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Post by Scswp on Aug 17, 2023 18:46:17 GMT
Is it sung all the way through, ie. through composed, or is there spoken dialogue? It has spoken dialogue.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 15, 2023 10:47:43 GMT
English version of Jenseits der Nacht has been released! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Some interesting translating choices "abandoned spirits" from Ich sounding particularly odd, but it sounds sooo good overall. omg. I agree about the translation choices, but I enjoyed the performance. Was Lauren Jones the understudy for Bonnie recently? I’m sure I saw her in that and she gave a good performance in that role too.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 13, 2023 15:49:39 GMT
Following Mr Barnabys comments in another thread I thought this rumour deserved its own thread. Curious to see where it will be staged, I think Ramin would be great casting. And he would draw an audience to. He has a decent size following. I like the music of Jekyll and Hyde and the production in Vienna in the early 2000s was spectacular. Karimloo has a great voice, but I’m not sure his following is that large (and I’m not sure it really extends beyond the theatre-going public, despite his television appearances). I think to sell a production based on a performer’s name is very difficult these days; the star name does really need to be a star! I would happily sit through a performance of this, though.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 12, 2023 13:32:01 GMT
Kween Willemijn doing Frozen in Hamburg in fact - much bigger gig in an, ahem, slightly nicer theatre than Charing X. At risk of channeling Sunset thread, poss the oldest ever Elsa? Sure she’ll be sensational though. Adored her in Bat Out of Hell and Rebecca. Well she's the voice of the German and Dutch Elsa, so I guess she's a major selling point. Anyway, so excited for Rebecca. I don't think I've been this excited for something since Love Never Dies! When Rebecca debuted, I was obsessed with other Kunze musical 'Elisabeth'. This has literally been 17 years waiting for me! I just hope it does well enough to get an English cast recording... I have a feeling it won't (I watched an interview with Kunze last night where he is very cut throat about an English language production - if Charing Cross doesn't work, he won't try again... and he isn't even sure about doing an English language version of the show anymore...). I do think they'd have been better, perhaps, getting a name for Danvers. Without glowing reviews, I think this was always going to be a hard sell, sadly. Shows like this just don't do well with English-speaking audiences, sadly. Pictures of the cast here: www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Photos-First-Look-at-the-Stars-of-REBECCA-at-Charing-Cross-Theatre-20230802It’ll be interesting to see how they do this on such a small scale. I saw the revival in Vienna a few months ago and the staging was epic. The staging was very much that of a 1980s mega-musical, so making it work in such a small space will be a challenge, I think. The role of Danvers is a big sing and requires powerful acting too. Kara Lane will have her work cut out, as the bar has been set high by other performers in the role - particularly Susan Rigvava-Dumas, Pia Douwes, Willemijn Verkaik and Ock Joo-Hyun. The originals in each production have been amazing vocalists - hopefully, Kara will be able to match them.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 11, 2023 13:15:11 GMT
I think producers that continue to cast Kerry Ellis in anything are taking a big risk ,she hasn’t been a ticket seller for a long time and the producers lost there shirts that produced Wonderland and her past concert at the Adelphi was such a flop ticket sales wise. What a stupidly ignorant comment. As the recent Michael Ball case has proved, no name on its own can guarantee ticket sales, especially one that has a regular concert/show presence. It’s always a combination of the show/names/creatives/reviews that sells the tickets. I like Kerry Ellis, but I do see the point corblimey is making. I think Kerry Ellis’s ‘prime’ may now be behind her, both vocally and in terms of her popularity and ticket-selling power. ‘Wicked’ was obviously huge for her, but I think it was more the show and the ‘belting nature’ of the role that created the hype, not Ellis herself. I saw Ellis in Wicked. Vocally, at that time, she made the singing seem effortless, but her acting was not up to standard. To be frank, she seemed bored. In ‘Wonderland’, her acting was, again, amateurish; in fact, for much of the time, she didn’t seem to know what to do (and she struggled vocally in certain parts). For me, ‘Anything Goes’ was the best all-round performance