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Post by firefingers on Jan 19, 2017 0:38:04 GMT
Reviews for sake of completeness:
4 STARS:
The Telegraph
The Stage
BroadwayWorld
BritishTheatre.Com
Reviews Hub
The Upcoming
LondonTheatre1
TheSpyInTheStalls
LoveLondonLoveCulture
3 STARS:
The Guardian
The Independent
WhatsOnStage
Financial Times
West End Wilma
LondonTheatre.co.uk
2 STARS:
Evening Standard
Time Out
A mixed bag, but doesn't hint at it being quite as bad as some make out in this thread.
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Post by showgirl on Jan 19, 2017 4:57:23 GMT
Some reviewers have commented on the misogyny and how dated this work is; even saying the director should somehow have highlighted and challenged this. I can't speak from experience as I've yet to see the show, but I'm wondering what they could reasonably have expected, given how old it now is and the era in which it is set?
Surely putting on a production isn't necessarily endorsing the attitudes depicted in the play or musical? We don't, for instance, criticise characters in plays set in the past because they resort to duels to resolve love triangles or defend besmirched honour. It's not what we do now but it was normal at the time.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 6:31:36 GMT
Wonder if the problem is one of tone. I've seen "The Apartment" which is excellent - it's a black compedy with a very dark and cynical tone and I'd say is a film about misogyny rather than a misogynistic film. Sounds like the musical has a much lighter tone and perhaps this combined with catchy songs means it doesn't come across as critical of the situation in the way the film does.
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Post by showgirl on Jan 19, 2017 7:38:09 GMT
You could be right, xanderl; not seen the film but happy to take your word re the dark tone. The disapproving comments I've seen seem to imply that by producing this musical, the director is endorsing the attitudes depicted, but since when did one follow from the other? And it's a period piece - try to re-write it for modern mores and not only would you have nothing left but recent work has covered that ground successfully, e.g. The Truth by Florian Zeller.
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Post by japhun on Jan 19, 2017 9:30:52 GMT
You know what, japhun, you ARE getting to be annoying. Your views have been made known. Time to move on. ouch! Haha, thanks for that. Although less tactfully handled as others on the board. Appreciate the input (but won't necessarily stop me). |
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Post by firefingers on Jan 19, 2017 12:24:18 GMT
Reviews for sake of completeness: 4 STARS: The Telegraph The Stage BroadwayWorld BritishTheatre.Com Reviews Hub The Upcoming LondonTheatre1 TheSpyInTheStalls LoveLondonLoveCulture 3 STARS: The Guardian The Independent WhatsOnStage Financial Times West End Wilma LondonTheatre.co.uk 2 STARS: Evening Standard Time Out A mixed bag, but doesn't hint at it being quite as bad as some make out in this thread. For further sake of completeness, Evening Standard also ran an article about Gemma Arterton attending press night and being given a flower by a fan, and both The Sun and The Daily Star ran an article about a WAG tuning up without any underwear on... (I kid you not). No publicity is bad publicity and all that. |
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Post by PalelyLaura on Jan 19, 2017 14:07:43 GMT
Saw this last night and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I did think it was too long and it was certainly dated - I also felt uncomfortable with 'A Young Pretty Girl Like You' - hardly something you should be saying to anyone in Fran's situation. However I can accept that as being part of the time period in which the show is set.
Surprised to hear "A House Is Not A Home" as I've only ever heard it sung by Steps before (it's on their Christmas album!).
My biggest bone of contention is - who on earth goes to the doctor with hiccups?!
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Post by freckles on Jan 19, 2017 14:27:27 GMT
I'd advise everyone to wear their underwear. It's not very warm in there.
