A Face in the Crowd - Young Vic

[annette]

I can’t work out what’s going on at the YT Marketing//Publicity Dept. They seemed to have gone AWOL when Passing Strange was announced and then playing. It seemed to fly completely under the radar and deserved so much better than to be virtually ignored by the press/other media.

I can see why that one,despite starring the fabulous Giles Terera might have been a hard sell, but I would have thought a musical written by Elvis Costello and book adapted by the award winning writer Sarah Ruhl would at least have stirred up some interest (at the very least from die-hard Ramin Karimloo fans), but again it seems to be a show with no profile that a lot of theatre goers haven’t heard of.

I’m sure the cancelled shows haven’t helped build up any word of mouth and I personally won’t get to see it until mid-October, but I hope some more reviews start to appear on the Board soon. What’s the point of having a brand new musical with that writing pedigree/Leading man and then make no attempt to sell it? Very strange behaviour from the YT powers-that-be,unless the show is a complete turkey ( but as I said, Passing Strange ( a Pulitzer and TonyAward winner) got the same treatment and that was most definitely not a stinker, quite the opposite in fact).

[MrBunbury]

I saw it on Monday night and I thought it is very good. I was in the first row so apart from wondering if I should have been at rehearsal in case I was involved into something, I had a great view. Ramin Karimloo is really spectacular: he was the first 'Phantom' I have ever seen so it was great to see him again in something very different. Regarding the song in the second act where the audience might resist the idea of clapping, I can say that while the cast was encouraging us to clap, I did not do it because I was aware the song represented ideas of patriotism, availability of guns, and anti-immigration feelings that I would definitely not endorse in reality; but it is a clever way the production uses to show how quickly people are drawn into supporting radical positions when a politician plays on their emotional chords. It is a bit depressing to think that we are still as gullible towards TV celebrities and populist rhetoric as the people represented in the original movie sixty-seven years ago.

[mrbarnaby]

There doesn’t seem to be a huge number of tickets left for this over any dates - so maybe it’s a conscious decision to save money and let the show sell itself. If it gets decent reviews, pretty sure that will sell the remaining tickets.

[BurlyBeaR]

We had this “let’s trick the audience into clapping to something dodgy” thing with A Strange Loop didn’t we. I think it’s a very odd and disrespectful way to treat your audience. If the show can’t get a message across without using cheap tricks at the expense of the audience then I’d suggest there’s something lacking in the writing and/or direction.

[annette]

Sept 18, 2024 9:33:33 GMT mrbarnaby said:

There doesn’t seem to be a huge number of tickets left for this over any dates - so maybe it’s a conscious decision to save money and let the show sell itself. If it gets decent reviews, pretty sure that will sell the remaining tickets.

That might be it.
If that is a money saving strategy it didn’t work so well for Passing Strange unfortunately.

[annette]

Sept 18, 2024 9:34:44 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

We had this “let’s trick the audience into clapping to something dodgy” thing with A Strange Loop didn’t we. I think it’s a very odd and disrespectful way to treat your audience. If the show can’t get a message across without using cheap tricks at the expense of the audience then I’d suggest there’s something lacking in the writing and/or direction.

I agree. I absolutely loved ASL and saw it both here and on Broadway,the only thing I didn’t appreciate was the ‘God’s Miracle’ clapping encouragement. It felt like an inappropriately hostile act towards an audience who,as far as I could tell,were obviously in tune with the subject matter of the show. I didn’t see the point of deliberately making those who went along with the clapping feel foolish for not immediately cottoning on to what they were clapping along to.

[foxa]

Looking forward to seeing this next weekend. For those who want to know a little bit more about it, it is based on a film which regained popularity after the election of a certain US president. It's about a immoral populist entertainer who becomes a politician. If you can find it - it's a really enjoyable film with a great central performance by Andy Griffith.
This trailer will give you an idea:

[lonlad]

Are everyone's voices now back (those who clocked Saturday's cancelled performances will know what I mean)

[lotster]

I must confess I booked this for Ramin. Sounds like it's quite a different role for him. Tell me he's still fantastic?

[hamletothello]

Sept 18, 2024 11:51:01 GMT lotster said:

I must confess I booked this for Ramin. Sounds like it's quite a different role for him. Tell me he's still fantastic?

He is. It was such a thrill seeing him up close!

[sf]

Saw it this evening.

There's a lot to admire, and a lot of potential, and some of it is great - and there are a few things that need a bit more work. If the same two-month run had been scheduled at, say, Playwrights Horizons or the Public in New York, there'd have been a lot more than a week's worth of previews before press night.

