The Third Man - Menier

[jakobo]

I have just seen it. Thought it was decent but not special. The music is mostly good and suits the post-war Viennese setting. Songs were ok although rather forgettable. The story is almost identical as the one in the movie, only a few scenes were slightly changed or rearranged. I really like the way some of the iconic scenes from the film were staged especially the finale of Act I was great. Performances were solid, two leads did a very good job in my opinion. Staging was pretty slick and atmospheric. Not sure what else to add, I enjoyed it but probably wouldn’t go to see it again nor listen to the cast recording.

[amp09]

Jun 13, 2023 22:51:18 GMT keyspi said:

I know it is only two days in, but has anybody seen this yet? Any impressions?

Was also in this evening. As the above poster said the score is very forgettable with there are some questionably stupid lyrics. The story is told well. Act one could do with trimming down, perhaps lose the awful ‘lecture’ song/shorten that storyline as it doesn’t add much. Act two had a good pace that kept my attention with some better songs (but still not brilliant).

The chemistry between the two leads was missing, his love for her sort of comes out of the blue perhaps over time as they bed in their chemistry will be there and it’ll make more sense.

It is worth a watch and will be interesting to see if they trim it down/make any major changes in the next few weeks.

It was nice to be in the presence of Sir Trevor who was sat opposite us making his notes.

Started around 1933 and was out by 2201. Expect this will tighten up over the next few weeks.

[keyspi]

Thank you both amp09 and jakobo ! I had rather high hopes for this one, but now a bit less so even with the £25 tickets available. Might give it until after the press reviews are out to make my decision whether to go see it or not.

The only other play I've seen at the Menier was The Sex Party which all took place within the same setting, so I am curious to find out how effectively they manage scene changes on that relatively small stage

[shownut]

I was there last night and sorry to report that I thought it was a real stinker. Boring score, amateurish lyrics and weak performances (though I am aware it is early previews). 

I cannot recommend a single thing about it. :-(

It might have made an interesting play but does not work at all with this musical treatment.

[Someone in a tree]

A third man musical was staged in Vienna in 2016, was it this one? I've tried searching for it but with not much luck

[viserys]

Jun 14, 2023 6:44:35 GMT Someone in a tree said:

A third man musical was staged in Vienna in 2016, was it this one? I've tried searching for it but with not much luck

This IS that musical.

It was planned, but was never actually staged. The Vereinigte Bühnen Wien who are the big musical producers had a string of flops with home-grown new musicals (such as Schikaneder with music by Stephen Schwartz), so they probably got cold feet and focused on either developing new jukebox musicals or revivals of older musicals. 

Edit to add: Not surprised by the negative feedback so far. These things that are written "on commission" and just for the paycheck are rarely ever inspired. 

[Someone in a tree]

Thanks for clarifying.

[MrBraithwaite]

This was not my thing when I saw the first preview on Saturday. Seen the film ages ago, but can't remember much. Will go and watch that again for the cinematic treatment of the story.

Music was bland, lyrics even to me sounded bad at times (Don Black was in the audience), characters were more like sketches and unbelievable, can't really fault the direction or the set, probably the best they could do. This is one example of what a group of very talented people can fail to produce. Was interested especially as this was rumoured for Vienna for years, but this show would never have been staged at the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, it really has nothing to offer, absolutely clear why they passed.

Were told when we went in it would be 2 hours plus 15 minutes intermission, ran 10 minutes longer and felt VERY long at times, will probably be tightened during previews.

2/5

[nash16]

Jun 13, 2023 23:26:26 GMT amp09 said:

Jun 13, 2023 22:51:18 GMT keyspi said:

I know it is only two days in, but has anybody seen this yet? Any impressions?

Was also in this evening. As the above poster said the score is very forgettable with there are some questionably stupid lyrics. The story is told well. Act one could do with trimming down, perhaps lose the awful ‘lecture’ song/shorten that storyline as it doesn’t add much. Act two had a good pace that kept my attention with some better songs (but still not brilliant).

The chemistry between the two leads was missing, his love for her sort of comes out of the blue perhaps over time as they bed in their chemistry will be there and it’ll make more sense.

It is worth a watch and will be interesting to see if they trim it down/make any major changes in the next few weeks.

It was nice to be in the presence of Sir Trevor who was sat opposite us making his notes.

Started around 1933 and was out by 2201. Expect this will tighten up over the next few weeks.

“Started around 1933 and was out by 2201. Expect this will tighten up over the next few weeks.”

I know Trev does long shows, but a 268yr running time has to be a new record for him, surely?

[singingbird]

Was also there last night and agree with many of the comments on here. I had high hopes as it’s ¾ of the core creative team of Sunset Boulevard which is, of course, another adaptation of a classic mid-twentieth century film. However, although a lot of the constituent parts of this are good, it really doesn’t come together.

I actually had no problem with the lyrics – some great rhymes and interesting vocabulary choices. Musically it was rich and apposite but I think suffers from the fact that Fenton isn’t a naturally theatrical composer. There was no dramatic propulsion to the score. It didn’t grab me and carry me along. It added tone and colour but was rarely dramatic.

I thought the performances were great but, yes, the leads lacked chemistry. The direction felt really flat to me – a lot of people running about but no clear evocation of a time or place. Basically , it was Trevor Nunn just peddling the same old schtick, which is fair enough as that’s his style, but it all felt a bit tired.

Biggest issue, to my mid, is that it’s just not a story that begs to be musicalized. It’s all very secretive and about people hiding their motives – not naturally something that leads to people singing. This means it just never takes off.