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Post by stevej678 on Jan 19, 2017 15:04:32 GMT
I'd advise everyone to wear their underwear. It's not very warm in there. Darn it, I've booked for the naked matinee, an access performance for naturists. |
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Post by showgirl on Jan 19, 2017 19:23:17 GMT
I'd advise everyone to wear their underwear. It's not very warm in there. Darn it, I've booked for the naked matinee, an access performance for naturists. Hope they don't have a fire alarm, then! |
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Post by synchrony on Jan 20, 2017 23:07:04 GMT
Saw this tonight. It ended at 22.25 and I managed to get the 22.44 home from King's Cross so super happy it's not such a late night after all!
I enjoyed it and thought it was another Southwark musical with an excellent cast. I loved the two leads very much. I loved A House is Not a Home particularly.
I would have cut Turkey Lurkey and also didn't feel that Sheldrake's solo fitted into the show at all. Why are we being asked to suddenly sympathise with his plight?! I don't care about his heartache! He's a rather one-dimensional villain! I kept expecting this song to turn out to be tongue in cheek but no.
The plants didn't seem to be a problem at all. The door was a bit flimsy. The premise of the show is dubious, but the women seemed just as bad as the men! Hardly innocent victims!
Not my favourite musical, but a good production I thought. The audience responded very warmly.
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Post by d'James on Jan 20, 2017 23:12:59 GMT
Wow. How did you get to Kings Cross so quickly?
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Post by synchrony on Jan 20, 2017 23:21:55 GMT
Lol, I power walked out as soon as the cast had left the stage, and by luck caught the tube the second I reached the platform. Also the 22.44 departed one minute late and I ran down the platform as the whistle was blowing! Lucky break.
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Post by mallardo on Jan 20, 2017 23:48:24 GMT
Synchrony, we were at the same show! You can't cut Turkey Lurkey Time, it's an iconic dance number, the number that represented the show at the Tony Awards - but it needs great choreography and sensational dancers which it didn't get at Southwark, though they gave it a good shot. I agree with you about Sheldrake's song - it feels like the guy's a major character, he has to have a song, kind of thing. But I didn't think this particular actor brought much to the role in any case.
Certainly agree with you about Gabriel Vick and Daisy Maywood in the leads, both wonderful. Also loved John Guerrasio as Doc Dreyfus and, especially, Alex Young as Marge. What a gift of a role that is and she played it to the hilt, just about stealing the show. I thought the show really held up; Neil Simon's book is clever and funny and handles the second act drama extremely well, taking the situation seriously but never letting up on the jokes. Plus, Burt Bacharach's score is a gem - what a shame he never again ventured back to Broadway.
I did think the production let the show down somewhat. It needed to be slicker and smoother, more pace, more energy. It needed a bigger cast to make those dance numbers work. It's a difficult show to bring off in a fringe theatre and I think that came through. More directorial imagination might have helped.
Still, I enjoyed it. I could happily go back and watch it again.
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Post by synchrony on Jan 21, 2017 0:16:20 GMT
Yes, I enjoyed Marge too! I enjoyed the show, I found the evening went quickly. It's not a show I knew before so can't really comment on how Turkey Lurkey could have been improved.
Would have been nice to meet you and continue the in-depth analysis of the Red Barn ;-) I was in B17 fwiw, facing the stage next to a super chatty man who was also there alone, and I was in a huge fluorescent yellow jacket!
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Post by mallardo on Jan 21, 2017 8:50:53 GMT
I was at the back, E37, near the guy who was taping the show for posterity. Don't know how I missed that jacket but I did. Would love to have met you too! Next time.
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Post by showgirl on Jan 21, 2017 23:37:01 GMT
Hooray, at last a musical at this venue that I could not merely endure but positively enjoy! I had consoled myself with the thought that if it was really tedious, I could leave at the interval - though that would still have been annoying - but to my delight I found I was looking forward to the second half and to finding out what happened.
One thing that probably helped was that there was more dialogue than in most other musicals I've seen and disliked at Southwark Playhouse, and quite witty dialogue at that. So I realise now that this might make a significant difference to my response to a show and thinking back, my heart has always sunk when it has become clear that a show was going to be wholly or largely sung-through.
