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Post by Scswp on Nov 11, 2017 21:05:20 GMT
With Heaven on Earth cancelled now I bet Kerry has her eyes set on Chess! She’s really not a big enough name to sell the Coliseum, I don’t think. There would need to be big names for other parts if she is Florence. Sure she could sing the part, but as much as I like Ellis, I think her peak days are behind her now - both in terms of vocals and marketability.
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Follies
Nov 5, 2017 13:37:57 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Nov 5, 2017 13:37:57 GMT
Saw it again tonight and they have replaced Buddy Blues' "Margie" and "Sally" with real women, which is good (come on Rufus, if men in drag didn't work for Michael Bennett, did you really think you'd make them work?), but it's surprising to see such such a change so well into the run. Janie Dee was really on top of her game tonight, I never heard her sing so well. Imelda should really stop carrying the empty glass around the stage during "Losing My Mind", it's really not the case. Maybe the change so far into the run is due to the NT Live performance. My guess is that without the ‘committing It to film forevermore’ pressure, they may have just left it now (even if they thought they had made a bad judgement call!) They definitely wouldn’t want this bad judgement call to be preserved forever though!!! Just a thought!
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Chess
Nov 2, 2017 18:43:44 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Nov 2, 2017 18:43:44 GMT
Maria Ylipaa, who played Kristina recently has been announced as Florence in 2018...... but in Sweden not London. I saw Maria as Kristina in Sweden and she was good. Has a very clear voice. The acoustics in the Cirkus Arena are very good too (though the seats are not comfortable!) She’ll be good as Florence in Sweden.
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Post by Scswp on Oct 29, 2017 18:17:39 GMT
Does anyone have any realistic ideas as to when casting will be announced? Is it likely to be soon or are we talking post-Christmas?
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Chess
Oct 28, 2017 10:32:52 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Oct 28, 2017 10:32:52 GMT
Agree about Rebecca Storm - she was fantastic as Florence.
And yes, Nobody’s Side was used as the finale in that version.
Florence also sang ‘Someone Else’s Story’ in that version, not Svetlana. Storm sang that song really well - it really suited her voice.
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Post by Scswp on Oct 28, 2017 8:04:50 GMT
For the poster who mentioned Kerry Ellis as Florence, I doubt this will be the case. She’s not a big enough name at all IMO. I think the only way she could be cast is if the other roles are cast with bigger names. Kerry has sold out big venues in the past (e.g. Albert Hall) but it’s usually with other people (e.g. Brian May, Josh Groban, Idina Menzel). On her own, she won’t sell anywhere near enough tickets.
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Post by Scswp on Sept 24, 2017 12:26:22 GMT
What's Patti's reputation like for a) turning up on the night? b) sticking it out until the end of the run? Patti LuPone is very reliable at doing all eight shows a week and she will do the whole run. She actually gives the impression that she prides herself on her work ethic and reliability, and she is quite outspoken about how unprofessional some people seem to be in terms of missing shows. She has missed a few performances of War Paint through illness and she is almost seventy years old, but she is definitely an old-school 'work-horse' in the style of the great Ethel Merman. You will be extremely unlucky if you attend and she's not there - she rarely misses.
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Post by Scswp on Sept 20, 2017 5:45:00 GMT
source="/post/150669/thread" author=" BurlyBeaR"]close...[/quote]Marti Webb??[/quote] Marti Webb unsuccessfully auditioned for the first U.K. tour years ago, but was overlooked for Faith Brown. Can't imagine Marti would be up for it now after that.
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Evita
Sept 18, 2017 16:06:58 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Sept 18, 2017 16:06:58 GMT
I didn't realise, sorry. I'm going to give her, just this once, the benefit of the doubt, cos she wasn't on air last week. I'm sure she, or rather her producer, would have brought us the news earlier if she could. Yes, the news is actually a few weeks old now, isn't it? It's even mentioned earlier in this thread, I think - or was it on another messageboard? Original Hal Prince production of Evita next year in Australia starring Tina Arena.
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Post by Scswp on Sept 10, 2017 10:09:01 GMT
Always wanted to see Bernadette in a show, so knowing my luck she will probably be out the night I go. Bernadette is not really known for missing shows these days, I don't think. Earlier in her career, I think she was guilty of missing shows, but she was extremely reliable in Gypsy after falling ill during previews (her run was over a year, I think) and I don't think she missed a single performance during her runs in Night Music and Follies. Unless you're incredibly unlucky, you should be fine.
