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Post by steve10086 on Oct 14, 2023 12:18:21 GMT
Nicole and Tom transferring with Sunset. Betty and Max unsure but unlikely. Shame about David Thaxton, his gorgeous voice soaring is a big highlight in the show for me. I feel bad saying it, because I loved Daniel Benzali and Michael Bauer, but Thaxton is possibly the best Max I’ve ever seen. |
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Post by toomasj on Oct 14, 2023 12:26:39 GMT
I loved Dave Willetts
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Post by max on Oct 14, 2023 12:56:28 GMT
Advise: don't waste your money then. How was I meant to be know I wouldn’t like it I’m not psychic? This was in answer to the question you began asking: should you go and see Sunset Boulevard. Not in reference to you being psychic about JCS. You seem to have done plenty of research from listening to work by ALW, and attending Jesus Christ Superstar. As your dislike was as visceral as 'horrendous' and 'terrible' re. JCS I was suggesting give 'Sunset Boulevard' a miss. You've given him a fair chance, and your time, so could save your money for better writers. |
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Post by max on Oct 14, 2023 13:25:04 GMT
Well, I've always loved the Norma songs - and Nicole's vocal and acting performance is stunning and among the best of all the Normas on record and including the one other Norma I've seen live (Glenn Close). I'm not saying I suddenly love all of the material now or I want to listen to the various cast recording on repeat, but I think you are discounting the importance of the direction. 'Just' direction? The show has been completely transformed - the style, tone, look, characters and character dynamics are completely different than any other production of Sunset before. Additionally, some material has been cut and changed that helps (i.e. Lady's Paying most obviously gone). So the actual experience watching the show is completely different, and does a good job at hiding the flaws of the show while bringing out its strengths. Or just taking it in a completely different direction where it needs to. Thanks for explaining. That makes perfect sense. Mods have asked us not to quote-post long strings of a thread, which is why I've kept it to the last two comments. But I'll manually quote in apubleed saying earlier "I think ALW is garbage, including this show - which I think is a bloated boring mess." Interesting to then hear your expanded thoughts on that, above. The only bit I've ever found bloated in Sunset Boulevard is the way it stays too long in Norma's reverie over the old movies. I actually like 'New Ways to Dream' and the way Joe interrupts it with a reality check a couple of times, but it's all been said before in 'With One Look' and the dreamlike music of NWTD can actually be soporific. For that reason when 'The Lady's Paying' arrives it feels a jolt and a new breath/style even within the mansion. But I can see that Lloyd wants to keep it all psychologically tight and not allow the outside freshness to come into Norma's world - other than Joe, who isn't so fresh anymore. 'The Lady's Paying' also has that reference to 'I own so many apartments' which unhelpfully suggests Norma has a bigger world than the mansion. I haven't seen Lloyd's version, but perhaps cutting 'The Lady's Paying' puts more emphasis onto really finding something new in 'New Ways To Dream' and Act 1 balances.. Totally hear that there was always some material you liked in Sunset Boulevard, but I can't imagine a production of anything being able to take me from 'garbage/bloated/boring' to truly enjoying a body of music. But fair play to Jamie Lloyd I guess. Perhaps my biggest travel was 'Pippin' which I liked a lot more at Charing Cross than previous Southwark Playhouse (and every USA clip on youtube I've disliked). That was about production, although I never loathed the music, but found the book annoying and trite originally which made the music/lyrics grating. |
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Post by madsonmelo on Oct 14, 2023 13:59:11 GMT
Nicole and Tom transferring with Sunset. Betty and Max unsure but unlikely. Broadway '24? |
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Post by lonlad on Oct 14, 2023 14:24:02 GMT
Thaxton the best Max ever which is saying a lot given how brilliant George Hearn was (amongst others), but his absolute singlemindedness writ large is something to behold as his voice is to hear - but then he and Lloyd are a dream team: Thaxton won his Olivier for starring as Giorgio in Lloyd's Donmar PASSION.
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Post by max on Oct 14, 2023 17:33:20 GMT
The Coliseum took all 4 central actors to Broadway, led by one American. I hope they'll try and pull on that precedent. It seems they all deserve it - because being the first cast on such an unusual production means you had an influence on how it all played out the director's vision - probably more on this kind of 'radical reinvent' than other shows.
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Post by carriesparkle on Oct 14, 2023 17:47:31 GMT
I'll be interested to know what they do that's "meta" for Tucker. Production photos from Wicked? Footage from I'd Do Anything?
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Post by nottobe on Oct 14, 2023 18:06:39 GMT
I caught the matinee of this today. I was very intrigued to see this as I knew it would be different with JL directing. I have seen Evita and JCS before but did not know this show at all.
Tom Francis is the stand out and has great stage presence. I also really liked the choreography in this.
I found JL direction to be a mixed bag. The camera work was clever and impressive. Yes, the Act 2 opening is very exciting but I can't help but think why? Also found the little Easter eggs during it annoying ( wanted to boo at the ALW cameo). I enjoyed Act One more than Two. As the show went on I just found the gimmicks and the show itself becoming tedious. The scene where many Norma's came onsatge and wiggle about left me having to cover my mouth due to giggling, very GCSE esque style. There were moments I did like but it all felt too forced. And I HATED the costumes, why does 50s Hollywood look like 2020's Croydon ?
I personally much preferred Scherzinger's acting to singing. Her voice was very nasally and not pleasant to listen to.
