151 posts
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Post by gra on Nov 9, 2016 17:10:18 GMT
Pleased someone else on the forum saw and appreciated the fantastic Arts Ed production.
As you say, this will be hard to beat!
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19 posts
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Post by staygee on Jan 27, 2017 0:31:27 GMT
Well this certainly got me fired up about seeing this! So excited.
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Jan 27, 2017 6:57:53 GMT
I have a ticket for the final show. Love me some SharonDClarke and love this score.
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4,171 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Jan 27, 2017 7:31:46 GMT
Well this certainly got me fired up about seeing this! So excited. Nice pi. Love that fro! |
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134 posts
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Post by spendleb on Jan 27, 2017 16:10:42 GMT
Love hearing about a show for the first time and then discovering the cast recording!!
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Post by firefingers on Jan 27, 2017 23:30:06 GMT
Full cast announced.
Joining Sharon D Clarke and Cornell S John are:
John Addison (The Go-Between), Lawrence Carmichael (South Pacific) and Jo Servi (Dirty Dancing UK tour), David Albury (Exposure: The Musical), Jalisa Andrews (Sister Act), Matthew Caputo (Mary Poppins), Omari Douglas (Annie Get Your Gun), Aisha Jawando (Motown: The Musical),
Thomas-Lee Kidd (Mary Poppins), Charlotte Reavey (American Idiot), Lucinda Shaw (Cats UK tour), Johnathan Tweedie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), T'Shan Williams (The Book of Mormon) and Joanna Woodward (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).
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19 posts
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Post by staygee on Jan 28, 2017 9:24:37 GMT
I saw T'Shan Williams in Love Me Tender a couple of years back and she absolutely blew me away. I can't wait to see her in this role.
And major kudos for snagging Joanna Woodward for Mary. This is a pretty great cast for Southwark!
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1,502 posts
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Post by foxa on Feb 23, 2017 17:41:46 GMT
I'd never heard of this show and had missed this discussion. But got an email from The Southwark Playhouse flagging it up and on the basis of the director (I think Blakemore is properly good) and Sharon D. Clarke and heck, it's a Cy Coleman musical, I've booked. Don't really know what to expect....
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 8, 2017 15:15:41 GMT
Win tickets for this in our new competition  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 15:26:30 GMT
I keep reading this as 'That's Life' and start wondering who is playing Esther Rantzen.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 16:22:34 GMT
I'm really looking forward to seeing this, especially to hear How the actress playin Queen sounds, having only ever heard Pamela Isaacs on the OBCR. She has such a distinctive voice. It's not the prettiest voice, but has a tone that suited the character perfectly. I love both of her solo numbers, I'm leaving you and He's No Good.
I'm going on the 27th March
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Mar 8, 2017 16:57:39 GMT
Sweet. I'm seeing the final show. Can't wait.
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1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Mar 25, 2017 19:01:45 GMT
Just seen the first preview and very much enjoyed it despite a few moans.
First it's too long, clocking in at nearly three hours. It might tighten up a bit but there's not much room to do this as it's nearly all music with not much dialogue. The book's a bit of a mess with no real arc to the story line but you do care for the characters. Act one drives along (because of the music) act two drags a bit.
But the positives...
The music is fantastic in Coleman's characteristic jazz/gospel/soul style and it's very well performed by an extremely talented cast.
Sharon D. Clarke is simply tremendous in every way, both vocally and timing her spoken one-liners to perfection. Her first song is so immaculately performed it virtually stops the show; this is a bit of a problem as it comes only about 20 mins in and there is nothing after that that quite touches it.
Excellent direction from Blakemore - the audience went wild at the end!
Despite reservations - highly recommended.
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406 posts
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Post by MrBunbury on Mar 25, 2017 22:39:04 GMT
Just seen the first preview and very much enjoyed it despite a few moans. First it's too long, clocking in at nearly three hours. It might tighten up a bit but there's not much room to do this as it's nearly all music with not much dialogue. The book's a bit of a mess with no real arc to the story line but you do care for the characters. Act one drives along (because of the music) act two drags a bit. But the positives... The music is fantastic in Coleman's characteristic jazz/gospel/soul style and it's very well performed by an extremely talented cast. Sharon D. Clarke is simply tremendous in every way, both vocally and timing her spoken one-liners to perfection. Her first song is so immaculately performed it virtually stops the show; this is a bit of a problem as it comes only about 20 mins in and there is nothing after that that quite touches it. Excellent direction from Blakemore - the audience went wild at the end! Despite reservations - highly recommended. I was there too and I agree completely. Sharon D. Clarke is amazing and it is a very good production. the book is what it is but overall the music is great and everyone work hard to give the best possible performance. They seemed very pleased when we gave them the standing ovation at the end. |
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1,280 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Mar 26, 2017 14:37:00 GMT
And I was there too for the first preview and enjoyed it very much. It is a bit too long and the book is weak, too many songs and too little dialogue, but there's is so much energy on stage that one soon forgets the flaws and gets carried away with what shines in front of your eyes. Sharon D Clarke is truly wonderful and her rendition of The Oldest Profesion is one of the highlights of this production. Great cast brilliantly directed by Michael Blakemore. Really hope it will get good reviews.
