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Post by Scswp on Mar 1, 2017 15:22:09 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Feb 26, 2017 7:43:27 GMT
Now I went again to this tonight (yes second time in a week) and left somewhat disheartened. I enjoyed it a lot first time round but I didn't enjoy it as much this time. There are still moments I enjoy (One Knight and ANY second Natalie McQueen is on stage) but I properly saw how awful the non-existent plot is. I sort of laughed it off first time but couldn't this time. It doesn't have any moment of jepody or emotional height. Rachael was very much going through the motions tonight (as opposed to Monday when I thought she was on fine form). Looked bored, didn't want to be there. I'll go again, as I want to see Kerry Ellis, but that'll be it for me. To be fair, when I saw Kerry, she appeared to be going through the motions. I quite enjoyed the show, but agree that there is no moment of drama. The character of Alice spends most of the time onstage just as an onlooker to the action - there seemed to be little direction to her character for these long sections. She just looked on, frequently tucking her hair behind her ears - in fact, she did it so many times, I wondered if that was the actual direction!! Considering Alice is the main character, she seemed poorly defined and strangely uninvolved in the background of several scenes.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 23, 2017 22:10:20 GMT
Ah, as usual, the matinees. A pet gripe of mine. Nuff said. I agree with that gripe! The matinees are often more popular than some of the weekday evenings and matinee audiences have often been given a raw deal! Not sure this is always now the case though.
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Evita
Feb 23, 2017 20:47:19 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Feb 23, 2017 20:47:19 GMT
The role of Evita almost always has an alternate performing 2 of the performances every week (often the matinees). It has been like this since the original production back in the seventies. The role of Evita is a very demanding one (although it has been made slightly easier on recent U.K. Tours). Strangely enough, the only UK Tour where Evita had no scheduled alternate advertised was the 1996(??) Tour starring Marti Webb. Ironically, she was far too old for the part, but could still belt the score as written for all eight shows a week. She was probably in her early-mid-fifties then.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 20, 2017 6:42:34 GMT
Yes, I saw the concerts, both at Carnegie Hall and at the Royal Albert Hall. There are many good songs in it IMO. I was also lucky enough to see a fully staged version in Stockholm a couple of years ago. I enjoyed it. I understood the story as I read up on it beforehand. The performances were good and the acoustics at the Cirkus arena were fantastic. The staging was also fairly simple, but very effective. A long, but enjoyable evening whilst on a city break in Stockholm.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 18, 2017 12:11:39 GMT
I think in the case of Funny Girl, Darius is a sort-of known name to boost ticket sales at Natasha's venues. Sheridan is enough of a draw at her venues (and, allegedly, didn't hit-it-off with Darius - maybe that's the reason for different leading men).
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Post by Scswp on Feb 12, 2017 8:11:45 GMT
I'm not sure The Mad Hatter is that big a sing, though. In her first song 'The Mad Hatter' it's only the last chorus where it modulates upwards (which is hard), isn't it?
And it's the same with 'I Will Prevail', isn't it? The final chorus is hard, but the rest is reasonable, I think. I wouldn't consider it a role that needs an alternate. Even Elphaba doesn't have an alternate and I would say that's a much more demanding role.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 12, 2017 7:29:51 GMT
Tbh, not sure why these roles would need an alternate. The Mad Hatter's songs are both 'belty' at the end, but she has lots of off-stage time. For Alice, maybe Kerry only wanted to do 6 shows a week. She has enough of a reputation in musical theatre to have some degree of negotiating power. I don't think the role is in the canon of most demanding roles (yes, she is onstage for most of the time, but only as an onlooker/ crowd-member for a certain amount of that time). I think her family-life and the fact that she can negotiate terms may be the reason for her six shows a week contract. As far as the production itself goes, it may be economically more favourable to have an alternate. I would imagine it's cheaper to pay Kerry for only six shows a week and have an alternate perform the other two (who is obviously on less pay). I would also imagine McQueen gets paid more per show than when the alternate plays her role. Is this the case? Is an alternate only paid for the shows that they perform? Not sure whether it's financially better to have an alternate and limited schedules for the main performers.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 11, 2017 9:39:02 GMT
I would love to hear her sing I Will Prevail! So would I! And I've no doubt she could sing it! But whether she could sustain it as written for a long run would be my question. Kate Shindle has a very powerful voice and, even in the limited Broadway run, she had the song modulated at the end. Maybe McQueen will have to too. Still a good song though.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 11, 2017 9:08:45 GMT
The sound for most of the performers was not great - and I actually knew the songs.
