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Post by karloscar on Aug 3, 2018 15:24:36 GMT
You Can't Get a Man with a Gun. (Annie Get Your Gun) Unlikely Lovers (Falsettos) Another Winter in a Summer Town (Grey Gardens) Someone Else's Story (Chess) Unusual Way (Nine)
(Might change all of them tomorrow, but these five have never become 'tired'.)
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Post by karloscar on Aug 3, 2018 9:39:44 GMT
Streisand was at the peak of her relationship with John Peters and is in full blown annoying, cloyingly cute control freak mode. That said the songs are great and she delivers brilliantly in the concert scenes. You just wish it was her who dies at the end. Kristofferson is sexy and funny and makes it all bearable.
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Post by karloscar on Aug 2, 2018 11:02:46 GMT
The trailer makes it look like a scene for scene copy of the Streisand/Kristofferson version. Surely after forty years the story could be told a bit differently, the entertainment industry has completely changed in that time.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 25, 2018 11:00:49 GMT
Who's gonna go tell her off first? [/quotef] Considering the homicidal version of I Know Him So Well she did at the Tim Rice tribute a couple of years ago, I'd be telling her to pipe down for sure! ;-)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 23, 2018 15:04:21 GMT
Siobhan McCarthy is an example of a voice that sounds great live, but somehow loses character in the studio. The show would never have run if she had not delivered those huge songs in the theatre every night, and she was central to its initial success. (But nobody can compete with the original voices as has often been pointed out.)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 21, 2018 10:57:21 GMT
Quite a few MDs would benefit from a cattle prod now and again. And it's pretty impossible to hear what other singers are doing when your own voice is playing louder than anything else in your head, so he should shut up as well and concentrate on waving his wand. (Are there any female MDs in the Westend? Never seen one yet.)
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Post by karloscar on Jul 17, 2018 14:44:13 GMT
Odd that the American critics seem to be most dismissive of the songs that weren't hit singles being used in the movie, one even calling them "crap". Abba had relatively few US hits compared to most other countries, even some big songs failed to chart there. Very much a case of " this is unfamiliar so I won't even bother to listen properly", which is pretty shoddy work for someone making a living criticizing other peoples' art.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 16, 2018 20:35:55 GMT
neither Catherine Johnson or Phyllida Lloyd were interested in doing the sequel but gave Judy the blessing to develop it. Catherine Johnson does have story credit so I wonder what her involvement was Read more: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/2876/mamma-mia-again?page=21#ixzz5LS4c7iGrCatherine created the characters and the original story which the prequel/sequel builds on, so only right that she gets a credit.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 13, 2018 9:29:15 GMT
I doubt Lily James will be signing up for a run in a stage musical any time soon. She'll be in great demand in Hollywood after this.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 9, 2018 13:29:59 GMT
American writing, to me at least, always tends towards stating very baldly the emotions out loud. There's no attempt to analyse or reason it through, it is always, "I am feeling this, please will you validate it because I have said it." That is how a younger person reacts too. Read more: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/2748/fun-home-young-vic?page=31#ixzz5KlN0Sh3nEvery American writer does this? What a load of twaddle. Alison spends the whole show analysing and reflecting on her relationship with her father, looking for answers that aren't always forthcoming.
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Post by karloscar on Jul 8, 2018 18:58:20 GMT
For those complaining about the lack of Bechdel's cartoons in the design of Fun Home, the idea was tried out in early workshops and dropped fairly quickly because it didn't work well and got in the way of the story. It's a long process from the page to the stage.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 29, 2018 11:42:27 GMT
Has anyone who's seen this yet read the graphic novel beforehand? Would be interested to know what you thought - I read the graphic novel a couple of years ago and it was honestly one of the best things I've ever read, I don't think I've ever read anything that felt as raw and personal, you feel like Bechdel is splurging her feelings regarding her father onto the pages but in the most beautiful manner. Whilst I thought this production was brilliant and actually did a good job on maintaining the essence of the graphic novel, I think the fact that I had read the graphic novel and loved it so much did hamper my enjoyment slightly and I think would make me see it as a 4* production rather than a 5* production. I think the comments above about it being too slight are interesting as the graphic novel feels much more epic and substantial, and Bruce definitely feels way more developed in the novel. Having said that, I think if I hadn't read the novel beforehand I would have been completely bawled over, as it is just such an interesting story and very well done. Also, Alison Bechdel was sitting next to me when I saw it which was a bit of a unique experience considering you're literally watching her life story on stage! Bear in mind that Ring of Keys is based on one single image in the graphic novel. With a book of so many riches it's a major editing job to know what to leave out or you end up with a big flabby mess. Lisa Kron has done an amazing job transforming Fun Home into a piece of theatre. In her first attempt at a full musical she found the right voice for the story, and the lyrics and book say far more that it first appears, and much more succinctly than most other writers manage to convey in the same amount of time. Maybe it leaves you wanting to know more, but it's no bad thing to have questions at the end of a show.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 27, 2018 13:22:21 GMT
There is more about Helen Bechdel in the graphic novel of Fun Home than in the musical,but you get a much clearer picture of her and Alison's relationship in Are You My Mother? Bear in mind that Bruce had been dead for two decades before it was written, and Helen was very much alive until shortly before the musical was written, so it's easier to be honest and candid about someone who's no no longer alive.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 19, 2018 10:23:26 GMT
It played on a prosc arch stage before and after Broadway at the Public and extensively on tour. The in the round production was fantastic, but the show plays just as well in other spaces.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 19, 2018 8:30:12 GMT
Eddie Mair would be the best choice by far. He's refreshingly different from your usual BBC types. He takes the piss out of anyone who gets too up themselves, and always seems to be unbiased which was Dimblebore's worst failing. (That and his patronising attitude to women.) The show has become incredibly dull and predictable. They need a wider variety of guests and possibly a team of chairpersons rather than one constantly displaying their prejudices.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 16, 2018 15:28:13 GMT
I saw the original production twenty years ago in New York and it was looked and sounded magnificent especially the choral work. I appeared in production a decade ago with a 20 piece orchestra and over 90 people on stage. Being in the midst of that number of voices singing Maury Yeston's score was quite moving and powerful for all concerned. I think it's one of those shows that loses a lot by being scaled down in any way. You don't need the scenery perhaps but you need at least 40 people on stage to make it work.
