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Post by princeton on May 28, 2017 13:07:23 GMT
the songs are for the most part not that memorable Do please try and get a recording of the score and listen again, I promise you'll come to love them. These are some of the greatest theatre songs ever written. Peerless music by Bernstein and lyrics by Comden and Green at the height of their powers - moving seamlessly between comedy and pathos. Some Other Time, Lonely Town, Lucky To Be Me, I Can Cook Too, and New York, New York are each, in their own way, gems.
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Post by princeton on May 18, 2017 14:25:51 GMT
as with other weird Old Vic policies like forcing you to show tickets after the interval and standing in the aisle glaring at people during the curtain call Oh how I've long shared this view - it happens every time. On my last visit a member of management was clearly, and publicly, berating an usher for not telling everyone as they left that they needed their ticket to get back into the auditorium. And then during the curtain call the ushers screaming no photographs if anyone looked as though they were getting out a smartphone. As someone who usually chooses an a aisle seat I've come to dread that moment at the Old Vic - it borderline spoils what one might have just watched on stage. For a theatre which send endless emails about its late-night cocktail bar and its "relaxed all-day café" they really do need address the customer experience for those of us who are actually going to see something at the theatre.
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Post by princeton on May 10, 2017 21:54:48 GMT
Shady Sonia at work again! Just what I thought.......
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Post by princeton on May 10, 2017 21:16:03 GMT
Chris Peluso isn't mentioned on the Funny Girl website any more - so I'm assuming that Darius is doing all of the remaining dates of the tour.
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Post by princeton on May 1, 2017 18:37:06 GMT
And it's a Daytime Emmy not a Primetime Emmy - well no it's actually a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award which are usually given to the "men and women that work behind the scenes". However in this case it's an award that was introduced last year and according to the Emmy site "The Award recognizes the work of the Principle Artist and the Program’s production of the performance" And on this year's press release (page 23) it says: cdn.emmyonline.org/day_44th_winners_creative.pdfOutstanding On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program - Cynthia Erivo and the Cast of The Color Purple - Today Show NBC So I guess she's right - it is for her as well as the programme. Whether she should have been so snarky in her tweets - and have added it so quickly to her twitter bio are probably a matter of taste and ego - of which she has the latter in spades and the former........
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Post by princeton on Mar 28, 2017 23:39:16 GMT
Don't discount anything - Christine Ebersole actually won the Best Leading Actress Tony for playing Dorothy Brock in the 2001 NYC revival. Though I don't think it's too unfair to say that she's a better actress and singer than Sheena Easton (not to mention having an illustrious theatrical career)
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Post by princeton on Mar 28, 2017 23:04:54 GMT
And here's a recording of the title song and dance - 42nd Street from the Original London production - including different (and definitely more dramatic) ending.
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Post by princeton on Mar 28, 2017 22:59:38 GMT
Also I saw the last production several time with many different casts - and Catherine Zeta Jones was the one Peggy not to wear the curly wig. Instead she had a short dark bob - I don't know whether it was a wig or her natural hair but it made her look very different to her predecessors in the role.
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Post by princeton on Mar 28, 2017 22:54:16 GMT
IIRc - the 'birdcage' was from the middle section of Dames (where this production has added Keep Young and Beautiful). There are a lot more musical numbers this time round - in addition to the aforementioned Keep Young and Beautiful, neither With Plenty of Money and You nor Boulevard of Broken Dreams were in the last Drury Lane production. The 42nd routine is a lot longer (it ended with Peggy dancing along after 'Billy' had been short - so no big staircase) and the amazing post bows routine is also new. I think all except the Boulevard were in the 2001 Broadway revival.
Obviously it's a show which is all about the big numbers - and the ensemble here are magnificent - but it does mean that the dialogue scenes (particular the comedy ones) are played at such a fast pace that they become almost meaningless. I remember laughing out loud at lines which just didn't register this time around.
But when all is said and done it's about those routines - it's bigger and brasher than in the 80s - and at a time of increasingly threadbare revivals it's a reminder that sometimes size matters! I'm very glad that we haven't had to endure the Menier Chocolate Factory version!!
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Post by princeton on Mar 20, 2017 23:37:02 GMT
I think you may be getting your Manchester Opera House performances mixed up. Doreen Wells played the Cyd Charisse part in Charlie Girl - and Kathryn Evans played the title role in Evita at the same theatre (with a very young Ria Jones as her alternate). Evans had just closed the London production. I think Charlie Girl (1987) followed Evita (1986) in the Opera House.
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Post by princeton on Mar 20, 2017 23:16:02 GMT
I can understand that loureview is disappointed that she won't be seeing Robert Fairchild - though i think it's unfair to say "Mr Fairchild can't even be bothered doing all the shows". As others have said since the Broadway production the dancer playing Jerry has done 6 performances a week, and the dancer playing Lise 7 performances a week. I think it was remiss of the producers not to advertise the alternate schedule when they opened booking as it is pretty much the same as the NYC schedule. The full cast was announced in early September including details of Ashley Day as the alternate Jerry (and moving to become main Jerry in June) but the performers schedule not publicised until a few weeks ago.
On the plus side - Ashley Day is a great performer - he was nominated as Best Actor in Musical for playing Curly in Oklahoma at the UK theatre awards a couple of years ago, was a great cover as Elder Price in the original cast of Book Of Mormon. He was personally chosen by Christopher Wheeldon and has been rehearsing with him. This Saturday is his first performance so I'm sure it will be a great atmosphere and bring additional excitement throughout the cast.
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Post by princeton on Mar 2, 2017 21:41:57 GMT
Has Andrew Wright been involved in any of the previous productions?