In terms of Kerry struggling, please remember I am a fan of hers. I have seen her several times in concerts and the notes she used to hit (seemingly effortlessly) were fantastic. In more recent concerts, she has changed arrangements of songs and dropped some of the big notes here and there. In Wonderland, she slightly cracked here and there, and it certainly didn't seem effortless like it used to. She still has power, but IMO, her voice is not as 'expansive' as it used to be. I think she might struggle to sing The Mad Hatter's songs nightly, for example.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 11, 2017 7:46:40 GMT
I saw this in Birmingham too. I actually quite enjoyed it - yes, it's cliché and very sugary in its message, but still entertaining, I thought. The sound design, however, was appalling. You couldn't make out many of the lyrics (and this was true of many of the performers ). Wendi Peters was funny as the Queen of Hearts and McQueen was good as the Mad Hatter (although she was a casualty of poor sound design; she certainly hit the notes and acted well though). Kerry Ellis, I thought, was actually quite weak and was the main victim of poor sound design. Her voice was very nasally and you couldn't make out many of her lyrics in several songs. I also don't think her voice had the same power and resonance as it did a few years ago. She struggled with some of the notes here and there. I enjoyed it though and may see it again when it returns to Wolverhampton. But for Heaven's sake, do a proper sound check!!!
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Post by Scswp on Feb 6, 2017 18:33:34 GMT
I will go to see the tour too, but I have to admit that I'm not the greatest fan of Ria Jones. I have seen her a couple of times and I find her voice too 'cabaret' if anyone understands what I mean! Admittedly, I was seeing her in a concert setting, but I imagine she'd be the same in the show tbh. I hope to be proven wrong.
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321 posts
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Evita
Feb 4, 2017 17:42:46 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Feb 4, 2017 17:42:46 GMT
That's really interesting that she sang it like that. In the bootlegs I have, she sings it as written. In fact, she goes right up on the final lines of sections 2 and 3. It is well known that she suffered intermittent vocal problems during her run. Maybe she was forced to sing an octave down because of this. Or maybe it was only an occasional thing she did to protect her voice. Who knows?
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321 posts
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Evita
Feb 4, 2017 15:53:46 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Feb 4, 2017 15:53:46 GMT
Did she? She certainly didn't in at least the first half of her run. She played it for almost 2 years. Maybe she sang it like the current Evas later in her run, but certainly not to begin with.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 3, 2017 19:51:11 GMT
Is Through The Looking Glass song the act one finale? How is this song staged in this version?
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Post by Scswp on Jan 29, 2017 20:46:39 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Jan 29, 2017 20:44:23 GMT
The Broadway production had a tryout in Florida first, I think, and there was a recording of that pre-Broadway production. It's the same cast and there are fewer songs. Some of the songs are completely different; others are earlier versions of the songs that survived. This recording has a blue design rather than the orangey one. Some of the tracks are on YouTube (or were in the past).
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Post by Scswp on Jan 29, 2017 13:32:17 GMT
I have both recordings, but bought the original one a few years ago on eBay. You could try there.
I personally think that the Hatter has two of the best songs in the show and they're both big power ballads. Now with the addition of a new song with Alice, the Hatter may end up being the slightly better part (with the exception of 'Finding Wonderland' - which is the best song). Alice's other songs are a bit ordinary IMO.
Still looking forward to seeing it though. Does Natalie McQueen do the huge 'mad' belting ending to 'I Will Prevail' or does she do the slightly lower modified ending like Kate Shindle had to adopt during the course of her run?
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Post by Scswp on Jan 28, 2017 7:52:56 GMT
Who sings this song in the uk version? Pre-Broadway, Alice sang it, then it became a duet for Alice and her daughter. Is this still the case?
