A Streetcar Named Desire

Streetcar is my favourite play. The Donmar is my favourite producing theatre. I about had kittens when they announced this production and have been eagerly anticipating my visit ever since I was on the phone at one second past 9am on the morning that tickets went on sale.

Maybe it was inevitable, therefore, that I was a little disappointed. I can't even really quantify why. I think the trouble is that because I know the piece so very well, I have really clear ideas of how the characters should be and for the most part, these portrayals just didn't match up with how I see them. I do think Rachel Weisz is too young to be Blanche and I definitely think that Ruth Wilson was too young for Stella. It didn't bother me too much when they weren't on stage together but I really struggled to care about the Blanche/Stella relationship.

Elliot Cowan, in contrast, was exactly how I see Stanley. Gruff, brooding, imposing, terrifying but attractive and appealing at the same time. Special kudos also for the guy playing Mitch (whose name I've forgotten) who I thought was terrific.

My biggest bugbear, though, was the costumes. During the course of the play, I picked out pieces I recognised from H&M, Office and Primark... whilst partly just indicative of the amount of time I spend window shopping, the sheer laziness of it really bothered me. The set was beautiful and so in keeping with the period so to see so much costumes wise that looked like it had been grabbed from a dash down Oxford Street really irritated me.

I'm glad I saw it... but can't help feeling a bit let down.

Dreamboats and Petticoats

I must admit I didn't hold out much hope going into see Dreamboats on a midweek matinee. Certainly I was about 30 years younger than anyone else in the audience (apart from the odd grandchild who'd been dragged along) and this unfortunately led to some rather tuneless singing along on the part of those around me.

Despite all that, I loved it. Okay so it's not Shakespeare. It's not going to change the world and if you're looking for theatre that will move you to your core then I wouldn't suggest you rush out and buy a ticket, but it's great music, really well performed against a backdrop of a higher-production-values-than-normal from Mr Kenwright. Everyone left the theatre with a big smile on their face and you can't really argue with that, can you?

Footloose

I'll admit I'd never been to Stevenage (other than on the train on my way to London), much less the theatre, before so when I was invited to go and see their in house production of Footloose, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

I was blown away by the scale of the production. Given that it was only on for a week, there didn't appear to have been any cut corners. Most importantly, the calibre of the cast was high.

I'd never, believe it or not, seen Footloose on stage before. Seen the film a million times and know the music but wasn't prepared for quite how much I'd enjoy it on stage. The cast were (almost) universally very strong. I thought the dancing could have been tighter in certain parts (especially the boys) but the singing was fantastic throughout.

A really good, solid, fun production and certainly one that would encourage me to return for their next show.

Edinburgh 2009

5 hectic days in Edinburgh. Reviews coming up in as short a space as possible!

Over The Threshold (George 2, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
The advertising is uninspiring. Black and grey is probably not the best colour combination to catch people's eyes in Edinburgh. The strongest songs ('Women Like You' and one of the female solos I don't know the name of) are very strong but the rest is slightly inconsistent. The book is slightly too neatly tied up for my liking, but still enjoyable.

Bloodbath (George 1, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
Oh dear. Really, just, oh dear. I think any show containing the line "is that like thrush?" has found new levels to scrape at the bottom of the barrel. The cast are fabulous but the show is just beyond awful. Whilst he has a lovely voice, Anthony Costa just cannot pull off being the most popular boy in school. The girls dance around in costumes that get smaller and smaller as the show goes on and the whole thing just seems tacky.

Maggie Service With A Smile (The Wee Room, Gilded Balloon)
An hilarious hour that proves you don't have to swear like a docker and talk about sex non stop to do a good stand up show! Great character observations (I especially liked the new york actress with the taxi driver boyfriend) and transitions from each character very smoothly.

