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Post by karloscar on Mar 21, 2018 13:13:00 GMT
On the whole it was a fairly enjoyable listen, but Lapine's original concept has been rather lost with all the cuts made. Most of the humour seems to have disappeared with the seldom performed numbers like Smile Girls and God!, so it starts to resemble any other greatest hits compilation. Nice to hear Something Just Broke, and You Are The Best Thing, and Beautiful from Sunday was lovely.
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 20:26:14 GMT
True that he's worse when making decisions for himself in concert settings, but it's always a risk in a live performance. Wood was a perfectionist, and of course wanted it played in a certain style, but she always had the option of a second take.
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Chess
Mar 3, 2018 13:54:36 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 13:54:36 GMT
Ball's vibrato and vocal tics are far more disturbing than any riffing that might occur.
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Chess
Mar 3, 2018 12:23:53 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Mar 3, 2018 12:23:53 GMT
Interesting that the tendency to oversing and riff on material that needs no decoration should be raised. That's my main worry about the cast for ENO. Can any of them be trusted to sing it properly?
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Post by karloscar on Mar 1, 2018 7:54:42 GMT
Svetlana doesn't need two songs describing how dissatisfied she is with her life no matter who is playing the role.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 27, 2018 22:54:02 GMT
The Swedish lyric is a bit more competitive than the original. I Know What He Wants ( and it's not you) is how it translates.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 26, 2018 9:44:02 GMT
Benny wants to include He is a Man, He is a Child apparently, in which case Florence would get back Someone Else's Story in Act One. (Or it gets cut completely!!!)
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Chess
Feb 16, 2018 18:57:52 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Feb 16, 2018 18:57:52 GMT
Apparently we have been saved from Tim Minchin as Freddie, big Broadway name as Anatoly, US TV star as Florence but sadly no Norm Lewis as Molokov, but possibly tommy korbrg is still in talks for that role....
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Post by karloscar on Feb 16, 2018 15:38:54 GMT
Ok so having been around the block a few more curtain calls than some of you spring chickens have to say I think Mr Ball is going to knock this out of the park If you havent seen the show before its a mammoth role. He will be able to hold it and sing it like a true leading man. I remember back in the day seeing him in Aspects of Love and was blown away by his stage craft. This is a role that really requires a proper sing! As for Alexandra Burke give the girl a chance. Svetlana is an important role but in terms of stage time its not massive. The age difference is immaterial tbh. Its semi staged and the Orchestra and scale of the vocals will more than compensate. So I would say save your pennies ! Grab a ticket and enjoy the chance to see a cracking score sung live by a talented cast I thank you x Back in the day Michael Ball was a hammy actor with a big voice and a cute smile that some found charming. He can still be entertaining in the right role, and he and Mickey Dolenz had great chemistry as Edna and Wilbur in Hairspray. But, and it's a big but, he has developed some horrendous vocal mannerisms and a vibrato as wide as the Grand Canyon in the last few decades, which means that it's quite distressing to hear him murdering just about any tune I'm fond of. He was wrong for Anatoly when Chess was first produced, and he's much less right for it now than he was thirty years ago.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 15, 2018 19:16:16 GMT
The Washington DC production's new book sounds interesting with some unexpected plot twists, and a restructured first act. I wonder if ENO will take similar risks?
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Chess
Feb 14, 2018 12:40:02 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Feb 14, 2018 12:40:02 GMT
That What's onstage article is giving Tim Rice a co-directing credit. Has he ever directed anything before? That spells almost as much trouble as the casting which is hopefully fiction.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 6, 2018 10:54:42 GMT
Judy Kuhn's only twenty years too old for the role, and she could still sing it better than anyone else!
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Post by karloscar on Feb 5, 2018 23:42:57 GMT
Well they all sound terrific. Bring them over. Interesting that they're using the London version of The Deal/No Deal, and Broadway Endgame. Shame I can't get to see this.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 4, 2018 22:39:29 GMT
Well Mary Rodgers thought it was a pretty radical rethink, and was thrilled with some of Hytner's ideas. He had real trouble getting his casting of a black Mr Snow (Clive Rowe) past Dorothy Rodgers (Richard's widow) according to his biography. He didn't solve all the problems with wife-beating Billy, but he was played very differently from any previous production. You don't have to rewrite to change the mood of a piece, just edit a bit and change the tone a bit.
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Post by karloscar on Feb 3, 2018 11:15:16 GMT
The National's revival of Carousel by Nicholas Hytner made people think about that show very differently. The choreography by Kenneth McMillan was just breathtaking, and Michael Hayden's vulnerable take on Billy Bigelow changed an old fashioned problematic show into something quite modern and relevant.
