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Post by lonlad on Jun 21, 2022 6:11:48 GMT
Cameron couldn't have made it about him given that he didn't produce this version (Jack Maple did, and was everywhere apparent, looking very smart as if he'd stepped out of a Noel Coward play). The show as a whole was extremely slick and professional and Maria, yes, DID manage to make it all about her but hey ho. The three ladies were in terrific voice (CHF especially, and also the most nuanced singer of the three by some measure) if all a bit samey -- one missed the distinctiveness to that inimitable first trio of Jo, Lucie, and MF herself. Partridge was beyond camp and actually quite smarmy/creepy/unpleasant: when he dismisses the women as "bitches" at the end, the remark seems to unleash a misogyny to the material that I didn't remember from Mr McShane, who of course couldn't really sing it as we know -- someday this show will get a Darryl who can do the role justice but, weirdly, that has yet to happen: such a shame Kevin Kline never agreed to it originally, he'd have been perfect 22 years ago (but not now obviously). Some of the supporting performances last night were insanely OTT as if those people thought they'd never play these parts again - which perhaps they won't, to be fair. Fewer celebs in the house than had been expected but nice to see a recent Tony winner there to cheer on his wife.
The score remains a marvel.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 20, 2022 8:34:47 GMT
>>If its any consultation
I assume you mean consolation LOL: I don't think Ms F goes in for consultations. She knows her own mind !
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Post by lonlad on Jun 19, 2022 21:46:06 GMT
Word is that the show may resurface next year regionally, with the Dame but without TC. We shall see -- nothing confirmed.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 18, 2022 11:09:12 GMT
She should stop accepting offers she can't honour. It's as simple as that. But maybe pride keeps getting the better of her? You need to know when to call it quits.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 18, 2022 11:03:28 GMT
Extraordinary and every bit the equal of the Broadway version and, in some ways, better: June Watson outpaces even Jayne Houdyshell as Anne Marie. Noma is devastating -- pained, angry, fully self-aware, and the audience responded with an unusually heartfelt standing ovation. Those who can get behind the paywall should read Dominic Cavendish's rave in The Telegraph: he nails it.
Go.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 12, 2022 22:18:50 GMT
>>two removal vans drew up outside the theatre and proceeded to go in to remove the set, around 20 minutes after the show ended...if that's not all you need to know about how ALW feels about this show, then I'm not sure what is.
Huh??? That's standard practice on any production. Curtain down, and out the set goes. No need to over-interpret such customary procedure.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 12, 2022 21:52:01 GMT
Laurence Connor's deliberately cryptic reference could be an allusion to LW dealing with the unfolding tragedy within the composer's family, and rightly so. That's not for LC (or anyone else) to discuss.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 9, 2022 15:12:34 GMT
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Post by lonlad on Jun 7, 2022 0:09:04 GMT
> A personal highlight was when the girl behind me excitedly exclaimed that Amy Adams is married to Sacha Baron Cohen
Did you resist the temptation to correct her??
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Post by lonlad on Jun 5, 2022 9:38:34 GMT
>> A guy behind me also shouted at "show us it!"
That person should be banned from theatre henceforward -- though given that it was the final performance it might have been intriguing if Jonny actually HAD (shown them it)
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Post by lonlad on Jun 4, 2022 17:08:05 GMT
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Post by lonlad on Jun 3, 2022 15:03:44 GMT
Yes: very mixed bag. The Jonathan Kent version in 1998 was a lot sexier and more compelling but this less starry version has its moments, and the play itself is an intriguing rarity.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 3, 2022 9:55:33 GMT
>> completely unforgettable. I think you mean the opposite, judging from your post LOL?
Danny Mac is indeed easy on the eye but getting on a bit to play MM.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 1, 2022 12:59:15 GMT
I don't envy her coming on the heels of Jodie Comer, a stage novice of inordinate power -- and Adams, by contrast, has done stage before, albeit musicals and not plays
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Post by lonlad on Jun 1, 2022 9:51:47 GMT
Mostly three stars across the board (Times/Stage/WOS/Telegraph/BWW) with two from the Evening Standard
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Post by lonlad on May 31, 2022 22:52:51 GMT
The usual Freddy is dreadful so you dodged a bullet there. Was Vanessa in?