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Follies
Jun 10, 2018 22:32:15 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jun 10, 2018 22:32:15 GMT
Vicky Clark or better still Judy Kuhn who has never played Sally, but does brilliant versions of In Buddy's Eyes and Losing My Mind in her cabaret act.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 3, 2018 9:56:40 GMT
Saw her as herself for the first time in a postponed Edinburgh concert on Saturday. Some of the material in the first half hour was a bit mediocre (mostly from her new album) but once she got onto better songs it was a terrific show. Relying on the audience to sing all of Glinda's part in For Good was decidedly risky, but the fans did well in the end. Lots of stuff to please the Queen and Wicked fans, a new Frank Wildhorn song that hasn't been recorded yet, and her final phrase of Someone to Love demonstrated why she has the best belt in the West End, controlled,exciting, pitch perfect and sustained for forever. Well impressed.
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Post by karloscar on Jun 1, 2018 18:19:11 GMT
I didn't realise Sam Gold was directing. Looks like a very promising cast. Hope it gets lots of attention.
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Post by karloscar on May 28, 2018 19:43:49 GMT
Excellent work from all concerned, but David Steele was far too tall!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 27, 2018 16:52:18 GMT
The pension plan is doing fine, getting Cher,Meryl Streep and hundreds of others to do the work. The Abbatar tour will make them more money while they sit at home. Must be after the elusive Christmas number one!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 17, 2018 10:48:22 GMT
Is she the one who no one really knows who she is according to Alice? Yes she’s in the Tour but for no apparent reason. I wondered if the character was a ‘hangover’ from previous productions. Did she have a song or anything? It’s a shame the line about cards has been cut, I bet that would get a massive laugh. She's the anti-establishment figure who ruffles the feathers of the first class passengers. Why they'd cut the line is mysterious. In a show that's all about the class system it's pretty important and always gets a laugh.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 14, 2018 12:29:14 GMT
Thoroughly bored by the whole thing. Controlling posh mother would not have tolerated all those accents amongst her acquired offspring, and Aggie would not have approved of all the unnecessary swearing. All of the caricatures are so obnoxious why the f*** (sorry Agatha) would anyone care who did what to whom?
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Post by karloscar on Apr 11, 2018 15:45:42 GMT
Helen in Fun Home is a bit cold, brittle and unemotional right up until her final scene, so the role may suit Jenna Russell far more than the roles you didn't rate her in previously.
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Company
Apr 10, 2018 23:49:51 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Apr 10, 2018 23:49:51 GMT
How do you make 'You Could Drive A Person Crazy?' work with three straight men? The Cassidy brothers did it for a BCEFA event and it was still as camp as Christmas.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 10, 2018 15:59:50 GMT
I stand firmly by my stance that it's a play with music, but that doesn't mean I'm not hugely entertained by their having a nominee for Best Actor in a Musical, and it's a man who doesn't sing at all in the show (that I remember, maybe he's in a full company number or two?)! I may be wrong, but I seem to remember Ciaran Hinds got supporting actor nomination(s) when he played Sam Byck in Assassins at the Donmar in the 90s, so not the first time he's been recognised for not singing much in a musical.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 8, 2018 21:44:38 GMT
Every year you think this can't get any worse, and every year it does. Just horrific.
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Post by karloscar on Apr 5, 2018 19:10:48 GMT
Kathleen Turner's in town. She'd be great for Molokov if anyone else walks!
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Post by karloscar on Apr 1, 2018 23:03:50 GMT
Eileen stamping on Phelan's fingers was hilarious, and a suitable end to a ridiculous plot.
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Post by karloscar on Mar 26, 2018 14:42:35 GMT
Liz Callaway rehearsing for Sondheim on Sondheim (with help from Judy and Seth).
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