It’s good that it’s on at the Menier – absolutely the right place for it. 20 years ago this would have opened in the West End and closed fairly quickly. In fact, that’s what it most reminded me of – shows like La Cava, Gone With the Wind and the Far Pavilions. Not at all bad, certainly competent all round, but just a bit stodgy and lacking in drama and a reason to sing.

[singingbird]

Jun 14, 2023 7:02:44 GMT viserys said:

Jun 14, 2023 6:44:35 GMT Someone in a tree said:

A third man musical was staged in Vienna in 2016, was it this one? I've tried searching for it but with not much luck

These things that are written "on commission" and just for the paycheck are rarely ever inspired. 

SO true.

[TallPaul]

Poll added.

[raiseitup]

I turned up at the Menier last night only to realise when my tickets were being checked that they were actually for Monday night... d'oh! First time I've ever done it that way round, turned up a day early a few times though. So, I'm rather selfishly glad that it seems I didn't miss much when I opted to get pancakes instead of trying for any returns.

[theoracle]

I was happy with this - it’ll need some more polishing before press night but all in all the transitions were great and the music captured the mood of the piece and there was a filmic quality to the show that was faithful to the source material. There were some tense moments in the second half which the first half lacked. Performances were ok and chemistry between the leads was lukewarm at best but I was pleased by Sam Underwood’s singing. Simon Bailey clearly the strongest performer here though - his Harry was genuinely threatening and intimidating. Don Black’s lyrics as mentioned are wonderful here too. It’s a pity to see the audience mainly made up of those from a certain generation as I thought Sam could pull in a younger crowd. Still, it’s a lovely departure from some other contemporary musicals on right now and I hope critics will warm to it.

[theatrelover123]

Wow this was utterly dreadful. Little to recommend it in any areas tbh. It felt like the worst amateur show you might have seen….and then keep going

The Menier feels quite soul-less now too

[sf]

Saw it this afternoon. It might be the first stage musical ever to be written, directed, and performed by ChatGPT.

Or rather, it might as well have been. There is no spark. There is no inkling of why any of these people wanted to retell this story. There's just dreary music and dreary lyrics - yes, we get it, Lime rhymes with slime - performed by a cast who would clearly rather be somewhere else. I can't blame them.

There is one bright spot:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
The Act One finale quotes a tiny snippet of the Harry Lime Theme. That's nice, because it means once in the show - just once - you get to hear about four bars of really great music.

[MrBraithwaite]

Watched the film yesterday, what a masterpiece. All the faults of the show come from one problem - you can't better the film and you don't add to it, you just have to cut things. The Vienna setting, the cat, the child....a thousand little things. And in the film all the characters make sense and are interesting, great performances. Do it as a play with one Zither-player...would be so much better.

[lonlad]

Mostly 2 and 3 star reviews, one eccentric 4 star one from the i ....

Think this is going to be a very tough sell through to Sept 9 since those old enough to remember the film will quite wisely be perfectly content to sit and watch it once again at home. No wonder Sam Underwood in the Joseph Cotten role spends the whole time looking worried. I would be, too.

[shownut]

Jun 20, 2023 14:44:14 GMT lonlad said:

Mostly 2 and 3 star reviews, one eccentric 4 star one from the i ....

Think this is going to be a very tough sell through to Sept 9 since those old enough to remember the film will quite wisely be perfectly content to sit and watch it once again at home. No wonder Sam Underwood in the Joseph Cotten role spends the whole time looking worried. I would be, too.

I just wonder how Babani could not see this was a stinker in making, even with the creative names attached. The Menier needs a win so lets hope the rest of their season is more promising.

[Someone in a tree]

looking at the reviews for this, the MCF are sadly channelling Paradise Found.

I haven't seen Third Man but I struggle to see the logic in programming it at this time. Couldn't we have had a crowd pleaser? Hello Dolly, Pal Joey and Witches of Eastwick are all crying out to be staged.

[Someone in a tree]

Jun 20, 2023 15:16:49 GMT shownut said:

Jun 20, 2023 14:44:14 GMT lonlad said:

Mostly 2 and 3 star reviews, one eccentric 4 star one from the i ....

Think this is going to be a very tough sell through to Sept 9 since those old enough to remember the film will quite wisely be perfectly content to sit and watch it once again at home. No wonder Sam Underwood in the Joseph Cotten role spends the whole time looking worried. I would be, too.

I just wonder how Babani could not see this was a stinker in making, even with the creative names attached. The Menier needs a win so lets hope the rest of their season is more promising.

I question Nunn's judgement, he once did a great job at the RSC and NT, how do you from that to Gone with the wind and Third Man.

After studying the great texts of Shakespeare can you read Don Black more recent lyrics and think it's any good ?

Is he a workaholic who accepts anything?

[lonlad]

>> Is he a workaholic who accepts anything?

Um, yes. Remember STARLIGHT EXPRESS (and much much much else along the way as well!)

[shownut]

Jun 20, 2023 16:09:38 GMT lonlad said:

>> Is he a workaholic who accepts anything?

Um, yes. Remember STARLIGHT EXPRESS (and much much much else along the way as well!)

Yes, what a disaster. Such a short run of 18 years and only made £140m in profit. What WAS he thinking?

[lonlad]

He was thinking about the cash, as your post indicates: that has ALWAYS come first with him. It remains one of the most critically derided musicals ever and I speak as a survivor of the press night with the infamous taxi despatch mishap ....

On Broadway, STARLIGHT lost a fortune as did his productions of ASPECTS and CHESS.

[Someone in a tree]

Taxi despatch? - was this taxi drivers radio's interfering with the Sunset set?