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Post by Scswp on Jan 28, 2017 7:23:53 GMT
PS Duncan
What was the first song in this version? I've yet to see it.
You're right about the music too - that is, if it's like the original. It's an eclectic mix of styles, though there are several power ballads, especially for the Hatter. Alice has a couple too. The Queen of Heart's 'Off With Their Heads' began as a sort-of power ballad, but was shortened, styled and reigned-in somewhat on Broadway. I didn't like that version - I preferred the slightly more full-on version from the pre-Broadway recording. I suspect Peters has the reigned in version?
Seeing this in a couple of weeks in Birmingham.
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Post by Scswp on Jan 28, 2017 7:15:32 GMT
Yes, I agree. The Queen of Hearts is a very slight role in this, I would say. Other characters (Jack, White Rabbit and particularly The Hatter) are much more heavily featured. Not sure why Jack disappears in the Second Act (I'm sure he didn't in the original). But, you're right - the advertising featured Peters heavily for such an underdeveloped role.
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Post by Scswp on Jan 27, 2017 6:16:05 GMT
Where are these pictures? I can't see them on Google or on the Wonderland website (unless I'm missing them, which is possible!!!!)
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Post by Scswp on Jan 21, 2017 14:20:15 GMT
Yes, I agree, though I think a bit of cracking and straining (within reason) all adds to a performance of 'Send in the Clowns'.
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Post by Scswp on Jan 21, 2017 14:00:59 GMT
Frances Ruffelle got an introductory welcome too.
Her voice has deteriorated somewhat IMO, but it suited Send in the Clowns quite well, I thought.
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321 posts
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Evita
Jan 14, 2017 10:26:33 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Jan 14, 2017 10:26:33 GMT
Unfortunately, I think all of Kenwright's Evas sing 'A New Argentina' an octave down, especially for the first two sections - they usually sing it as written on the third section. This is common practice on U.K. Tours now - even Louise Dearman did it when she played the role. Very disappointing, as this is the big Act I finale.
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Post by Scswp on Jan 8, 2017 16:04:46 GMT
So sad that this doesn't seem to be selling well in Birmingham either. Rows and rows of seats unsold for most evenings. Such a shame - I have tickets for one of the 'fuller' evenings, but still not great.
Has this show ever been staged anywhere in Europe? Countries like Germany and Austria often have huge budget productions of Wildhorn musicals. I remember that Jekyll and Hyde in Vienna a few years ago was truly spectacular staging - easily rivalling West End and Broadway standards.
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Post by Scswp on Dec 28, 2016 12:36:54 GMT
Agree with Grey Gardens - I enjoyed it a lot. I think it was a piece that worked well in the small space.
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Post by Scswp on Dec 27, 2016 11:45:29 GMT
robadog I, too, saw The Go-Between. The theatre was much fuller when I went (towards the end of the run). However, I have to be honest and say that I found the whole thing slow-paced and quite unengaging. There were moments that were touching and Crawford's performance was very accomplished, but somehow it just wasn't enough for me! Maybe I'm too high-maintenance!!!! I just felt most of the music was 'samey' and there was not really enough depth to the story for a 2-hr plus piece of theatre. Tbh, I'm surprised it lasted for the whole length of it's limited run. I am glad, though, that I got to see something different. I'm not sure there is enough new and original musical theatre in London anymore. There seems to be many new things on Broadway that, despite their success over there, no longer transfer.
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Post by Scswp on Dec 24, 2016 17:28:59 GMT
I remember seeing Rachel Wooding (sp?) in Evita a while back. She sang it fairly well, but I thought she was girlish throughout and didn't make the transition to president's wife tbh. I would much rather see Kerry.
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Post by Scswp on Dec 23, 2016 18:44:40 GMT
One wonders if Carolyn left to pursue other projects (hopefully this is the case - I loved her in Miss Saigon) or whether she got into trouble with producers for releasing those video clips? I did think that releasing them herself was quite unusual for someone cast as an alternate. I suspect others in the cast disapproved. It's a pity she's no longer involved as I think she would have been good in both roles. And what a job it would have been - 4 shows a week at least and playing two different principal roles. How often does that kind of thing happen? A shame she has gone.
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