Jerry Springer The Opera (George 1, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
I don't like the show. Not because it offends me or anything like that. I just don't really like it that much. The students (RSAMD) are great (particularly the girl playing Steve, hilariously) and I'm sure that if you like the show, then you'll enjoy this production but it did nothing to convince me.

Hooked (George 2, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
Lesson number 1 when performing a show to backing track - MAKE SURE THE CD DOESN'T SKIP. I spent half the show cringing as the cast stumbled over lyrics as the track skipped behind them. The leading man (whose name I've forgotten) had a nice voice but the choreography was weak, the songs weaker and the whole thing was just a little cringeworthy.

Six Ways (George 2, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
I struggle to find the words to express how much I loved this. Written/devised by a group of LIPA students, this is my one big recommendation for the Fringe this year. Having been a fairly active follower of new musicals for the past few years, I've been consistently disappointed by the strength (or lack thereof) of most books. Not this. The book is strong. The performances are fabulous. You'll laugh til you cry (not least at a FABULOUS quip at the expense of one of the 'stars' appearing at George Square) and then shed actual tears too. Just fantastic.

Chat - The Internet Musical (George 2, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
One of the shows I am biased on as not only does it feature one of my clients, I also did the casting. That said, that doesn't make the show any less fun. It's smart, witty, slick and benefits from being one of the few shows with a live band in that small space. Go see it!

Blondes (Udderbelly's Pasture)
I was bored. Beyond bored. Denise Van Outen has a lovely voice, and she sang the songs well but I found the whole experience utterly unremarkable. The very-clearly-scripted jokes weren't that funny (or at least the delivery wasn't) and whilst her voice is pretty, there is little distinguishable about it. The most exciting part of the whole experience was spotting Clarke Peters (who directed) as I was leaving. I think that says it all.

Showstopper - The Improvised Musical (George 4, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
I love Showstopper. I know there's a formula and I couldn't see it very much more than once a year without spoiling the illusion but that doesn't stop them all being pant-wettingly hilarious. We had 'Sandals in the Wind' - a show about gladiators in ancient Rome, in the style of David Bowie, Elton John, Julie Stein and Jason Robert Brown. Just so, so funny.

Private Peaceful (Udderbelly's Pasture)
A stellar performance by Finn Hanlon in every sense. Completely captivating (no mean feat given the stifling heat). Enthralling, enchanting, heartbreaking and inspiring. A definite go see!

The Great British Soap Opera (George 2, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
Chat's sister show - same cast, alternate days. Smart, funny, sexy, fast paced and energetic. Characters everyone will recognise if you're a sucker for Corrie or Eastenders or even just Heat magazine.

Murder Mystery Musical (George 4, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
My only walk out of the week. So unimpressed. An incredible cast but a Punch and Judy set and not clever enough to manage the irony it needs. Massively disappointing.

Gingers The Musical (George 4, Musical Theatre @ George Square)
The queue made me feel like I was part of some superior race (which I am, obviously). However the show itself only involved one actual redhead and was written, in the most part, by a greek family. Essentially each character sang a song about the trials and tribulations of being ginger backed by a techno backing track. Not really worth the hype, at all.

A Respectable Wedding (C+1, C Venue)
A fabulous way to end the visit. Hilarious, clever, energetic and great fun. Fully deserving of the terrific reviews it's getting and well worth a visit if you enjoy physical comedy in any way.

Blood Brothers

I've made more visits to Blood Brothers in the West End than I'd care to admit over the past year or so, so it was with an element of dread that I headed across to Leeds to see the touring production.

I find myself slightly numbed to its emotional impact now. I sat in a relatively empty matinee audience of pensioners who were sniffing into their Fisherman's Friends and didn't shed a tear. I don't even jump at the gun shots anymore.

I also think I've been spoilt in hearing Niki's vocals as Mrs J because Maureen Nolan just wasn't even close to having the same strength in her voice. It's a shame, because it's a role that has so much more impact with a strong vocalist but she just wasn't that.