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Post by lonlad on May 31, 2022 22:36:29 GMT
I was in row l tonight and heard every word and Ms Adams is amply miked so it shouldn't be a problem, truly. Her performance isn't very good but that has nothing to do with audibility.
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Post by lonlad on May 28, 2022 23:05:08 GMT
Interesting that Wilson missed the final matinee given that the play closed tonight. What a shame for her - and you.
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Post by lonlad on May 28, 2022 16:44:30 GMT
Mrs Higgins is a weird fit for Vanessa for all sorts of reasons but maybe she thought it would be good to still be working. The role is all of about 10 minutes long (if that) but has scene-stealing potential in the right hands. (Diana Rigg got a Tony nomination for it in NY and was replaced by the legendary Rosemary Harris, who was then as now careering into her 90s.)
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Post by lonlad on May 27, 2022 22:54:35 GMT
Was Vanessa on tonight?
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Post by lonlad on May 27, 2022 19:24:08 GMT
This person is also totally unknown in NYC if truth be told.
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Post by lonlad on May 25, 2022 23:41:19 GMT
Vanessa Redgrave was out tonight (Weds) if anyone is tracking these things; her understudy Heather Jackson filled in and got applause from the cast at the bows. Very much a curate's egg of a production but luckily the two leads (Amara and Harry) are in peak form and deserve the ovation they received from the crowd. The less said about the Freddy the better - egads !
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Post by lonlad on May 17, 2022 23:25:25 GMT
Saw it tonight -- a total mess. The political and the personal don't conjoin and the second act is borderline preposterous, and wastes Anne-Marie Duff who is seen only in a lurid flashback sequence since by that point her role is played by her own mother (don't ask). Lots of great ideas that don't cohere and the Nye Bevanscene needs immediate excision. Very shouty, too. And no one is given the remoted chance to develop a character -- they are placards plain and simple. ("I am a Communist" someone says right on cue.) Oh well.
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Post by lonlad on May 14, 2022 11:23:10 GMT
Great review! Anne-Marie Duff sang in the Donmar SWEET CHARITY, but I don't think has done since then. Sounds a terrific evening.
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Post by lonlad on May 14, 2022 9:05:48 GMT
Fair enough, but their previous two plays, THE FOREST and THE FEVER SYNDROME, both featured people in middle age (and in some cases older), so don't think this is any sort of trend - it just is what it is. Just a shame that THE BREACH is so poor (and I didn't much care for WOLF CUB either).
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Post by lonlad on May 13, 2022 22:36:54 GMT
Tawdry and lurid and trapped in a pretentious, self-regarding production. Avoid. It will struggle to play to 50% across the run if tonight is any (woeful) gauge.
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Post by lonlad on May 4, 2022 0:00:20 GMT
Interesting to hear MB singing about burying rage with a "boy half your age in the grass / bet your ass" .... ok .....
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Post by lonlad on May 3, 2022 23:47:07 GMT
LOL, the Ed Sheeran lookalike was/is Dame Judi's grandson Sammy, who was there with Finty (his mum) and Finty's boyfriend, the actor Joe Timms An incredible evening --- Bernadette beyond extraordinary. Not sure why Gary Wilmot did Buddy's Blues, which is a dance number *and GW has zero Sondheim connection. More Jenna Russell and Rosie Craig would have been nice but hey ho: a fab night.
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Post by lonlad on May 3, 2022 16:08:56 GMT
Charlie's connection is entirely with Cameron.
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Post by lonlad on May 1, 2022 10:00:36 GMT
Worth noting that several of the performers on Tuesday -- Julian Ovenden, Janie Dee and Rosalie Craig -- will be appearing at the V&A this afternoon as part of a mini-immersion in Sondheim hosted by the Museum. It starts at 2pm.
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