On the plus side, very strong performances and a spectacular star turn from Ramin Karimloo. A lot of the score is terrific. Good set, the lighting still could use a few tweaks, appropriate costumes. Still a few pacing issues, but it's early days and they've had to cancel a few performances so that's understandable.

Things that need work: Olly Dobson's character (the Walter Matthau role in the film) is badly underwritten and his two songs both need a bit of tweaking. The first one, in particular, could do with the lyrics being a fair bit more self-lacerating, and the say-guys-won't-you-sing-with-me song cue feels like it has crept in from an entirely different show, and it has to go. The song cues, in general, are an area where Costello and Ruhl could stand to do a bit more tweaking. Quite a few lines all the way through just need a little bit of sharpening - but I'm not sure how much of that is about the writing and how much of it is just about the cast needing a few more performances under their belt. I'm going back at the end of October, and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves between now and then.

Overall - a fascinating, complex, often thoroughly entertaining show that is *nearly* a major triumph. It needs a bit more work, but it deserves a life after this production.

And I hope at some point there'll be a cast recording.

[unseaworthy]

Sept 19, 2024 0:24:37 GMT sf said:

Saw it this evening.

There's a lot to admire, and a lot of potential, and some of it is great - and there are a few things that need a bit more work. If the same two-month run had been scheduled at, say, Playwrights Horizons or the Public in New York, there'd have been a lot more than a week's worth of previews before press night.

On the plus side, very strong performances and a spectacular star turn from Ramin Karimloo. A lot of the score is terrific. Good set, the lighting still could use a few tweaks, appropriate costumes. Still a few pacing issues, but it's early days and they've had to cancel a few performances so that's understandable.

Things that need work: Olly Dobson's character (the Walter Matthau role in the film) is badly underwritten and his two songs both need a bit of tweaking. The first one, in particular, could do with the lyrics being a fair bit more self-lacerating, and the say-guys-won't-you-sing-with-me song cue feels like it has crept in from an entirely different show, and it has to go. The song cues, in general, are an area where Costello and Ruhl could stand to do a bit more tweaking. Quite a few lines all the way through just need a little bit of sharpening - but I'm not sure how much of that is about the writing and how much of it is just about the cast needing a few more performances under their belt. I'm going back at the end of October, and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves between now and then.

Overall - a fascinating, complex, often thoroughly entertaining show that is *nearly* a major triumph. It needs a bit more work, but it deserves a life after this production.

And I hope at some point there'll be a cast recording.

Thanks for this review, I am really interested in seeing this - I just hope the tickets don't all sell out before payday!

[theatremiss]

I’m at this tomorrow evening. I have to admit I booked for Ramin, judge me if you want. But, I do like the sound of this though. May be a relief after Coriolanus at NT in the afternoon.

[showtoones]

Sept 20, 2024 17:05:40 GMT theatremiss said:

I’m at this tomorrow evening. I have to admit I booked for Ramin, judge me if you want. But, I do like the sound of this though. May be a relief after Coriolanus at NT in the afternoon.

Judge you?!? I applaud you…he’s so talented and so good looking.

[Afriley]

Oooooh.

There was some good stuff here. And I’ll preface with the fact that country etc is not my favourite genre in any shape or form. It all sort of melted into one for me and I don’t remember a single tune. The clap-a-long thing was extremely cringe.

Emotionally this felt flat for me. A shame as the two leads are exceptionally talented. There is a story here, too, and it’s a timely one.

I think the show needed a couple of workshops to finesse it. It needed to be a little less po faced and a little faster paced. Cut a good 20-25 mins from it. Get, for gods sakes, a less am dram set.

Overall I wanted to be wowed (as I expected to be by Ramin and co) but was left cold.

[max]

Mostly 3 star reviews for this, and too many 2 star reviews for comfort.  Of major press, only The Telegraph gets to 4.

Seems generally appreciated for music and performances, but a sense it doesn't quite hit the heights, and can't satirise what is currently beyond satire in the USA.

I like the sound of it, and production shots - looking forward to seeing it mid October.

Review Round Up:

www.westendtheatre.com/254863/news/reviews/a-face-in-the-crowd-reviews-round-up-the-young-vic/

[justinj]

Really wasn’t a fan of this. It’s a shame because the actors are good, but the whole production just feels very amateur.
I felt like I was watching a school play with west end actors.
I have to say I haven’t really enjoyed anything much at the young vic in a while. I won’t be sad to see Kwame go.