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321 posts
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Follies
Sept 2, 2017 12:51:24 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Sept 2, 2017 12:51:24 GMT
To be fair, Janie Dee has never been the strongest vocalist, but on the other hand Donna Murphy is probably the only good singer that has ever played Phyllis in the past 50 years Her rendition of Could I Leave You from the Sondheim Birthday Celebration at Lincoln Center is my all-time fave. Just watched this performance by Donna Murphy. It is a fantastic delivery. I saw Jan Maxwell a few years ago and she was also very good as Phyllis. Bernadette as Sally was rather mixed IMO.
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Follies
Aug 28, 2017 19:05:38 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 28, 2017 19:05:38 GMT
Am I right in remembering that Phyllis/Diana Rigg originally danced in 'Who's that girl' in the 1987 production but a back injury caused her to withdraw from the number? Not sure of the answer to your question, but the character of Phyllis usually does dance that number. Not sure about Rigg's injury though. The character of Carlotta is usually involved too - but not always. I don't think the original Carlotta, Yvonne de Carlo, was part of that number. I'm not sure Eartha Kitt (a replacement London Carlotta) or Dolores Gray were part of that number for their entire runs, were they? Elaine Paige's Carlotta was definitely involved in the three American legs of that production.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 23, 2017 18:28:26 GMT
So am here (eeek!) and am sitting in Row H of the stalls, Seat 47 Please give us a review of the performance. Thanks. Enjoy!
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Follies
Aug 23, 2017 16:36:11 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 23, 2017 16:36:11 GMT
Maybe it seems that Sally is the better part because she is warm and vulnerable, and Phyllis is superficially hard and colder and brittle. Yes, agreed - it could be that. I just think Sally's story is more poignant too - the idea of living your life day in and day out, knowing that you love someone, but it will never really materialise into the ideology you have in your head. Although I'm male, I very much identify with her predicament. (And I like Sally's songs better - very superficial, I know!)
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321 posts
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Follies
Aug 23, 2017 14:54:50 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 23, 2017 14:54:50 GMT
Seeing this in December - got tickets today! Looking forward to reading more reviews in the next few days and information about changes that are being made. Do people think that this could be another award-winning performance by Staunton - a hat-trick of Sondheim musical Oliviers? I know there are always four leads according to the billing, but in terms of the female leads, I always seem to feel that Sally is the 'better' or 'meatier' role that Phyllis i.e., Phyllis seems slightly secondary to Sally. Any thoughts on this? The men's lead roles seem more balanced IMO (although, if pushed, I'd say Ben was actually the better role). It's all marginal and subjective though - looking forward to seeing this.
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Post by Scswp on Aug 14, 2017 6:52:54 GMT
honestly as I've heard about this over the weekend, I've grown less interested in it. For all its flaws the recent Grandage revival in the West End and Broadawy at least moved the piece a bit forward - new orchestrations (which were beautiful) the addition of "You Must Love Me" - an attempt to actually define "Che" as a character (rather than he is Che Guevera/he's not Che Guevera). The original might appeal in a nostalgia sense and for those who are interested in a more minimalist staging of things... But to me, without the new orchestrations and "You Must Love Me" - it's more like going back to the workshop version of the show. Yes, I tend to agree that it is taking the piece in a reverse direction. I really think that newcomers to the piece (and maybe some of those who are familiar with both Prince's and Grandage's versions) would much prefer the newer version, despite hearing how 'iconic' and 'masterful' the original version was. I'm not so sure the original version would compare well nowadays. People expect something of a set (which the original didn't really have). Productions are down-scaled and altered all the time for touring purposes, but this is different. Although I like the original version, I do think this is taking the piece backwards. Theatre and its expectations back in the seventies were very different to the expectations almost forty years later. What Prince achieved worked well, but I fear it may look dated nowadays and the piece must continue to move forwards. Just as with full-scale productions of Rogers and Hammerstein material e.g. more recent productions of The King and I and The Sound of Music in London and on Broadway, the music is still fantastic and stands the test of time, but the costumes/sets/production values are much more elaborate than their originals - and this shows the 'evolution' of those shows, which is at it should be. Maybe Prince has ideas about how to take his version and make the necessary changes to enable the piece to evolve. A replica of the seventies production per se makes me just think : 'Why?'
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Post by Scswp on Aug 11, 2017 13:14:34 GMT
No, I don't think there would be the appetite for more Evita in London (or regionally) tbh. Also, having seen the original version several times (as well as the newer versions), I doubt newcomers to the musical would prefer the older Hal Prince version nowadays. There was very little staging to this version and virtually no set to speak of. I think people would expect more of a set now, given the prices for tickets.