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Chess
Jan 28, 2018 16:57:07 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jan 28, 2018 16:57:07 GMT
I saw the Maurice Clarke/ Rebecca Storm tour. The chessboard definitely didn't do the turns and tilting of the London production. It lit up correctly in a good night, but nothing spectacular. A later tour didn't even do that.
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Post by karloscar on Jan 26, 2018 16:00:01 GMT
Is Spielberg directing or just producing the film? He's not great at theatrical stuff and I fear it could end up like Dickie Attenborough's A Chorus Line unless he gets someone like Matthew Bourne in to choreograph/co-direct.
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Chess
Jan 25, 2018 8:05:27 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jan 25, 2018 8:05:27 GMT
If it's selling that well on just the reputation of the score, why bother with a big name star? In which case, why the big delay....?
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Chess
Jan 22, 2018 22:36:49 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jan 22, 2018 22:36:49 GMT
Michael Ball went from Les Mis to Phantom, then Aspects of Love in the 80s. No time for Chess, and as wrong for it then as he would be now.
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Feud
Jan 15, 2018 12:08:44 GMT
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Post by karloscar on Jan 15, 2018 12:08:44 GMT
The main problem with Charles and Diana is that unless they totally change his personality and way of speaking it'll be like watching paint dry. Granted he may be a bit more dynamic away from the cameras, but he's fundamentally dull and boring. So where's the drama?
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Post by karloscar on Jan 12, 2018 14:51:23 GMT
Maybe it's not so much that the songs are weak, but that nothing much has changed for the central characters by the end. Buddy will behave for a while, but soon go back to his old ways, Sally will find something else to fixate on, Ben and Phyllis will keep up appearances and visits to the shrink. "We're Gonna Be Alright" from Do I Hear a Waltz? seems to fit them well: "Sometimes she drinks in bed, Sometimes he's homosexual But why be vicious They keep it out of sight, And so....they're gonna be alright."
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Post by karloscar on Dec 31, 2017 10:37:21 GMT
I think I could stand the tunes if the Pasek/Paul lyrics weren't so bland and clichéd. The setting is a circus which provides plenty of scope for interesting imagery, but no it's all mountains and oceans and dreams and bad rhymes. Even though Tightrope is used as a song title, they don't develop the image, just repeat it as the boring hook line. I know they want songs that are radio friendly and can be sung out of context but other writers manage to do this without being so bland and lazy.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 24, 2017 23:26:54 GMT
Plenty of talentless idiots become household names on reality shows, so having some triple threat talent on telly might raise their profiles and the result is win win.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 24, 2017 21:26:04 GMT
So they think\know there's an audience for music theatre on television. Why not get the best young talent and a few established names to do it to a really high standard, rather than feed us half-baked, badly performed turns where someone is the "winner"? The production costs won't be any different, but the quality infinitely better.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 23, 2017 7:10:17 GMT
The West Side Story doc was worth watching for its interviews, especially Carol Lawrence and Jamie Bernstein who had some interesting insights. The singing was great with Rob Houchen doing stand out work, but that pitchy version of Somewhere has to be the worst ever, or at least since Boe and Balls last murdered it.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 19, 2017 21:17:02 GMT
Lasted five minutes after Masterchef and that how to take a bow bollocks was a new low for all concerned. Watching Shamed on C4 where young woman imprisons and takes revenge on her abuser. Will and Kate would empathize....
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Post by karloscar on Dec 17, 2017 19:33:52 GMT
Trailer has leaked on twitter. Looks fairly similar in style to the original. Lily James sounds amazing, and Cher makes a memorable entrance as Granny.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 16, 2017 0:39:43 GMT
Eddie Mair's response on radio 4 as the opening reviews were published: "Two questions. How long did it last? Two and a half hours. How long did those two and a half hours feel?......"
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Post by karloscar on Dec 15, 2017 15:21:30 GMT
Ethan Mordden writes entertainingly and knowledgeably in his series covering each decade of Broadway musicals from the 20s onwards. The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen covering the 80 and 90s is probably the best. His views are quite controversial, but I tend to agree when he is critical of some huge hits, and affectionate about some minor shows that deserved a bigger audience.
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Post by karloscar on Dec 15, 2017 0:05:19 GMT
She can't possibly do Dolly if she's already booked for Dear Evan Hansen, Anastasia and Florence in Chess! Get real people!
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