Post by wickedgrin on May 25, 2017 9:41:11 GMT
I love this show, so I attended the first performance last night at the Union Theatre. It has a sublime score by Irving Berlin and contains such huge hits as "There's no Business Like Show Business", "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" "The Girl That I Marry", "They Say that Falling in Love is Wondeful", "An Old Fashioned Wedding" and "Anything You Can do I Can Do Better". The book has been revised from the original by Peter Stone for the Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters and makes it a show within a show which works very well.
I thought that this show has been rarely revived in London but a quick Google search made me mistaken.
1986 - Chichester/London production starring Suzi Quatro
1992 - London, Prince of Wales Theatre starring Kim Criswell
2009 Young Vic Production starring Jane Horrocks
But I would argue that it hasn't been seen in a big West End Production since 1992. The 1999 Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters did not come over. The score really demands a big orchestra - how about a London Coliseum revival with a big American Star for the future as the original London production starring Dolores Gray played there. Certainly a show due for a big West End revival I would have thought?
This production, however, was a bit of a disappointment. The theatre was boiling hot - still no air conditioning. Very uncomfortable. Clearly the show has NO budget at all. No set - just a couple of ladders, curtains and chairs. Even the props looked "homemade" - no proper rifles just bits of wood shaped like a gun. It looked terribly amateur - in fact I have seen much better amateur productions of this show. Three piece band. Dreadful costumes and wigs.
The show under lit - lots of back lighting and smoke but nothing from the front with the cast plunged into dark holes if they moved - perhaps this will get sorted as the run progresses?
Performance wise the cast were mostly young graduates who looked uncomfortable at times with the material. Well sung but poorly acted with many of the jokes not landed. These shows stand or fall by the leading players and the male lead Frank Butler (Blair Robertson) had a good voice but poor acting and lacked charm or charisma. Annie Oakley (Gemma Maclean) too, lacked the acting chops to make the character loveable and funny. Their romance was totally without any chemistry.
Love the show, disappointed with the production - 3 stars.
I thought that this show has been rarely revived in London but a quick Google search made me mistaken.
1986 - Chichester/London production starring Suzi Quatro
1992 - London, Prince of Wales Theatre starring Kim Criswell
2009 Young Vic Production starring Jane Horrocks
But I would argue that it hasn't been seen in a big West End Production since 1992. The 1999 Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters did not come over. The score really demands a big orchestra - how about a London Coliseum revival with a big American Star for the future as the original London production starring Dolores Gray played there. Certainly a show due for a big West End revival I would have thought?
This production, however, was a bit of a disappointment. The theatre was boiling hot - still no air conditioning. Very uncomfortable. Clearly the show has NO budget at all. No set - just a couple of ladders, curtains and chairs. Even the props looked "homemade" - no proper rifles just bits of wood shaped like a gun. It looked terribly amateur - in fact I have seen much better amateur productions of this show. Three piece band. Dreadful costumes and wigs.
The show under lit - lots of back lighting and smoke but nothing from the front with the cast plunged into dark holes if they moved - perhaps this will get sorted as the run progresses?
Performance wise the cast were mostly young graduates who looked uncomfortable at times with the material. Well sung but poorly acted with many of the jokes not landed. These shows stand or fall by the leading players and the male lead Frank Butler (Blair Robertson) had a good voice but poor acting and lacked charm or charisma. Annie Oakley (Gemma Maclean) too, lacked the acting chops to make the character loveable and funny. Their romance was totally without any chemistry.
Love the show, disappointed with the production - 3 stars.
