138 posts
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Post by appoul on Aug 12, 2024 21:34:20 GMT
Fabulous evening just what the doctor ordered. Really hope maybe with west end woofs we may get annual Concerts as regardless of if her voice is what it was I just find her a joy to watch and be on stage. Really lovely evening with some touching moments. There seemed to be a queue at stage door which I was tempted to get into but alas my 5am wake up call has made common sense take Over. I totally agree!!! It was a fabulous evening indeed! She knows how to charm an audience. Everybody seem to enjoy it, several standing ovations (most notably after "I'm losing my mind" and "You got to have a gimmick". Unfortunately there was not enough space on the stage and the choreography for the trio was not what it could have been. Yes, there was a queue but as I was passing by it, I heard a member of the staff say that the artists would not be coming out so people started leaving. |
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Post by alece10 on Aug 13, 2024 9:00:57 GMT
A thoroughly ejoyable evening seeing Bernadette again. What she has lost vocally she makes up in personality and interpretation.
the concert was about 1 hour 45mins with no interval which was great for me but quite a lot of people in the stalls seemed to suffer from no interval judging by the amount of people getting up and down presumably going to the toilet.
It was a mixed range of songs, almost all MT related and, as expected, a large chunk was Sondheim. I had pretty much heard her do all of those Songs in the past and it was nice to hear some other stuff which included a few R&H songs, a couple of standards and 2 songs from Hello Dolly.
A favourite was Gimmick from Gypsy with Joanna Riding and Bonnie Langford. We got both splits and a high kick from Bonnie!
Nicky Visage was sitting in the row in front and Elaine Paige 2 rows in front.
Now this should be in the bad behaviour thread but I have another story for there and, also, this story is so hilarious I just cant bring myself to put it there.
The opening music starts and someone 2 rows in front starts filming on their phone. FOH staff member comes over and tries unsuccessfully to get their attention for a while. Eventually they notice and I can see the woman mouthing to the the FOH staff "I am Elaine Paige"! She does then stop filming probably because the young girl had never even heard of EP and was having none of it.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 13, 2024 9:06:08 GMT
EP pulling the “do you know who I am?” stunt.
Tut Tut Elaine.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Aug 13, 2024 9:23:58 GMT
Ugh. Elaine Paige is the worst.
Did she have a booster cushion?
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Post by alece10 on Aug 13, 2024 9:26:12 GMT
Ugh. Elaine Paige is the worst. Did she have a booster cushion? Lol. That's exactly what I said at the time. |
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Post by Being Alive on Aug 13, 2024 9:55:04 GMT
The audience was a who's who of 'who wasn't in a show on Monday and was free to take a comp' which was fun.
It was a bit of a weird concert because it didn't have an interval and it did feel like it needed one - 1 hr 45 is a long time to be sat for a solo concert with no break.
Still had a really nice time - she did all the hits, did them as well as Bernadette always does, and Gimmick with Jo and Bonnie was great value.
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 13, 2024 12:17:57 GMT
This was a wonderful evening. Despite her age and the odd off note here and there, she was dripping in sensuality.
She did seem to attract a certain demographic of male, but they were lapping it up.
A fairly small orchestra she covered several Rogers & Hammerstein songs from South Pacific, Carousel and State Fair. The song ‘Fever’ draped across the piano, A song from Reds and Hello Dolly
However most of the songs were that of Stephen Sondheim.
In addition to the Sondheim show last year, I have been lucky enough to see Ms Peters perform twice here and once on the Sydney Opera House back home, which, when interviewed, she often refers to as a personal career highlight.
In one format or another, I had heard all of these songs sung by her before. Likewise the two jokes she told.
She obviously has varying set lists that she mixes up but there a reason why she’s often referred to as Broadway Royalty. Every gesture, movement of the hand- pure class!
I was sitting next to alec10. We had two guys in front of us, one of which was wearing a hat (lots of peering around the hat) and was so overly enthusiastic that towards the end his head tilted to the right and fell asleep!
Michelle Visage was the in the row in front and Elaine Paige- with that laugh- a few rows in front of that. I didn’t really see anyone else, though at one point Send in the Clowns was sung- you could hear a pin drop- and she made reference to Alexandar Hanson- with who she stated against- who was in the audience.
Unfortunately, I fear she is part of a dying breed of ‘old school’ Broadway performers who can interpret and act through a song.
Her interaction with both Bonnie Langford and Joanna Rinding in ‘You Gotta Get A Gimmick’ could not be matched. With multiple standing ovations the praise from the audience was returned with her complimenting the audience.
Genuinely, I feel so privileged to have seen her!
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Post by alece10 on Aug 13, 2024 14:36:52 GMT
Thinking again about her set list I would have loved for her to have done a number from Tell Me On A Sunday especially as she was in one of The Lords theatres.
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Post by theatreian on Aug 13, 2024 15:22:23 GMT
From the later version, one of my favourites.
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Post by capybara on Aug 13, 2024 23:40:17 GMT
There is something so special about seeing Bernadette perform live. I saw her in Old Friends four times last year and every single performance was dripping in charisma, joy and the genuine impression that she is feeling every emotion of each song for the very first time.