However, there were certain images/motifs that were memorable (e.g. The revolving silver door in 'Goodnight and Thank-you', Eva singing 'A New Argentina' in a dressing gown beside her and Peron's bed (a motif of how she had arrived in this position), Peron's game of musical chairs using rocking chairs, the 'High Flying Adored/Rainbow High' dressing sequence and, of course, Eva's final broadcast with just an armchair and a clutch of microphones). Iconic images these were, some of which are sort of maintained in the newer productions
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Post by Scswp on Aug 9, 2017 20:05:37 GMT
Let's hear about people's favourite Evas over the years and the reasons why you felt they gave the 'best' performance. From the Evas I've seen live (Jacqui Scott, Paula Simpson, Madalena Alberto, Marti Webb - twice, Rachael Wooding, Abi Jaye, Elena Roger and a bootleg recording of Rebecca Storm), the best was Jacqui Scott for me. She had the belting range to sing the part as written and her acting was superb. She really made the transition from young 'tart' to First Lady in such a convincing way. Her persona throughout the performance really altered. Then, when she dies at the end, she became extremely frail - you genuinely believed she was dying. It was the most fantastic performance both vocally and in terms of acting. I think her Peron was Michael Bauer, who was also very good (and went on to play Max in Sunset Boulevard in London for years!!!!) Interestingly, I didn't see any of the original Evas in London, but from posts on other boards that I've read over the years, Marti Webb appears to have been many people's least popular (I thought she was ok when I saw her years later in the UK tour), whereas Stephanie Lawrence seems to be surprisingly popular. I say surprisingly because I just can't imagine her having the vocal power to sing certain parts of the score (e.g. Rainbow High, A New Argentina). Would have loved to hear her sing this score - difficult for me to imagine this with her vocal style, but I know several people have said how good she was in the role (the best London Evita, according to some).
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321 posts
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Evita
Aug 7, 2017 7:27:24 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 7, 2017 7:27:24 GMT
Rebecca Storm was in the first UK tour, I think (as was Kathryn Evans - or at least for part of it). Rebecca Storm was, indeed, very good in Chess too.
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Evita
Aug 7, 2017 6:34:18 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 7, 2017 6:34:18 GMT
msh- fully agreed. I'd rather they bring the entire thing down and Eva to belt it upwards. Or they can simply hire Evas who can, instead of Eva's who can't. Now that I think of it, I recall listening to a recording of Louise sing it downwards and I was like what kind of fudgery is this? I'm going to have a field day seeing this show. Makes me lament those good old days when our fabulous diva mothers sang Evita. Stephanie Lawrence, Siobhan McCarthy, Kathryn Evans, Patti LuPone..The recent Broadway revival hasn't been any better with their choices of Evita either. You open up an alternate Eva bio and the first credit is Glinda in Wicked. Erm, no! I agree about the diva mothers - including Rebecca Storm and Jacqui Scott on the UK tours - they were great too!
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Post by Scswp on Aug 7, 2017 5:45:16 GMT
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here with a burning question: why were the keys lowered in this production? When I saw the first preview I was disappointed to discover that Eva's parts in 'A New Argentina' ('He supports you/For he loves you...') have been transposed down to (most likely) Madonna's key. Madalena Alberto sang the score as written a few years back at the Dominion. And I know that when she used to do it on tour, the last chorus of the song would always be sung in the original key. Why change it? Is it even legal to alter the score in a professional West End production? I wonder if Lord Andrew is aware of the changes being made. I've mentioned these changes on here before, I think. The first two sections are sung a whole octave down and the whole song becomes incredibly underwhelming. It has been done this way for a long time though. Many Evas, including Abi Jaye, Rachael Wooding and even Louise Dearman did it this way. Somebody even replied to my initial post saying that Elaine Paige often did it this way back in the seventies. This song is supposed to be the stirring Act I climax, but it certainly doesn't feel that way given these changes. I'd rather them slightly lower the key for the whole song, but have Eva's lines sung upwards (perhaps matching the slightly lower key of the line 'I'm Only a Radio Star...' earlier in the act (in 'The Art of the Possible' song). I guess the change is to protect the voice of the actress playing Eva. The suggestion I made above works better musically, I think, but it probably takes time, expense and permission rights to transpose a whole song. The song is still sung as written at the moment (albeit an octave down here and there) so requires no permission rights or expense to sing it in the way that they are currently doing.