I think it's pretty safe to say that I am well and truly Blood Brothers-ed out now.

A Little Night Music

I must prefix this by saying I am not really a Sondheim fan. I'm one of those weird people who would consider themselves a musical theatre fan without liking Sondheim OR Andrew Lloyd Webber (though I actually actively, intensely, dislike ALW and the same can't be said for Sondheim). So although I'd heard good things about this production of A Little Night Music, I wasn't especially enthusiastic about seeing it.

I've never enjoyed a Sondheim more.

Primarily, this was down to the cast. Hannah Waddingham is, simply, a goddess. Though not your traditional Desiree, she just holds the stage beautifully. Maureen Lipman gave a real tour de force performance and Alex Hanson and Gabriel Vick were also fabulous. Jessie Buckley failed to convince me of her abilities anymore than she had done during I'd Do Anything but given how irritating the character is, I could quite happily dislike her without it having an impact on the show.

Star of the show, in my opinion, was the fabulous Kaisa Hammarlund, whose Miller's Son was just fantastic. It's one of the few Sondheim songs that I do actually really like anyway but even allowing for that, she still managed to completely blow me away.

No-one was more surprised than me by how much I want to rave about this show!

Zanna, Don't!

I fell in love with Zanna last summer, when RSAMD did it at the Edinburgh Fringe and so was excited to see it getting its London premiere finally, not least because it was featuring one of my lovely clients!

Having failed to make it out to The Space to see it, I caught it late on in its run at Upstairs At The Gatehouse. It was as funny and kitsch and cute and charming as I remembered. I defy anyone who has ever felt like an outsider not to feel a little shiver inside in the final moments.

Though the direction and, especially, choreography were unimaginative (and, at moments, bordering on boring), the cast were, for the most part, strong and clearly enthusiastic about the piece. It's a lovely little show that deserves a bigger run than it's had anywhere so far.

Sister Act

I've been looking forward to Sister Act for a good few months now. It's been a while since the West End had a big hit, and this seemed like the most likely suspect for the shows opening in the first half of this year.

Went along to opening night this week and LOVED IT. Absolutely adored it. I think the first 15-20 minutes are a little slow but after that it just zips along and is so slick. The nuns, as you would expect, do steal the show. All the characters you'd expect from the film are there, with all their quirks and characterisations. The set is absolutely mindblowing - makes full use of the scale of the Palladium and just is constantly evolving.

It doesn't matter that the music is different. It seems a bit odd to start with, but then Menken's score is so infectious that you forget that part of you was expecting to hear I Will Follow Him. Raise Your Voice and Take Me To Heaven are especially strong.

Patina Miller really is a star - she fills that massive stage with what seems like no effort at all. Her voice is beautiful and she can really act. The supporting cast are all strong also but really pale in comparison next to her (especially Ian Lavender - you barely even know he's in the show!).

Surprised that the reviews were so distinctly lukewarm. Word of mouth is overwhelmingly positive, so hopefully it will defy the critics and keep the nuns singing for some time to come.

Ladies Day

Through the torrential rain, I drove across to Lichfield on Friday night to see Ladies' Day, by Amanda Whittington.

Despite the miserable trip there, the play managed to lift the spirits of the rather bedraggled audience. Its distinctly northern humour hit the mark with the primarily middle aged audience. Some of the scene changes were clunky, to say the least - always the issue in studio spaces where there isn't the capacity for a curtain or any kind of meaningful blackout.

It struck me as being somewhat predictable in terms of structure... for the most part the first act stumbled along and then most of the second act was raced through as each character revealed their 'big secret' one after another. Amongst it there were certainly a couple of cringeworthy moments (I could have done without the ghostly apparition for one) and its setting is so intrinsically provincial that I can't imagine they could even dream of taking it to London but it was an enjoyable enough 2 hours with some very strong performances.

Tick, Tick, Boom!

