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Post by johartuk on Jul 26, 2016 10:54:01 GMT
I think Marni's real talent (apart from having a phenomenal voice) was being able to mimic the actresses she was dubbing. When Maria starts singing in the finished version of WSS, it isn't jarring.
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Post by johartuk on Jul 26, 2016 10:47:59 GMT
Apparently Natalie Wood didn't realise she'd been dubbed by Marni Nixon until the film was finished. She assumed that her vocals would be in the finished film (although you can hear her vocals at the beginning of the 'Somewhere' reprise near the end of the film). Ironically, she also tried to get Richard Beymer fired because she didn't think he was any good as a singer or dancer. Beymer was dubbed too of course. Marni also didn't sign a contract for her vocals so wasn't initially paid royalties from the soundtrack album until Leonard Bernstein gave her a percentage of his album royalties instead. Wonder what it must have sounded like on set. People must have been walking about with cotton wool in their ears. "Ear plugs in guys... It's the duet!" There are some examples of Natalie's actual voice in WSS on the tubular website. Natalie had a distinctly average voice, and seems (judging by the clips) unable to belt. No wonder they brought Marni in!
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Post by johartuk on Jul 25, 2016 16:38:59 GMT
RIP Marnie.
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Post by johartuk on Jul 20, 2016 19:25:48 GMT
I thought someone had turned the infamous celebrity magazine into a musical!
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Post by johartuk on Jul 20, 2016 11:15:27 GMT
As an early performance, I think it's pretty good. Remember, she's singing the song out of context, she (presumably) hasn't yet been in rehearsal for the show, and she's standing right in front of a mic in a relatively small space, so screaming/shouting/belting wouldn't work. She does have a nice tone to her voice, and it's nice to see a performance that's a bit more about the quality of the vocal, rather than the volume.
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Post by johartuk on Jul 1, 2016 23:16:29 GMT
It may be different in London but the tradition in the north was always that you go to your local panto and it makes no difference who is cast in it. In fact, the cheesier the better. Keith Harris and Lightning from the Gladiators were amongst the favourites I saw as a child. Hardly A Listers. We didn't care who was in it. We went for the custard pies, the jokes and because we were allowed to buy one of those rectangular boxes of smarties you only seemed to be able to get at the theatre. Dont think the issue is whos in it so much as the initial publicity which suggested superstars and then the pricing. Id feel differently if theyd initially said we are taking traditional panto back to the palladium and then announced the cast they have which is a decent enough panto cast. That said i will probably stick to my annual trip to Eastbourne for panto as casting itself is not as important as ease of getting there and back. I do wish panto would return to Brighton so I could just support my home town theatre but the last few years have seen spamalot, rocky horror, priscilla and for this year sunny afternoon in that slot To be fair, a lot of the publicity from Qdos has been of the 'Bringing Panto back to the Palladium' type, rather than 'Superstar casting'. It was the media who really stirred the 'Superstar casting' thing up and ran with it, to the point where the panto bods were forced to point out that they were going with experienced panto performers and 'names' who would be cast because they can do the job, not simply because they're famous. The way I see it, the cast so far is exactly as described - experienced panto performers and a 'name' who has experience of performing in the West End, so will be able to do the job. I suspect the Uglies and Cinders will also be 'names' who can do the job. Possibly someone like Pixie Lott as Cinders - young, attractive, well-known and able to sing and dance.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 30, 2016 22:29:40 GMT
That is confusing wording!
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Post by johartuk on Jun 30, 2016 22:25:14 GMT
Babs would have been a nice link to the last Palladium panto, but Amanda is an OK choice. She'll certainly look the part.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 23, 2016 19:15:18 GMT
Isn't britney pushing 40? Bit too old for Cindy, no? My guess is that, if Britney was ever seriously considered for a role in the panto, it would have been Fairy Godmother rather than Cinders.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 20, 2016 20:01:29 GMT
If Monopoly proves a hit, imagine the possibilities!
SCRABBLE: The Musical - With lyrics (written using a bag of scrabble letters) by Tim Rice and Stephen Sondheim
SNAKES & LADDERS: The Musical - Ups and downs ensue when the entire stock of ReptilesRus escapes and ventures into the B&Q Megastore down the road!
MOUSETRAP: The Musical - In this sequel to SNAKES & LADDERS, the frazzled manager of the B&Q Megastore has just got his store up and running again, but disaster looms when work experience lad Kevin Shortbottom brings his pet mice to work...and they make a break for freedom!
OPERATION: The Musical - When Sally Arbuckle is admitted to hospital with appendicitis, she's at the mercy of rookie surgeon Chester Muckitup. Will the operation be a success, or will Sally engage the services of Ambulance chasing lawyer Warner Payout?