she’s given. She was cast alongside a truly talented company (including Simon Callow and Bonnie Langford), which possibly made her ‘up her game’. This was ‘broad-stroke’ comedy acting though. Whether she can carry a truly emotional, nuanced and dramatic role, however, is another matter. I’m not convinced. Don’t misunderstand me : Kerry is still a great singer (although I have to be honest - her hand gestures and twiddling of the fingers has become very annoying), but she cannot seem to sell tickets based on her name. I think some of her earlier successes may also have been due to her association with Brian May. On her own, I think there is less interest. Other Wicked performers seem to generate more of an interest and they go on to other successes (e.g. Rachel Tucker, Willemijn Verkaik). Samantha Barks also seems to go from one show to another more ‘smoothly’. This may be because they are much better actresses, alongside their huge voices. Hitting the notes is not sufficient in the modern musical theatre world (as there are clearly many performers who can actually do that nowadays); a much more rounded acting performance is needed - and this is where I think Ellis falls behind the other performers I have mentioned.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 11, 2023 12:46:33 GMT
Easiest way to get there is definitely the boat. They have designated shuttle boats that depart from the Landungsbrücken. Take the S-Bahn S1, S2 or S3 or the U-Bahn U3 to Landungsbrücken. The shuttle boats depart from St. Pauli Landungsbrücken / Brücke 1 from 1.5 hours before the show and are marked "HADAG Musical Shuttle Service". They're free of charge. Thank you for your help.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 11, 2023 12:46:13 GMT
Hello. Can anyone tell me if Stage Theater an der Elbe (where Frozen is currently playing) is in the centre of Hamburg or not? I am staying in Hamburg city centre, but Google Maps is showing the theatre as being nearly an hour away on public transport. Is the theatre difficult to get to? Which is the easiest way to get there? Thanks for any advice. Its been a while since ive been there, but from what I remember it's a bit out of the center but definitely reachable! You have the city center, then you have the river Elbe and its right on the other side of the river. Its a beautiful sight really. When I was there, you could go up to the riverbank on the side of the city, and there were lion king themed boats/ferries that took you right across. Im not sure if they're still there but if they are you could maybe look into that? There's also a regular tunnel with which u can cross the river but that might be a bit of a walk. Just looked into it a bit more and I think u have to take the metro to Landungsbrucken, there u can either walk through the famous tunnel or take a boat to cross the river! Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.
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Post by Scswp on Jul 30, 2023 16:35:58 GMT
Hello. Can anyone tell me if Stage Theater an der Elbe (where Frozen is currently playing) is in the centre of Hamburg or not? I am staying in Hamburg city centre, but Google Maps is showing the theatre as being nearly an hour away on public transport.
Is the theatre difficult to get to? Which is the easiest way to get there?
Thanks for any advice.
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Post by Scswp on Jul 28, 2023 14:16:03 GMT
I didn’t know that. So does that mean a show is cancelled if one of the performers is ill? Or is a ‘cover’ technically a different thing to an ‘understudy’? The first thing. I am sure casting directors are very aware of high dependability when casting at fringe venues precisely because of a lack of covers. The performance is cancelled. Very occasionally a director might go on (sometimes on book) as I can recall happening at the Southwark Playhouse previously, but realistically for this show there is no chance of that. Ok, that’s interesting to know. I think the risk of leads missing an odd show here and there in a musical is quite high, though, isn’t it? Far more likely than in a play (due to the demands of the singing). With a severe cold or throat infection, getting through a play is still likely possible (though challenging), but singing a demanding score with such illnesses may not be possible. Thanks for the information. I always assumed there would be another cast member who may be ‘dragged on’, even if they’re not the official understudy etc…
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Post by Scswp on Jul 28, 2023 13:34:12 GMT
Pretty sure they never have covers at the Donmar I didn’t know that. So does that mean a show is cancelled if one of the performers is ill? Or is a ‘cover’ technically a different thing to an ‘understudy’?