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 26, 2017 14:48:40 GMT
First it's too long, clocking in at nearly three hours. It might tighten up a bit but there's not much room to do this as it's nearly all music with not much dialogue. That puts me off instantly. The Southwark is cramped and the seating uncomfortable at the best of times but expecting punters to sit there for 3 hours is too much. Get that red pen out and cut it. Even if it means jettisoning some songs. |
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Mar 26, 2017 14:57:46 GMT
Can't wait to see this. Loved the score since the '90s. And adore Sharon D. Clarke. Her Caroline Or Change will be a smash. Ship it to London, please.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2017 16:59:52 GMT
The back row of the centre block has amazing leg room. I always sit there, And has the best views in theatre.
I'm really looking forward to finally seeing this. I've been singing 'piece of the action' all day. Unfortunately I can't stand the show stopper The Oldest Profession. It's one of those I always skip when listening to the score.
Will be there tomorrow.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Mar 26, 2017 19:00:06 GMT
Also was there for the first preview! It is sooo amazing! Would love to see at again, wish it had a longer rub  Sharon's voice makes me cry from happiness. She is a theatre goddess for me... Now I need the album! This show is now on top of my recommendations list It was a bit longer than I expected, but seriously - it was first preview! They are supposed to start later, to have longer breaks and get pace later. After all, you've all paid a preview price Pretty sure it will be a 2 30 in a few days. |
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1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Mar 26, 2017 19:12:08 GMT
For once the sound balance was really good (although it also was for Promises,Promises) - maybe a few years in to their 'new' venue they're finally getting the measure of it.
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225 posts
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Post by madsonmelo on Mar 26, 2017 21:34:57 GMT
I don't know anything from this, but I will listen to the score and maybe will book a ticket, it will be at the last of my London trip tho.
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19 posts
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Post by staygee on Mar 27, 2017 13:21:07 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2017 13:31:06 GMT
God love Sharon, she's come a long way since attempting to become the UK Eurovision representative. I may sing this to her during a quieter moment. I think she'll love that.
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1,046 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 27, 2017 13:59:13 GMT
Wow, this sounds amazing! Never heard of any of those performers before but Joanna Woodward sounds like she has an incredible voice! I'm not familiar with this show at all, but the more I hear about it the more excited I am about seeing it next week 😄 |
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1,477 posts
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Post by Steve on Mar 27, 2017 14:03:03 GMT
Saw the second preview, Saturday night, and loved it! A cheesetastic celebration of seventies dress-up and attitude, with a few disconcerting moments of genuine drama! Some spoilers follow. . . This is far too exuberant to be taken seriously. While dramatic threads are seeded from the moment we meet the characters, with David Albury's money-wasting, cocaine-snorting, loser-pimp Fleetwood seeding most of them, it's impossible to take any of this seriously. Cy Coleman's rousing sing-em-louder melodies, coupled with lurid seventies costume stylings and chorus-line type dancing announce this show as a fun camp exercise in let-your-hair-down-and-dress-up-and-cheer party time! This is the most sheer fun at the Southwark since Xanadu closed, a kind of reverse Porgy and Bess, in that Gershwin even made "Summertime" sound miserable, whereas Coleman makes "The Oldest Profession" sound like party-time, for Sharon D. Clarke's aging lady of the night, Sonja. And nobody is as ready to party as Sharon D. Clarke, who, equipped with full on Pam Grier comebacks and sass, melts into an astonishing full-voiced, meticulously calibrated rendition of "The Oldest Profession" that brings the house down. Even if it's just for this one song, no musical lover should miss her magnificent voice filling this small Southwark Space with this moment of glory. Real drama comes from Cornel S John, who in his own way, is just as impressive as Clarke in his role as primo pimp, Memphis. He has a slow motion way of moving his immensely imposing frame, especially in the way he touches his face with his hands, which, when coupled with his slow deep drawl of a voice screams, watch out! When he sings "Don't Take Much," it's an awesome combination of heartfelt blues and impending threat. He also forms a neat double-act with his number one moll, Charlottle Reavey's imposing April. When the threat drops in Act 2, it is nonetheless jarring, despite having been foreshadowed, in much the way it's jarring when you watch any postmodern cheesefest, like "Bad Girls" or "Prisoner Cell Block H" and suddenly something happens that feels a bit too real. The cast are all singing and dancing wonders. I loved the sensitivity of David Albury's Fleetwood, T'Shan Williams carries the sympathies of the audience effortlessly with her affecting performance, Jalisa Andrew's sparky Chi Chi benefits from her ability to project her voice at just the right moment, and Jo Servi's Lacy is so natural. Joanna Woodward, who recently graduated to play Carole King for a short while in "Beautiful," here returns to her wheelhouse, which is playing the borderline of innocence and experience, someone who can endure hard knocks and come up smiling. With burlesque in her background, it is she who is called on to play one of the most exploitational moments in the show (which moment might cause feminists, without a sense of humour, not to want to book), yet she projects such joie de vivre, and has such a graceful and sensitive way of transitioning from speaking to singing, that I was bowled over by her performance in this. So if you book this, know it's all just seventies dress-up, politically incorrect to a degree that will offend the po-faced, really just camp provocative fun, rated 18, blessed by Cy Coleman's glorious tunes, and you will have one of your best nights of the year! 4 and a half stars. |
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