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Post by johartuk on Jun 18, 2016 12:59:47 GMT
Amanda Holden passing comment on the quality of musical theatre stars really is laughable. If she appeared on such a program she wouldn't make it to the first round. Sorry, totally disagree with that. Thought she was hilarious (for the right reasons) in "Shrek," and she coped brilliantly with the studio pressure during "Superstar" (I was at a recording, she worked like a trooper, with a smile and laugh even as she had to do an extra 30 minutes work setting up for the next day). She is trained, experienced and knows "the business." A professional. No question. She may be a professional, but watching her on TV, she lacked the natural rapport with the studio audience and contestants/judging panel that Graham Norton had on the BBC shows. I remember the truly cringeworthy moment when ALW kicked off at a contestant (Nathan) for something completely unrelated to the performance he'd just given - Graham would have stepped in to put a stop to it, either by diffusing the situation with humour or moving proceedings quickly on, but Amanda just stood there like a rabbit caught in headlights. She seemed completely out of her depth. To be fair, there was a lot wrong with Superstar, not just the choice of presenter. The judging panel was an odd mix (I don't think Jason Donovan cracked a smile once during the whole thing, and ALW seemed to be in a permanent bad mood), the format of nightly shows meant that we didn't get a chance to get to know contestants, and they didn't get a chance to take on board the advice they were given by the judges because their next performances were the following night. I much preferred the weekly shows, where we could get to know the contestants over the 9 weeks or so and watch their development as performers. Getting back to Let It Shine - I wonder what the farewell song will be? I'd go for a mash-up of Greatest Day (Not!) and Never Forget (You've Been Voted Off) !
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Post by johartuk on Jun 17, 2016 22:39:59 GMT
Guys, I might have some exciting news on Monday! A producer I know is giving me the contact to a producer on Funny Girl about possibly meeting Sheridan! Eeek! Good Luck, George!
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Post by johartuk on Jun 17, 2016 18:57:08 GMT
So unbelievably tragic. RIP Jo.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 17, 2016 16:45:27 GMT
Yeah I really hope Graham hosts it again. And would be great if John Barrowman was on the panel again First sentence of the linked article: "Let it Shine, co-presented by Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc, will search for a band to take part in a stage show featuring the music of Take That." Sorry, I missed that bit. Good news that he's definitely presenting it, though - and I like Mel, so all good. It's certainly an improvement on Amanda Holden, who was the presenter of the last TV casting show ( Superstar) - she's fine on a judging panel, but as a presenter, she really is poor.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 17, 2016 15:11:32 GMT
I love the fact that there will another musical theatre talent show. Yes, it will be another jukebox musical, but I'm very excited about having another show where we could potentially discover new stars. The other shows have introduced us to very talented people like Rachel Tucker, Sam Barks, Lee Mead, Ben Forster, Danielle Hope and more. It will be great to once again spend my Saturday evenings listening to talented people sing musical theatre songs I watched all the BBC casting shows, so I'm looking forward to this one. I will miss ALW, though. The faces he pulled were epic, and he was often random in his comments. I can't see Gary Barlow being as entertaining! I hope Graham Norton returns as host. It will be interesting to see who (apart from Gary Barlow) is on the judging panel. It would be nice to see one of the previous Casting Show successes on the panel.
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Post by johartuk on Jun 9, 2016 0:11:06 GMT
I can only imagine how appallingAlfie Boe was in it. He's the male Katherine Jenkins- zero personality. Actually, I think it's more to do with the fact that Alfie Boe is a classical singer and Finding Neverland isn't a classical piece. Watching the video upthread, it's obvious his voice doesn't fit the style of the piece. Incidentally, why the obsession with performers' personalities? I couldn't give a toss what a performer's personality is like (and everyone has a personality, so this 'zero personality' thing is nonsense) as long as they can sing/act. I'm not keen on Katherine Jenkins as a performer, but it has nothing to do with her personality and everything to do with her voice sounding, to my ears, like she's attempting to sing with her mouth full of syrup!
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Post by johartuk on Jun 7, 2016 15:10:43 GMT
The possible original musical for a live TV broadcast sounds interesting. I hope that comes to fruition.
Also, I suspect his autobio would make for fascinating reading!
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Post by johartuk on Jun 3, 2016 14:30:55 GMT
Why did it have to be renamed? It seems a bit redundant to me. The original name is fine. The new name sounds like something they came up with as a stop-gap until they thought of a new name!
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Post by johartuk on May 26, 2016 12:56:02 GMT
I like the idea of Saunders and Lumley as the Uglies. Or David Walliams and Matt Lucas.