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Post by Scswp on Jun 18, 2023 6:51:55 GMT
Hello everyone. I’ve just booked tickets for this and I’m hoping that I got a good deal. I bought a ticket for the stalls for £84 from London Theatre Direct. I have the email confirmation and the e-ticket, but I’m wondering why the seat shows as £140 on the Old Vic website (this was the price for the same seat for the same performance when I compared prices on the two sites).
I know ticket prices vary, but this seems such a huge difference. I guess I’m asking if tickets from London Theatre Direct are genuine or have I made a grave error in purchasing from this company?
A friend told me not to worry, but I am - simply because the price difference was so great. Does anyone have experience in dealing with this company?
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Post by Scswp on Jun 10, 2023 18:55:12 GMT
Diana is a tough role. Does anyone think there will be an alternate for Diana or is Caissie Levy likely to perform all eight shows a week? I have tickets for the weekday matinee and just wonder if she’ll be scheduled to perform?
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Post by Scswp on Jun 9, 2023 17:21:57 GMT
Everyone has mentioned the amazing sets for the Adelphi production. I saw it with Betty Buckley and also Elaine Paige and my memory is not what it was. I remember a sweeping staircase but that's about it. Was there a swimming pool too or have i made that up? There was the illusion of a swimming pool at the very beginning. It was a tilting screen with the body of Joe Gillis facing the audience (as if the body were floating at the bottom of a pool, facing the audience). The mansion was magnificent and the split-screen effect where the mansion rose up and a separate apartment came out from underneath was also an amazing effect. The car chase effects worked very well too. The budget, which paid for a car and endless expensive costumes in addition to the above, must have been a very generous one!
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Post by Scswp on May 20, 2023 12:24:34 GMT
This role is all about head voice, painting with the sung notes. Finesse. So I am thrilled with this casting. She is already miles ahead of Glenn Close. Really? Like most roles, Norma involved some use of mixed and head voice, but the majority of the role is sung in chest voice, isn’t it? Certainly Norma’s two big songs have impact because of the use of chest voice.
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Post by Scswp on Apr 7, 2023 8:02:31 GMT
Has anyone seen anything to say who will be George when MB is off? I mean, I'm sure I'll enjoy them more than him either way, but it would be nice to know who I'm going to see. Even that BWW article credits Soophia as alternate Giulietta but doesn't mention anyone as alternate George. Assuming that they won't give them both the same alternate night, I might have to go twice - Soophia was captivating in Rumi, I need to hear her Hand Me the Wine and the Dice. I’m really surprised that an alternate is needed for the role of Giulietta. It is a prominent role, but not huge - and it is very much secondary to the role of Rose. I assume there must be an alternate for the roles of Rose and Alex too then? I still think it’s a strange decision for a more featured, rather than a starring, role. I don’t ever remember any alternates for any of the roles in Aspects of Love before this production - I could be wrong though.
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Post by Scswp on Mar 14, 2023 6:12:19 GMT
Is the running time correct on the website? 2hrs 20mins? Due to see this on Saturday and need to work out if I will be able to go as due to the train strikes the last train home will be ridiculously early. Yes, that running time sounds about right (from the best of my recollections). Hope you enjoy it if you’re able to get there.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 24, 2023 13:19:38 GMT
Thought this was brilliant at the matinee today. A few understudies on with Gary Trainor as Doc, Glen Facey as Marty and Emma Lloyd as Lorraine who were all fantastic. A really fun show, hope it stays for some time! Interesting that so many understudies were on at the Thursday matinee; I was at the Wednesday evening performance and all of the principals were on. I know there’s an alternate listed for the role of Marty, so I assume Ben misses a couple of shows every week (though the performer you listed as Marty is not the alternate). I’m not surprised this role has an alternate, though I wonder if Roger Bart still does all eight of the performances each week. The role of Doc is nowhere near as large in terms of stage time as that of Marty and so shouldn’t require an alternate (in my view), but Bart has been in it for a long time now, so maybe he has reduced his weekly schedule before transferring to Broadway. I enjoyed the show, though I think it’s probably fair to say that it’s a bit ‘style over substance’. The design of the production and the special effects are amazing, but the music, choreography, script and plot overall are not that great (at least, to me!) I’m not quite sure it has much of a ‘heart’, if that makes sense. In fact, even the ‘quieter’ and more reflective moments like Doc’s ‘One For the Dreamers’ didn’t have much of an impact for me (and I’m a sucker for the ‘tender moments’). The audience seemed to love it, but whilst I enjoyed it overall, I just felt it was a case of the design elevating quite mediocre material.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 23, 2023 10:33:35 GMT