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321 posts
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Evita
Aug 3, 2017 5:27:17 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Aug 3, 2017 5:27:17 GMT
Best Eva I have ever seen was years back when Jacqui Scott was Eva. I saw the alternate Paula Simpson and she was amazing. I saw this tour twice too. Saw Jacqui Scott the first time and she was amazing as Evita - both in terms of the singing and acting. The second time was a matinee and I, too, saw Paula Simpson. She was good, but not up to the standard of Jacqui Scott. Simpson sang the main songs well enough (Buenos Aires, Rainbow High etc...) but other parts were not as strong (A New Argentina, Waltz for Eva and Che). Scott was stronger and fiercer throughout the whole score.
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Post by Scswp on Jul 12, 2017 5:22:27 GMT
I would say that LuPone is a bigger draw than Peters, although I think Peters has actually done more Broadway musicals than LuPone. I think it may be because LuPone is a much bigger 'personality' so she attracts more attention. Audra McDonald has multiple Tony Awards and sells tickets by her mere presence (and talent!)
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Post by Scswp on Jul 10, 2017 5:31:55 GMT
Maybe shade is thrown at EP BECAUSE she has achieved so much. She was said to be very demanding and diva-like in her heyday and was known for missing shows when she was paid large salaries. It's a bit like a lot of shade is thrown at LuPone in America. Maybe it's just their level of achievement in a field where there are many other performers who are equally as talented? I like EP though.
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Post by Scswp on Jul 8, 2017 13:46:39 GMT
I think Elaine Paige eclipses everyone else in terms of what she has achieved in her career, starting from an almost purely musical theatre beginning. Numerous albums, chart hits, international concert tours, radio and TV show. Michael Ball is probably the male equivalent.
I am a fan of Elaine's, particularly her work up to and including Sunset Boulevard. I don't listen to much of her material after this because I think the decline in her voice is almost complete tbh. and I don't enjoy her more recent vocals on recordings - though when you hear her live in a venue, it sounds better. On recordings, however, her limitations are strikingly obvious nowadays.
Her younger voice was amazing to me though. I grew up listening to my sister's records. She was a product of that time and has sustained a solid career ever since. There are many vocalists who are just as talented and just as powerful as Paige was, but the industry has totally changed. Nobody from MT is likely to score as much sustained success as Paige has. So she would get the 'First Lady' title for me!
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Chess
Jun 28, 2017 13:01:58 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Jun 28, 2017 13:01:58 GMT
Are you sure Barbara Dickson actually played Florence or was she just rumoured for this at the time? There is no mention of this on Barbara's bio. I have heard this 'rumour' before but struggle to find any evidence that she actually played Florence anywhere. I would love to hear her in the role though.
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Post by Scswp on Jun 1, 2017 16:37:03 GMT
Michael Bauer was around 60 when he played the role in the original production. He played it for around 3+ years and was the best Max of any production I've seen. That was 20 years ago, so he'd be way too old now. He was a wonderful companion onstage to all the London Normas. Very well-delivered and consistent performance!
I didn't like DaveWilletts at all and thought Lara Pitt Pulford was atrocious- by far the worst Betty I saw. Anita Louise Combe (recently in Gypsy at the Savoy) was a wonderful Betty. Ahhhh, the memories!
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War Paint
May 3, 2017 15:43:10 GMT
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Post by Scswp on May 3, 2017 15:43:10 GMT
Tbh, no - it is not surprising that the Tony count is lower for this than for other shows. I saw it a few weeks ago not long after its official opening and, whilst I enjoyed it and was glad I'd seen it, nothing about it blew me away, even the two performances of the leading ladies. Their performances, in my opinion, were both good, but not in the category of award-winning. The score itself was ok, but not as strong as Grey Gardens. Like I said, I am glad that I have seen it, but would not return in a hurry for a repeat viewing.
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Follies
Mar 19, 2017 13:30:15 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Mar 19, 2017 13:30:15 GMT
When do tickets go on sale? Or are they already on sale? This seems unite a late opening for tickets for a London show that's previewing in August. Any information appreciated.
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Evita
Mar 5, 2017 12:08:50 GMT
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Post by Scswp on Mar 5, 2017 12:08:50 GMT
Pulver was great in Gypsy, but I don't see her as Eva tbh. Her voice is too 'sweet' (esp her head voice and mix voice) and may not have the power for songs like Rainbow High and A New Argentina IMO.
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