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Post by princeton on Jan 25, 2017 0:02:33 GMT
Oh Joshua James - guessing that he joined for the extension week. Would be interesting to see when Lia Williams is playing Elizabeth. Does anyone know if they have ever appeared in anything together before?
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Post by princeton on Jan 12, 2017 12:00:37 GMT
It wasn't an understudy on 7 January mat. Sam Lips had been out for a few performances since going off half way though the show on 29 December - but he came back on Friday 6 Dec (although the WYP didnt actually take down the cover signs that day). Dale White who played the part in the interim is one of the dance captains and was a ballroom champion in his childhood - so I'm sure he was great.
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Post by princeton on Jan 3, 2017 23:00:58 GMT
All this talk about Lily Fraser not having the vocals for Deena and not being a match for Effie - surely that's the point they should have very different voices. Isn't Deena supposed to have a light pop voice, a la Diana Ross, whereas Effie has a much bigger soul voice, with one of the key reasons Effie is replaced as lead singer being that Deena's voice would appeal to a wider, whiter, audiences? Certainly it's how it was played in the original Broadway cast - with a huge difference in the vocal abilities of Sheryl Lee Ralph (Deena) and Jennifer Holliday (Effie). It's why (IMHO) the Listen duet doesn't make much sense as it feels like two American Idol type divas doing some sort of sing off - maybe it's a necessary evil in this day and age - but to me it's out of place no matter how well it is sung.
That said I haven't seen Fraser as Deena and maybe in this particular production she doesn't work - but she looks the part (she's gorgeous) - and has a voice which would seem a good fit for Deena as originally conceived.
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Post by princeton on Dec 23, 2016 22:13:53 GMT
I'm afraid I'm in the disappointed camp. It's a show I know and love - but I agree with Mr Barnaby this really did lack charm. It all felt rather over earnest yet at the same rather course. Most of the performances were fine - with particularly strong ones from Callum Howells and Mark Umbers. I felt both of the women were badly directed and came across as harsh rather than sympathetic - which is a shame as I've liked them both in many other roles. Scarlett Strallen can sing very well - but she's not a natural at comedy and it felt rather rather effortful, and while Katherine Kingsley is a gifted comedienne this performances felt quite broad for such a delicate piece. It may be because I loved Laura Benanti and Jane Krakowski in the recent New York revival who fully mined both the comedy and the pathos in what I thought were pitch- perfect performances - and maybe I'm unfairly comparing two different productions.
However I'm glad that it's being revived - and I'm glad the many people are enjoying it - as it's a show which deserves to be seen by a new audience.
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Post by princeton on Dec 23, 2016 21:54:11 GMT
If only they had three alternates for the lead roles....
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Post by princeton on Dec 23, 2016 21:53:02 GMT
The Kipps understudy is Sam O'Rourke who normally plays Buggins. This may be heresy on this board - but I actually slightly preferred him to Charlie Stemp, He can sing and dance well but is slightly more quirky than Stemp and less the toothy cheeky chappy, which I thought made him more endearing and believable. I think he's also a better actor - and I don't think I was just being generous because it was his first performance. It certainly makes you appreciate how the show is entirely directed around Kipps - and he is the star - regardless of who plays him. O'Rourke seemed genuinely moved by the reception he received - or maybe he's a very good actor!!
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Post by princeton on Dec 22, 2016 16:20:10 GMT
Let's not forget that they did open auditions to find the leads - yet somehow cast an Effie who had sung that song on American network television!! (indeed i wonder whether anyone was cast via the open auditions- or whether they were just a PR stunt)
Worth noting that there was no alternate Effie in the original Broadway company - but Jennifer Holliday had a very patchy attendance record (as did some of her replacements) so they had a whole pool of standbys and understudies who could go on. Of course Holliday wasn't really well know before she did this show - and although it made her a star - it wasn't as though she was a household name to most of the audience.
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Post by princeton on Dec 22, 2016 15:08:22 GMT
So a new alternate who has played the role before and has a couple of Broadway appearances as well as a major US tour - all directed by Casey Nicholaw. Sounds a bit fishy to me - I bet I can guess who will be the first cover - and it won't be either of the current alternates.
No doubt Sonia F and co will spin it into a big story - bringing over someone from Broadway hand picked by Casey - after he saw her perform the role at a regional theatre. Possibly to coincide with the change of performance schedule so that those who have already booked for a Monday (on the basis that that was a scheduled Amber Riley performance) are seeing an experience broadway performer rather than someone raw and untested. Of course if this happens it's a bummer for Karen Mav and Ruth Brown - the show tells how cruel the business is - and I fear that it's going to play out in real life too.
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Post by princeton on May 11, 2016 7:03:06 GMT
Worth pointing our (in light of stories elsewhere on this board) that Jennifer Hudson didn't miss a single show during her six months in the role. Admittedly she's no RADA trained actress, so was outclassed by Cynthia (and indeed Nicola Hughes at the Menier) but she didn't disgrace herself and was clearly aware that she was the name in the cast and for many in the audience she was the reason they had booked the ticket. So the show went on - every performance.
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Post by princeton on Mar 7, 2016 0:22:32 GMT
Our very own BurlyBeaR has given permission for (classy only) nominations for the Cute Chorus Boy Award 2016. Name and Show required... Kicking off with Luke Fetherston in the Menier's Funny Girl. I googled Luke and that's not the hottie I saw in the previews. Mine was waaaaaaaaay hotter. He was blond-ish and quite chunky. Adorbs. Totally pulled focus off that woman who played the Fanny... What was she called? No idea.... Zzzzzz Perhaps you meant Stuart Ramsey - who's not transferring but going into the Harry Potter play? www.harrypottertheplay.com/cast/stuart-ramsay/
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