Overall I am unsure. I liked bits but hated other bits. Oh well, we knew it would be divisive.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 14, 2023 18:50:21 GMT
I caught the matinee of this today. I was very intrigued to see this as I knew it would be different with JL directing. I have seen Evita and JCS before but did not know this show at all. Tom Francis is the stand out and has great stage presence. I also really liked the choreography in this. I found JL direction to be a mixed bag. The camera work was clever and impressive. Yes, the Act 2 opening is very exciting but I can't help but think why? Also found the little Easter eggs during it annoying ( wanted to boo at the ALW cameo). I enjoyed Act One more than Two. As the show went on I just found the gimmicks and the show itself becoming tedious. The scene where many Norma's came onsatge and wiggle about left me having to cover my mouth due to giggling, very GCSE esque style. There were moments I did like but it all felt too forced. And I HATED the costumes, why does 50s Hollywood look like 2020's Croydon ? I personally much preferred Scherzinger's acting to singing. Her voice was very nasally and not pleasant to listen to. Overall I am unsure. I liked bits but hated other bits. Oh well, we knew it would be divisive. NS Nasal? What!!!! |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 14, 2023 20:27:49 GMT
I second this - WHAT?
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Post by nottobe on Oct 14, 2023 20:37:41 GMT
I just thought she had such a unpleasant voice when belting. Maybe not nasal per say but my god it grated on me and genuinely almost made me cover my ears. |
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Post by steve10086 on Oct 14, 2023 20:40:01 GMT
I just thought she had such a unpleasant voice when belting. Maybe not nasal per se but my god it grated on me and genuinely almost made me cover my ears. Seconded! It was “singing by numbers” with no emotion. |
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Post by Rory on Oct 14, 2023 20:48:17 GMT
God I thought she was magnificent!
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 14, 2023 21:07:09 GMT
I would consider going to battle for the fact that Scherzinger is the best these songs have ever sounding so this is WILD to me
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Post by toomasj on Oct 14, 2023 21:21:59 GMT
I would consider going to battle for the fact that Scherzinger is the best these songs have ever sounding so this is WILD to me Andrew…? |
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Post by nottobe on Oct 14, 2023 21:28:13 GMT
Also not to be even more controversial than I already am, I thought all of the singing by the women in the company was very screechy and unpleasant. Is that just the way it's written ?
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 14, 2023 21:29:50 GMT
I would consider going to battle for the fact that Scherzinger is the best these songs have ever sounding so this is WILD to me Andrew…? I am literally the last person to defend ALW (before I saw this I was team Betty Buckley till I die) but good GOD Scherzinger is...insane |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 14, 2023 21:36:33 GMT
Also not to be even more controversial than I already am, I thought all of the singing by the women in the company was very screechy and unpleasant. Is that just the way it's written ? NS sounds nasal... the rest are screechy and unpleasant... I genuinely think you saw/heard a different show to me. |
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Post by max on Oct 14, 2023 22:34:04 GMT
Totally agree chernjam! Really happy to see these reviews. My only very slight caveat is that even in the raves (for the production) it’s almost as if it would kill them to fully rave about the score itself! It’s more “damning with faint praise” for what IMHO is easily one of ALW’s most cohesive and iconic scores. Currently orchestrated to within an inch of its life! Plus ça change I guess. But overall - very happy for them to have 4 and 5 star reviews to plaster over the poster/theatre. Yes, this interested me too @bvm as I've seen a few great reviews of the current production calling it a reinvention of the "classic" musical - but don't remember it being lorded as such when it first opened. tbf I'd tuned out of ALW back then for political reasons, and when I grudgingly tried the OLC recording rather late I was astonished at the fresh jazzy sound and general audacity, so had to separate the art from the man. So perhaps it was more praised than I'm aware of. Mark Shenton described it tonight as 'ALW's majestic 1993' show - but perhaps he was a fan even back then. I guess 'classic' can mean simply 'old', and 'majestic' can mean a bit 'stately'. Nevertheless it feels like it's taken the reinvention for it to be looked back on, by some, as a Classic. Fitting perhaps, as Norma quibbles over how her renaissance should be described: "It's not a comeback - it's a return" |
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Post by andrew on Oct 14, 2023 22:40:01 GMT
I'll be interested to know what they do that's "meta" for Tucker. Production photos from Wicked? Footage from I'd Do Anything? Perhaps they should have a bootleg of her Elphaba playing on an iPad? A Defying Gravity riff compilation? The video where she's rehearsing for Pirate Queen and she throws the script before the big note? So many possibilities. |
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Post by LaLuPone on Oct 14, 2023 22:49:22 GMT
Maybe Tom/Joe could walk into her dressing room to find her using the microwave that was once famously gifted to her by a fan.
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Post by max on Oct 14, 2023 22:56:36 GMT
Or after his title song, sung from outside to the stage, Tom/Joe could say "I've come from away".
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 23:25:44 GMT
Here's what Ben Brantley said about the music in his review of the original Broadway production:
"Mr. Lloyd Webber's score is full of rich and swelling melodies, although the charge brought against the composer in years past holds true: when he latches onto an insinuating musical theme, there seems to be no such thing as one reprise too many. Norma's arrogant boast, "We gave the world/ New ways to dream," pops up all over the place."
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Post by pianowithsam on Oct 15, 2023 8:56:25 GMT
Are the lottery tickets any good for this? Am trying to get a visit in that isn’t at an extortionate price before our £20 viewing in January.
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