Perhaps Pixie Lott as Cinders. Or a West End actress like Danielle Hope (who has done panto before)? Another name that popped into my head was Sam Barks.
Babs Windsor as Fairy Godmother? She's a link to the last Palladium panto and has been in EastEnders again recently. Though Amanda Holden does sound plausible.
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Post by johartuk on May 24, 2016 22:20:47 GMT
I saw her in G&D and thought she reminded me of a carry on Barbara Windsor. Louise Dearman in the tour cast is so much better. She played Barbara in a TV drama about Babs' relationship with Sid James ( Cor Blimey!). It was based on the stage play mentioned above by theatreliker.
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Post by johartuk on May 24, 2016 17:39:15 GMT
Dreadful casting... The Palladium needs knock out names!!!!! Not regional has-beens seen for years elsewhere (as good as they are) Julian, Paul and Lee are hardly 'regional has-beens'! Sorry, but this is getting ridiculous now! People have been moaning on this board (and its WoS predecessor) about 'Star' casting instead of casting people who can actually do the job! Now that it appears that people who can do the job have been cast in this production, people are moaning about the lack of 'Star' casting! I blame the media for getting ridiculously hysterical over this. Would anyone have expected Britney (or some other massive 'Star') in the cast if some newspaper hadn't hinted at it?
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Post by johartuk on May 23, 2016 11:43:20 GMT
Don't take that literally, according to that Nessa needs to be in her "20's", KRJ most def not in her 20's. Also Elphaba and Glinda in their 20's, again all Elphabas and Glinda's since Rachel Tucker joined in 2010 have been older ? You're right with regards to age, one can appear much younger/older on stage than they actually are, but interestingly I think height - for Wicked in particular - is probably a very precise matter. For example, Glinda *has* to be a certain height to fit into the bubble, therefore Elphaba's height will have to look right compared to Glinda, Fiyero taller to match his dashing good looks and arrogant personality (not saying tall people are arrogant, it just helps with the caricature of his character on stage) and Boq shorter to emphasise his "left in the background" forlorn-ness and that he interacts with someone in a chair so can't be towering above them! It's not a show I've auditioned for, but knowing friends who have & who have been/are in/are going into the show, it does seem to fit! Height features quite prominently in casting, I've found. Shows such as Les Mis where Jean Vajean and Javert need to look compatible in height, when they cast the shorter Alfie Boe as Valjean, they cast a shorter than average Javert in Hadley Fraser to balance it out! Off-topic a little, but slightly interesting none-the-less! Haha. One of the requirements for Fiyero is that he has to have 'sex appeal', which I can understand, but you have to wonder what constitutes 'sex appeal' as far as the casting bods are concerned! I know of one actor who didn't get the role because (according to the casting bods), he didn't have 'sex appeal'.
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Post by johartuk on May 23, 2016 11:24:28 GMT
Disappointing and lacking the superstar quality they'd hyped it with if the info in that is correct though it's all names that had been mentioned here To be fair, that's just three cast members announced, and all three (if this list is correct) are seasoned panto bods, which you need in a panto. Also, Julian, Paul and Lee have all been in productions of Cinderella before and have worked together before. There's no mention of Cinders, Wicked Step-mother, Uglies and Fairy Godmother in that vid, so I'm guessing that the 'stars' will be one or more of those people.
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Post by johartuk on May 12, 2016 12:20:19 GMT
Glad to see that Sheridan is taking time out. Hopefully, she'll be able to spend time with her dad and get the help and support she needs.
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Post by johartuk on May 10, 2016 15:23:15 GMT
If it were any other actress who was off sick, no one would bat an eyelid, not even some on here. Just because it is Sheridan, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and basically bully her. I don't think anyone is 'bullying'* her. She obviously sees it that way, but that doesn't mean she's being 'bullied'. As far as I can see, nothing has been said over the past couple of days that hasn't been said over the years about many people. You get remarks about non-winners' facial expressions (complete with accompanying screen-shots) in the media after every big awards ceremony. Let's also not forget that the media reported what was being said by people online - so it's not as if they randomly decided to make up a story about Sheridan being drunk onstage (people were tweeting from their seats at the theatre about the show being stopped, and Sheridan appearing drunk prior to the show stop), or about her looking tired/unhappy at the BAFTAs (again, people were tweeting about that while sat in front of their TVs, or shortly after the ceremony aired). All they did was pick up on what the twitterverse was saying. This isn't the first time, and won't be the last, that the media have taken advantage of a situation. Unfortunately, Sheridan is taking it all as a personal attack instead of simply seeing it for what it is and ignoring it. *Like 'haters', 'bullying' is one of those words that's ridiculously overused, often to describe behaviour that isn't actually 'bullying'!
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