Somewhat contraversially, I think I prefer Tick, Tick, Boom! to RENT. As a show, RENT effects me much more, but when they're broken down, I prefer TTB's music. I don't think it has as much of that clunkiness that put me off RENT for so long.

Having missed the production at the Menier a few years back (I was due to go on the day 2 weeks on from July 7th when there was another huge security alert and took the decision to stay home instead), I'd never seen TTB staged before last week.

I left feeling underwhelmed and a little disappointed. A lot of Larson's beauty is in his harmonies and the three voices on stage just didn't seem to blend. It struck me that they had been cast as individuals without much thought for their chemistry. I've never been a fan of Julie Atherton's voice... I appreciate its technical strength but it's so nasal that it goes through me like nails on a blackboard. And it's so very distinctive that, despite her strong acting, whenever she sings, I feel like she's playing the same character. I'd loved Paul Keating in Little Shop but his voice was clearly very tired and was cracking all over the place. Can't fault his characterisation though, and the whole section after he finds out that Michael's HIV+ and leading into Why was just incredible. Leon Lopez was much as I expected - good, solid, but unremarkable.

The strength of the material really shone through but the production itself? Could take it or leave it.

Three Days of Rain

For the sake of this, I will ignore the major annoyances that accompanied my trip to Three Days of Rain caused by the ridiculous behaviour of audience members who couldn't be bothered to show up on time. Suffice to say they were very annoying!

I felt a bit underwhelmed by the play itself. I am all for a bit of ambiguity so that you go away thinking about what might be, but it left me with a few too many unanswered questions.

That said, I thought the staging was great, especially the lighting. And I was wholeheartedly impressed by all three of the actors. They all gave really fantastic performances and I was more than pleasantly surprised by Nigel Harman (who I had gone in expecting the least of). He probably had the greatest contrast between the two roles and both of them were spot on.

I fear this could end up touring after the West End with a second rate cast of "celebrities" and I hope not. I'm not sure the material is strong enough to stand up without such solid performances.

(the rather extended break in my blogging was caused by my involvement in Jet Set Go which ran for most of April and the neverending diary full of showcase performances going on at the moment. If I hear any more Jason Robert Brown I'm going to cut my ears off with a blunt knife...!)

Light In The Piazza

On Monday night, I tootled my way through to Leicester for the final preview of Light In The Piazza at the (relatively) newly opened Curve.

The theatre itself is lovely. Spacious, comfortable and lots of legroom (double brownie points from me). If only I had so many positive things to write about the show.

Ultimately, I was bored. Very bored. I don't dispute that the orchestrations are very pretty, and they have some lovely singers but the show itself left me thoroughly cold. There is no book. At no point in the whole show did I engage with any of the characters... and that certainly wasn't the fault of the actors. Equally, I am someone who likes to be able to walk away from a show with a melody in my head and it failed utterly in that respect too. The songs had that Sondheimesque clunkiness that jars on me.

The set was bloody ugly too. Giant, moving MDF boxes shifting around the stage. Impressive in terms of scale but totally out of character for the show.

I know the plans were for a West End transfer of this. I can't see it happening and I bloody hope it doesn't - the thought of a show as dull as this clogging up a London theatre depresses me no end.

West Side Story

West Side Story is my Mum's favourite show so not having been able to make it to the Sadler's Wells production last summer, I booked tickets for us for the tour for her birthday, several months ago now.

It's a show I've known since I was tiny but never really appreciated until recently, and I'd never seen a professional production before.

I felt almost completely let down. There was huge potential to maximise the impact of the incredible original choreography but the dancing was actually far from tight (the men especially) and really let it down. I didn't really warm to either Maria or (especially) Tony and they seemed thoroughly mismatched, both in appearance and vocally.

All that said, there were exceptions that made it worthwhile... the dream sequence was beautiful and the dancing during that was (excuse the pun) leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Bernardo and Anita were fabulous. Jayde Westaby was just incredible and utterly outshone everyone else on that stage - America was another of the dance numbers that actually came together really well.