I'm listening to the soundtrack (and the live 54 Below recording) for the first time and enjoying it. Some of it sounds weirdly familiar though. I think it must just be the style, but the cut song "This Never Happened Before" sounds like a combination of The Rainbow Connection and California Moon to me! Has anybody booked for the new production? Yes, I’ve booked for this at the Garrick. I haven’t seen it before, but I do like some of Frank Wildhorn’s music (I know that’s not everyone’s view!) and I think there are some good songs in here. Hoping the leads in this are every bit as good as their Broadway counterparts.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 21, 2023 14:10:50 GMT
I hope they get Willemijn to play Danvers, but I’m not sure how likely that will be. I saw the production in Vienna and Willemijn sang the role very powerfully. I just question why she would want to complete a long run in a ‘fully-fledged’ production and then move on to a scaled-down production with, presumably, a significantly scaled-down fee? Crossing my fingers for her (as I have tickets), but not too optimistic it will actually happen.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 19, 2023 16:59:53 GMT
Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’? Thanks for any help.
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Post by Scswp on Feb 4, 2023 8:29:11 GMT
I suspect there may be something in the fact that MB does not wish to be ‘out-shone’ in the production. To my mind, his performance as Javert in the Les Miserables concerts was, by far, the weakest in the cast and he was likely cast in the role due to his name.
Leading stars, I’m guessing, can be quite insecure. I remember reading back in the nineties that Bernadette Peters was in talks as a replacement Norma Desmond in the original production of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and that she wanted to decide who her cover/understudy would be. This particular casting never happened for whatever reasons, but I suspect the ‘Aspects’ circumstances may be quite similar.
It’s very common for stars to support younger stars and perform the actions of ‘giving them the limelight’ in front of the audience (eg, Michael Ball’s support of Bradley Jaden at the end of the Les Mis concerts), but it’s quite likely that if the younger ones become a ‘threat’ to them or if they begin to ‘pull focus’ in a more significant way, then the older stars - who might feel past their peak - may wish to ‘create circumstances where they don’t feel threatened’.
To an extent, it’s easy to empathise with this, but it’s not fair on the paying public, who deserve to see the best performer.
Having said all of this, just because Bogyo was panned in Moulin Rouge doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be ‘bad’ in Aspects of Love.
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Post by Scswp on Jan 1, 2023 18:26:34 GMT
Elaine Paige was supposed to be in this .. what happened? I loved EP in her prime, but I wouldn’t really be surprised if she is as good as retired from singing now. Her voice nowadays is, unfortunately, not in good shape and, from what I’ve read, she has suffered quite significant hearing loss. I’d be surprised if she puts in more than a very occasional appearance nowadays.
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Post by Scswp on Dec 18, 2022 16:03:18 GMT
Hi everyone. I’m trying to book tickets on this theatre’s website, but to no avail. I have tried creating an account in the usual way, but the website keeps telling me that my password must be alphanumeric and contain at least 6 characters. I have tried several passwords that meet these requirements and have even tried the strong password that the site suggests. Every time I click ‘Register’, it simply highlights the same error! Any suggestions please - or will I just have to ring them?
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Post by Scswp on Nov 19, 2022 15:52:52 GMT
Get Kerry Ellis back. You know you want it. I know the above is a joke; the days of Ellis being in Wicked are well in the past now. As much I like Ellis (and she made the singing seem effortless years ago when I saw her as Elphaba), I doubt she could sing the role as written now. Her voice still has range, but it has declined somewhat and the timbre has become much more nasal, I think. I loved her in Anything Goes, but this singing was much less ‘full throttle’ than the demands of Wicked. In her younger days, her power was phenomenal.