Monday night at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was not different. Her setlist ticked off what everyone had come to see. She sang a few Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers, including a blistering rendition of ‘There Is Nothing Like a Dame’ from South Pacific.
Her numbers from Hello, Dolly! were a joy too. I’d really been hoping to hear her ‘So Long Dearie’ and it was magnificent. She even told some pretty decent jokes, the woman really can do it all.
But when you shell out to see Bernadette, you’re really paying to see her masterful takes on Stephen Sondheim’s body of work. Nobody quite feels every note in the way that BP does, crystallised by the deserved standing ovation following ‘Losing My Mind’.
Bernadette’s earnest, and often sultry, performance moves people in a way I’ve not seen many artists manage with their sheer presence. The woman behind me was in tears from the second number (‘No One Is Alone’) and the chap next to me was blubbing away during ‘Send In The Clowns’.
But her range of emotions is quite remarkable and, joined by special guests Bonnie Langford and Joanna Riding, the trio resumed their hilarious ‘You Gotta Get a Gimmick’ routine from Old Friends. Cue a second standing ovation.
The night was rounded off with ‘Being Alive’ (third standing ovation), followed by ‘Move On (fourth standing ovation) and, finally, a lullaby written by Bernadette herself for an old pet.
Of course vocally she is not as strong as 25, 30 years ago but she still sounds sublime. And with Bernadette, it’s about so much more. She makes you *feel* things other performances simply can’t. What a joyous evening. Let’s hope we get another one next summer.
That being said, I wasn’t a massive fan of some of the arrangements from what felt like quite a sparse orchestra. I know that’s how certain numbers have always been performed at BP’s concerts but it did lose some of the gravitas for me, compared to Old Friends.
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Post by alece10 on Aug 14, 2024 7:43:01 GMT
Just been pointed out on a Facebook theatre page I said Nicky Visage and it should be Michelle Visage. In my defence at first I thought she was called Nicky Minage until Anthony40 corrected me.
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Post by distantcousin on Aug 14, 2024 10:36:27 GMT
Just been pointed out on a Facebook theatre page I said Nicky Visage and it should be Michelle Visage. In my defence at first I thought she was called Nicky Minage until Anthony40 corrected me. OH! I figured Nicky Visage was some niche/Gen Z celeb or influencer I'd never heard of! Michelle Visage is a VERY different matter! ICON! |
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Post by distantcousin on Aug 14, 2024 10:40:06 GMT
Unfortunately, I fear she is part of a dying breed of ‘old school’ Broadway performers who can interpret and act through a song. Her interaction with both Bonnie Langford and Joanna Rinding in ‘You Gotta Get A Gimmick’ could not be matched. With multiple standing ovations the praise from the audience was returned with her complimenting the audience. Genuinely, I feel so privileged to have seen her! I think you could be right - is there anyone under 40 or 50 on Broadway or the West End who truly has this skill anymore? |
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Post by shownut on Aug 14, 2024 10:50:33 GMT
Unfortunately, I fear she is part of a dying breed of ‘old school’ Broadway performers who can interpret and act through a song. Her interaction with both Bonnie Langford and Joanna Rinding in ‘You Gotta Get A Gimmick’ could not be matched. With multiple standing ovations the praise from the audience was returned with her complimenting the audience. Genuinely, I feel so privileged to have seen her! I think you could be right - is there anyone under 40 or 50 on Broadway or the West End who truly has this skill anymore? Plenty. Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Jessie Mueller, Rachel Tucker, Hannah Waddingham, Cassie Levy, Heather Headley, Patina Miller, Laura Benanti, and arguably, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster etc..... Shall I go on?.... |
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Post by alece10 on Aug 14, 2024 11:01:54 GMT
Just been pointed out on a Facebook theatre page I said Nicky Visage and it should be Michelle Visage. In my defence at first I thought she was called Nicky Minage until Anthony40 corrected me. OH! I figured Nicky Visage was some niche/Gen Z celeb or influencer I'd never heard of! Michelle Visage is a VERY different matter! ICON! I wouldn't know a Gen Z or influencer if they came up and slapped me in the face 😀 |
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Post by distantcousin on Aug 14, 2024 11:42:24 GMT
I think you could be right - is there anyone under 40 or 50 on Broadway or the West End who truly has this skill anymore? Plenty. Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Jessie Mueller, Rachel Tucker, Hannah Waddingham, Cassie Levy, Heather Headley, Patina Miller, Laura Benanti, and arguably, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster etc..... Shall I go on?.... Thank you! I'm not that familiar with most of them, so I'll take your word for it. Although many of those aren't under 50. |
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Post by capybara on Aug 16, 2024 8:46:45 GMT
I was just thinking, what was the song she sang from Anyone Can Whistle? It’s slipped me mind (not title song or trumpets IIRC).
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 16, 2024 8:50:24 GMT
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Post by theatreian on Aug 17, 2024 15:55:45 GMT
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 18, 2024 10:23:16 GMT
That is a fantastic review theatreian! |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Aug 18, 2024 10:26:43 GMT
Thanks for posting, I would love to hear her sing So long dearie |
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 18, 2024 10:32:34 GMT
Thanks for posting, I would love to hear her sing So long dearie (I could be wrong, but) I'm sure she did on the night. |
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