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.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Monday, 2 March 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
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....!)
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.
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.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
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?
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?
Saturday, 24 January 2009
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.
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.
Friday, 16 January 2009
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)