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Post by Scswp on Nov 3, 2022 9:42:23 GMT
Any news/confirmation on casting?
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Post by Scswp on Oct 26, 2022 16:03:33 GMT
I saw this recently in Vienna and enjoyed it. Yes, it is dated in terms of its style and the main theme song is over-used and very repetitive, but the sets were great and the performances were solid too. The audience reaction was very positive and ‘vocal’ throughout - particularly for the title song in Act Two (where the applause was incredibly sustained!)
The ‘I’ character was an understudy. She was well-suited to the role and was vocally strong too.
Willemijn makes a very strong Mrs. Danvers, both vocally and in terms of her acting of the role. She has a big voice and sings most of her role very powerfully. One or two of her very high notes (‘come back, Re-BECC-a’), though, were quite ‘thin’ and didn’t really work for me. However, I do believe she sang all of her role live; in the past, whenever I’ve watched clips of the main song on YouTube, I’ve often thought that other performers had certain notes/words click-tracked. I don’t think this was the case with Willemijn.
The show received a full standing ovation and, although she took the third to last bow, Willemijn was clearly the star of the show. I enjoyed it and would happily sit through it again. A pity that the theatre itself, though a grand-looking building, felt quite a long way from the city centre.
Any other thoughts on this show from anybody?
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Post by Scswp on Oct 20, 2022 16:54:29 GMT
Have purchased my ticket for this - a Thursday matinee in August. It will be exciting to see who is cast. I saw the OBC. Alice Ripley did give an amazing performance; you really believed in the depth of her illness. It’s quite an ensemble piece, but I think the show pretty much lives or dies by the performance of the actor playing Diana.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 25, 2022 12:50:04 GMT
Why on earth would someone of Lesley Garrett’s stature accept a role like this? I’m very surprised by the news.
Her previous MT roles were featured roles, but each had a spotlight moment and a fantastic song. The role of Mrs. Pearce is little more than ensemble in all honesty (especially in terms of singing). She has some dialogue here and there, but let’s be honest, Garrett has never been cast on her acting ability. She was always cast in MT as a name who could deliver a key number with ‘punch’. Mrs. Pearce has no such ‘big moment.’ A very strange decision by La Garrett.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 3, 2022 12:37:53 GMT
Interesting to see the comments about Samantha Barks, I’ve always said she has a lovely voice but zero charisma. I kind of concur. Great singer but rather bland. Shona White, Cassidy Janson, Sarah Galbraith and Rebecca Storm were far superior (alas I wasn't around for the original production) - injecting that fire and fury with powerhouse vocals. Rebecca Storm was stunning in the role. Wish I had seen Jacqui Scott as Florence too, but most of that tour got cancelled due to poor ticket sales, I think.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 2, 2022 18:46:11 GMT
Saw this last night and enjoyed it a lot. All of the main cast were on and the audience, including my partner and I, lapped it up.
This is the strongest Kerry Ellis performance I’ve seen. In Wicked, I thought she was very powerful vocally, but appeared bored with playing the role. In Wonderland, she seemed bored all-round (constantly tucking her hair behind her ears and seemingly not knowing what to do with herself at all) and, to me, her vocals seemed strained at times.
In Anything Goes, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Her vocals were under-powered (I expected far greater volume and far ‘bigger’ singing like LuPone and Paige in the role), but her dancing and overall performance were very engaging. Part of this, of course, might be that the whole company, from the chorus to the other principals, are so good that Ellis has to give it her all in order to just ‘keep up with them’. Ellis, therefore, does lead this well because of the company ‘keeping her on her toes’, I think.
Callow is not a great singer, but his acting performance is delightful and Bonnie Langford brings wonderful comedy to her role. I also enjoyed the performance of the lady playing Erma (not sure of her name, but she was a bit of a scene-stealer at times).
This was my first visit to a theatre since the pandemic and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see Kerry seemingly engaged with her performance - just a shame she doesn’t give it a ‘bit more welly’ at times.
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