passengers. Why they'd cut the line is mysterious. In a show that's all about the class system it's pretty important and always gets a laugh.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 14, 2018 12:29:14 GMT
Thoroughly bored by the whole thing. Controlling posh mother would not have tolerated all those accents amongst her acquired offspring, and Aggie would not have approved of all the unnecessary swearing. All of the caricatures are so obnoxious why the f*** (sorry Agatha) would anyone care who did what to whom?
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Post by karloscar on Apr 11, 2018 15:45:42 GMT
Helen in Fun Home is a bit cold, brittle and unemotional right up until her final scene, so the role may suit Jenna Russell far more than the roles you didn't rate her in previously.
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Company
Apr 10, 2018 23:49:51 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Apr 10, 2018 23:49:51 GMT
How do you make 'You Could Drive A Person Crazy?' work with three straight men? The Cassidy brothers did it for a BCEFA event and it was still as camp as Christmas.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 10, 2018 15:59:50 GMT
I stand firmly by my stance that it's a play with music, but that doesn't mean I'm not hugely entertained by their having a nominee for Best Actor in a Musical, and it's a man who doesn't sing at all in the show (that I remember, maybe he's in a full company number or two?)! I may be wrong, but I seem to remember Ciaran Hinds got supporting actor nomination(s) when he played Sam Byck in Assassins at the Donmar in the 90s, so not the first time he's been recognised for not singing much in a musical.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 8, 2018 21:44:38 GMT
Every year you think this can't get any worse, and every year it does. Just horrific.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 5, 2018 19:10:48 GMT
Kathleen Turner's in town. She'd be great for Molokov if anyone else walks!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 1, 2018 23:03:50 GMT
Eileen stamping on Phelan's fingers was hilarious, and a suitable end to a ridiculous plot.
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Post by karloscar on Mar 26, 2018 14:42:35 GMT
Liz Callaway rehearsing for Sondheim on Sondheim (with help from Judy and Seth).
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Post by karloscar on Mar 21, 2018 13:13:00 GMT
On the whole it was a fairly enjoyable listen, but Lapine's original concept has been rather lost with all the cuts made. Most of the humour seems to have disappeared with the seldom performed numbers like Smile Girls and God!, so it starts to resemble any other greatest hits compilation. Nice to hear Something Just Broke, and You Are The Best Thing, and Beautiful from Sunday was lovely.
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 20:26:14 GMT
True that he's worse when making decisions for himself in concert settings, but it's always a risk in a live performance. Wood was a perfectionist, and of course wanted it played in a certain style, but she always had the option of a second take.
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Chess
Mar 3, 2018 13:54:36 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 13:54:36 GMT
Ball's vibrato and vocal tics are far more disturbing than any riffing that might occur.
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Chess
Mar 3, 2018 12:23:53 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 12:23:53 GMT
Interesting that the tendency to oversing and riff on material that needs no decoration should be raised. That's my main worry about the cast for ENO. Can any of them be trusted to sing it properly?
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Post by karloscar on Mar 1, 2018 7:54:42 GMT
Svetlana doesn't need two songs describing how dissatisfied she is with her life no matter who is playing the role.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 27, 2018 22:54:02 GMT
The Swedish lyric is a bit more competitive than the original. I Know What He Wants ( and it's not you) is how it translates.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 26, 2018 9:44:02 GMT
Benny wants to include He is a Man, He is a Child apparently, in which case Florence would get back Someone Else's Story in Act One. (Or it gets cut completely!!!)
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Chess
Feb 16, 2018 18:57:52 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Feb 16, 2018 18:57:52 GMT
Apparently we have been saved from Tim Minchin as Freddie, big Broadway name as Anatoly, US TV star as Florence but sadly no Norm Lewis as Molokov, but possibly tommy korbrg is still in talks for that role....
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Post by karloscar on Feb 16, 2018 15:38:54 GMT
Ok so having been around the block a few more curtain calls than some of you spring chickens have to say I think Mr Ball is going to knock this out of the park If you havent seen the show before its a mammoth role. He will be able to hold it and sing it like a true leading man. I remember back in the day seeing him in Aspects of Love and was blown away by his stage craft. This is a role that really requires a proper sing! As for Alexandra Burke give the girl a chance. Svetlana is an important role but in terms of stage time its not massive. The age difference is immaterial tbh. Its semi staged and the Orchestra and scale of the vocals will more than compensate. So I would say save your pennies ! Grab a ticket and enjoy the chance to see a cracking score sung live by a talented cast I thank you x Back in the day Michael Ball was a hammy actor with a big voice and a cute smile that some found charming. He can still be entertaining in the right role, and he and Mickey Dolenz had great chemistry as Edna and Wilbur in Hairspray. But, and it's a big but, he has developed some horrendous vocal mannerisms and a vibrato as wide as the Grand Canyon in the last few decades, which means that it's quite distressing to hear him murdering just about any tune I'm fond of. He was wrong for Anatoly when Chess was first produced, and he's much less right for it now than he was thirty years ago.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 15, 2018 19:16:16 GMT
The Washington DC production's new book sounds interesting with some unexpected plot twists, and a restructured first act. I wonder if ENO will take similar risks?
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Chess
Feb 14, 2018 12:40:02 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Feb 14, 2018 12:40:02 GMT
That What's onstage article is giving Tim Rice a co-directing credit. Has he ever directed anything before? That spells almost as much trouble as the casting which is hopefully fiction.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 6, 2018 10:54:42 GMT
Judy Kuhn's only twenty years too old for the role, and she could still sing it better than anyone else!
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