Maybe it was just that they're nearing the end of the tour and the complacency has set in. Maybe it was just never that strong to start with. But the show just struck me as a wasted opportunity.

Saturday Night

Managed to bag myself the last ticket to see Saturday Night at Jermyn Street last Wednesday. I'm not really a Sondheim fan (with a couple of exceptions) but went along to support a friend involved with the show and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

It was slick, classy and uplifting. The music reminded me a lot of Bugsy Malone (in fact, I have spent the 5 days since the show humming 'We Coulda Been Anything We Wanted To Be') but I thought it was staged nicely and the cast were great - never underestimate how hard an actor/muso works! My only criticism was of the use of the space - having part of the stage raised meant that they halfed their usable space at any one time. The ensemble numbers seemed crowded and the choreography got a little bit lost as a result. But that's a minor niggle really and on the whole was very impressed, and very pleased to see a fringe production so well attended!

Spring Awakening

I went to Spring Awakening not having been impressed by the CD but having had my expectations raised by the phenomenal buzz surrounding the show. At the interval I thought the first act had, on the whole, been beautiful and was really warming to the show as a whole. By the end of the second act I wanted to tear my hair out and scream. I hated it. HATED IT.

I cannot fault the cast. They are immensely talented (especially Moritz, who I just think was phenomenal) and I have such admiration for how organic the casting process for the show has been. But the show itself was just awful and the direction swayed between flashes of brilliance and moments that made me want to gouge my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon.

Its identity was completely lost.... it went from a lot being just implied (ie the violence) to other things (ie the sex scene) being comparatively explicit, making the latter just seem totally gratuitous. I loved the lighting... and the use of the images on the back wall, but the only bits that came close to moving me were Ilse and Martha's song in the first act and when everyone was dropping flowers on the coffin. The weird moving chair bit across the back wall was just thoroughly bizarre - my friend likened it to Rent Remixed when Angel went up the stairs wearing wings... just thoroughly cringeworthy and completely unnecessary and I couldn't agree more.

There is no change of pace at any point in the show. It just kind of lumbers along. There isn't really even a story line, just a sequence of fairly unrelated events. With the exception of Melchior and Wendla, there aren't really relationships between any of the characters and half of them have half a song's worth of 'ooh this is my big solo moment' and then they disappear again.

I felt massively let down by the whole thing and actually a little bit angry that such a talented cast who have worked undoubtedly very hard to get to be in the show are, in my opinion, completely wasted by the fact that the music goes absolutely nowhere.

(I also found it very alarming the degree to which all the cast reminded me of other well known people... so I ended up feeling like I was watching Hermione from Harry Potter having sex with the love child of Lee Mead and Elijah Wood whilst Christina Ricci watched on....!)

WhatsOnStage.com awards concert

Sunday night was a work related outing to the WoS awards do at the Prince of Wales. Not your typical show but a great evening nonetheless.

James Corden and Sheridan Smith were fantastic as hosts. Yes they (he, especially) came close to crossing the line a few times but I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

Think the awards themselves were, on the whole, predictable. No major shocks. Though I was a little surprised by the margin that Sofia Escobar won Best Musical actress by.

I swayed between "very impressed" (Elena Roger and Kim Criswell) and "really disappointed" (Jersey Boys and Sarah Lark) on the performances front. A nice selection of songs but it would have been good to have more detail on the shows they came from.

A great night out though and would certainly go again next year.

Entertaining Mr Sloane

Another £15 TheatreFix treat and last night I saw a preview of Entertaining Mr Sloane. I knew of it but had never seen or read the play so had little idea of what to expect.

I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. The theatre was absolutely packed - great to see for a preview on a rainy Tuesday evening at the end of January. I have long been a fan of Imelda Staunton (most recently loving her in A Bunch of Amateurs) but she completely surpassed my expectations - just hilarious.