It also helped that as others have said, the two leads were charming and had chemistry, and I thought the doctor and Marge were great, too. Still could have done with a shorter running time but at the end I was pleased to be able to join in with the enthusiastic applause.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 9:43:59 GMT
Saw this yesterday and had a most enjoyable afternoon. I've liked Gabriel Vick ever since seeing him in a little night music - he has great comic timing as well as a lovely voice. Daisy Maywood as Fran nicely underplayed and Alex Young and John Guerrasio were splendid as Marge and the doctor.
Several comments have been made about the clunky set changes: either they have got better or I'm not so bothered, as I felt all the furniture moving was quite smooth. The doors were a bit wobbly, but hey, it's a fringe venue, so you can't expect everything.
I was interested to see if the youngster in our party (who had no knowledge of "The Apartment" film) would find it dated or be misogynistic, but she didn't - quite capable of accepting that it was a show set in the far distant past of the sixties!
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Post by mallardo on Jan 23, 2017 16:58:45 GMT
Don't know how I missed that jacket but I did. Maybe because you are the type of person who looks beyond mere clothing, perhaps?
What are you implying, TM?
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Post by synchrony on Jan 23, 2017 18:02:45 GMT
I only wore it when entering and exiting the auditorium! During the show it was stuffed under my chair. I have a fear that it may interfere with performances in small venues in some way otherwise (I don't know exactly what I'm imagining, but I once inadvertently ruined someone's photos of an event because my coat was on the back of a chair and the reflective panels did strange things when the camera flash went off).
Also - it's for safety reasons when cycling. Not fashion. Just getting that in there ;-)
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Post by showgirl on Jan 23, 2017 19:16:05 GMT
Don't worry, synchrony - I'm sure we all assumed your high-vis jacket was for practical and prosaic reasons and not for anything kinky or untoward...
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Post by kenneth on Jan 23, 2017 22:47:52 GMT
Ok cast....way too long....and really badly directed
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Post by westendwendy on Jan 25, 2017 23:00:25 GMT
Saw this tonight. Farrrr toooo looooong but nice show. The opening scene of act two is hysterical and worth seeing for that alone. The owl joke had us screaming! Amazing chemistry as people have said, wobbly doors, too many set changes, moving plants and Sheldrake (Paul Robinson) should be a non singing role. 3 stars. Go and see it.
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Post by liverpool54321 on Jan 28, 2017 20:15:04 GMT
Saw the matinee today and really enjoyed it. Total run time was 2hr 45m. No idea where they shaved the time.
Gabriel Vick and Daisy Maywood we're fantastic in lead roles. Daisy ha such an effortless, yet very powerful and pure singing voice. Great supporting cast especially the other top leads playing the doctor and bar fly.
The audience seemed perfectly happy with the theme and at one point booed/hissed Sheldrake for his comments about commitment. Maybe they were all secretly booing Trump.
In some ways the story line works better today as we see through the male contingent. When it first came out some might have questioned why it appeared to put married men down out for a good time.
No wobbly doors just a wobbly plant that fell over and deposited its soil across the stage for most of first half despite best efforts of cast members to clear it up whilst performing.
My better half loved the show and two main leads. She would probably give it 5 stars. I'd give it 4.
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Post by Snciole on Jan 28, 2017 20:28:48 GMT
I saw this last week and was disappointed due to being a fan of the film. Crucially some of the song choices were really unnecessary. House is Not a Home make no sense when she isn't in a full committed relationship with Sheldrake. Paul Robinson has a stunning voice but hi acting was really poor, due to invisible microphone wire my boyfriend asked if the character was a cyborg.
Vick is great as Chuck and agree the second half improves it but the songs! The awful Basketball one, where the ensemble look more like rugby players (Shenton loved them naturally) and the even worse Turkey Lurkey. All Bacharach' tune sounded the same and whilst I understand why Say a Little Prayer for You was taken out it is good song that is needed here.
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