[frankubelik]

Went in with trepidation since, like "justinj" have not enjoyed anything at the YV for years (HATED Oklahoma!) so was pleasantly surprised. Shame it has been so poorly directed.......It's an interesting story but lacks a hard edge and the songs simply forgettable. Ramin is excellent but I could have done with an "11 O'Clock Number" for him and would have liked a stronger female lead. I had a major issue with the sound (from the fourth row) meaning many of the lyrics were incomprehensible which for such a small venue, was poor.

[ceebee]

Underpowered and under-directed... this doesn't bode well for when I see it...

[jr]

I find Kwame Kwei-Armah’s YV period very underwhelming. I did not think they did much during close down, while other theatres were supporting writers and performers. The scandal with his mate Idris Elba (basically stealing from 2 female playwrights if I remember well), his criticism of Cybourne park (a much superior play to his Beneatha's place), his constant self-promoting and huge ego arw really off-putting.

Hopefully the new artistic director will do better.

[max]

Sept 24, 2024 7:09:49 GMT jr said:

I find Kwame Kwei-Armah’s YV period very underwhelming. I did not think they did much during close down, while other theatres were supporting writers and performers. The scandal with his mate Idris Elba (basically stealing from 2 female playwrights if I remember well), his criticism of Cybourne park (a much superior play to his Beneatha's place), his constant self-promoting and huge ego arw really off-putting.

Hopefully the new artistic director will do better.

What you describe as the 'scandal' with two female playwrights is a grey area in my book.  I know of two other occasions where they joined someone else's project and ownership became disputed; they're either very unlucky or have a way of operating that's unclear. The other incidents were before the Young Vic. One of these got described online from the other perspective, the production company they had joined (it's still online*), the other wasn't voiced publicly but I heard about it direct from the writer. Joint ownership and collaboration is difficult - someone who thinks they brought the ingredient that transformed a piece can feel they have huge ownership. Others see it another way.

*I'm not going to bring all the specifics onto theatreboard - names can be googled.  I just want to stand up a bit for the 50/50 of this situation where Kwame Kwei-Armah's tenure is being weighed up.

[lotster]

I saw this last night. Originally booked because of Ramin Karimloo. I went in with pretty low expectations, having read the comments on here and some reviews. I really enjoyed it. It's certainly got flaws, and I agree with the sound issues, but for me watching his performance was a treat. He is such a charismatic presence, it was good to see him do some straight acting and perform songs in a very different style. A few of the songs were good, but most quite average. A star turn in an average show.

[singingbird]

I was there last night and found this delightful. It was witty, stylish and brilliantly acted (I had no idea Ramin was so charismatic, but the whole cast were fabulous), and the songs were beautiful, with lyrical and original images and yearning melodies.

On the downside, it was nowhere near as dark and hard-hitting as I was expecting, and neither was it particularly inventive, either in its storytelling or direction. I was expecting something artier and grittier, going by the writer, songwriter and poster. It's a pretty traditionally structured musical comedy, albeit a fairly contemporary take on the genre. But after bemoaning recently the lack of new musicals aimed at an adult audience, this at least offers some balance to that.

I was in the second row and the sound balance was clear as a bell where I was.

Thoroughly enjoyable. I really hope we get a cast recording.

[thistimetomorrow]

This kind of felt a bit Tammy Faye-esque to me, but Ramin and Anoushka (who I normally love in literally everything she's done) didn't pull me in as much as Katie and Andrew did. Maybe it's the writing and the characters themselves (or the big numbers weren't as impactful?? Idk).

[foxa]

Saw this on Saturday and while it was entertaining with a couple of good numbers (particularly the title song) and a hard-working ensemble (particular shout out to the female singer/dancers - I enjoyed everything they did),it somehow didn't really add up. Ramin was very good and gave an intelligent performance of a role which didn't naturally fit him. Anoushka struggled to make sense of her role, though she has a lovely voice. The production was patchy - the main set replicated a 1950s television studio which seemed right and used levels well, but the scene changes were awkward. Confetti thrown early in Act 2 was then left onstage in every subsequent scene which just looked wrong. Some of the costumes were ill-fitting and sometimes a bit bizarre. Marcia, the female lead character, at one point was wearing brown stacked ankle boots, navy blue wide-legged trousers with a  stiff A-line mid-calf length skirt over them, and a lacy tight stretchy top, with a brown short tartan jacket over it. Why? None of that seemed right for the period (1950s) or character. It was like her house was on fire and she just put on anything she could grab.
A little social/political context might have helped make sense of what was being satirised.

There were a couple of laugh out loud moment (including one about baton twirling) and it didn't bore me for a second. My theatre companion said they liked it much more than Passing Strange. A solid 3 stars.