I was disappointed with Mat Horne. I think he's great on TV (having recently been converted to Gavin and Stacey during the second series) but he came across as a typical TV actor who is still unsure of how to be on stage. He seemed a little awkward and his facial expressions were limited which was a shame as there was little, if not nothing, else I'd criticise about the production. I think he'll improve though - after all this was one of their first performances - and he certainly wouldn't put me off recommending it. Honestly, get a ticket now because I imagine the reviews will be fabulous and it'll be even harder to get a ticket than it was for the people queuing last night.. transfer on the way?

Hairspray

So a little slow off the mark, but thanks to TheatreFix, I finally went to see Hairspray on Thursday night. I'm still trying to work out if I liked it or not.

We had understudies for Link and Penny but Michael Ball and Leanne Jones were both on, which I was glad about. I'm not a massive Michael Ball fan but honestly, I completely forgot it was him after about five minutes. He was just brilliant, and You're Timeless To Me just made the show completely.

In total contrast, I was majorly disappointed by Leanne. Her breath control was dreadful throughout, but as soon as she had to sign and dance simultaneously, she was out of tune more often than not. She really seemed just to be going through the motions, and was gabbling half the script which made it seem like she just wanted it to go quicker. Having heard such fantastic things, she really let me down.

Of course it's good fun... I don't see how you could fail to come out after that finale feeling in a good mood and totally uplifted but aside from Edna/Wilbur and Penny/Seaweed, I wasn't massively impressed with the cast and felt that there was a lot of untapped potential in the show that was just wasted because the cast seemed to be very much in the middle of their three month dip. Still, not bad for £15.

Piaf

Having had my plans changed at the last minute on Wednesday night, I rushed down to the Vaudeville to see if I could get my hands on a ticket for Piaf. I missed it at the Donmar and hadn't had chance to catch it in the West End and thought I was just going to have to resign myself to missing it, so was very happy indeed when the lovely man at the box office gave me a top price seat (central stalls) for £20. Lovely.

I have mixed feelings on it... the opening staging is fabulous - I wish it had lasted longer! Elena Roger is really as amazing as everyone says but I still felt a little disappointed overall and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just because the Donmar have set the bar so high for themselves that my expectations are always much higher than pretty much anywhere else. I think it was the piece though... I know it seems a strange complaint to moan about the story constantly moving but it all just seemed a bit too quick. The pace was very fast throughout, without any real let up and I just wish it had paused, or slowed down a little bit even a couple of times to have some contrast.

We had a couple of understudies - Mensah Bediako for the Doctor etc and Nari Blair-Mangat for Louis. The latter was a bit of a weak link for me, which was a shame.

I did enjoy it, am very glad to have seen it and think the world has gone utterly crazy if she doesn't win an Olivier but yet somehow still feel just a little bit let down.

Romeo and Juliet

I'd never seen a professional production of Romeo and Juliet before. Schools, yes. Amateur, yes. The Baz Luhrmann film version, many times. My motivation for picking this particular one was the involvement of Neil Bartlett as director and James Clyde as Friar Lawrence. Neither disappointed.

But above and beyond the wonderful and innovative direction, I completely fell in love with both the leads. It was so, so lovely to see Romeo and Juliet played in a way that I could genuinely believe that they were both a couple of giddy teenagers. From his CV, David Dawson (Romeo) must be at least 27 or 28 but managed the balance of wide eyed naivety and his rush to grow up so wonderfully. He completely stole the show for me.

The supporting cast were fabulous (with the notable exception of Eva Magyar as Lady Capulet, whose own accent was so thick I could barely understand a word she was saying) - particularly Owain Arthur as Peter.

The only moment that came a little close to spoiling the evening for me was nothing to do with the production itself, but with the woman sat a few seats down the row for me, who whispered (very loudly), as Juliet awoke to find Romeo dead, 'ooooh, is she alive now then?'. Gads above.