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Post by hulmeman on Sept 8, 2017 17:48:46 GMT
The local TV news up here in't north has been awash with stories about this show and whilst watching some interviews tonight it occurred to me that a show of this size would normally have lots of previews before opening. As has been mentioned before, "Cilla" has had only one. Does this suggest they are sure of their production or has it been cobbled together?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 8, 2017 19:02:27 GMT
Short rehearsal time by the sounds of it. Quelle Surprise (Surpise!)
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Post by theatreian on Sept 8, 2017 21:18:40 GMT
Yes saw a brief interview with Kara and she mentioned a 2 week rehearsal period. Very intense.
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Post by hulmeman on Sept 9, 2017 15:50:04 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 9, 2017 16:20:53 GMT
Ooh it looks good! Glad I booked now! 😊
And those bitch friends of mine who scoffed and said it would be pants can kiss my astrakhan coat! 👍
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Post by WireHangers on Sept 10, 2017 9:39:07 GMT
I'm a bit miffed that Kara isn't a Northern actress.
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Post by hulmeman on Sept 10, 2017 9:46:46 GMT
My oldest friend, who is very experienced in the ways of musical theatre went to see Saturday matinee (obviously couldn't get tickets for Everton v. Spurs) and has pronounced it "wonderful". Brilliant cast, innovative and atmospheric staging, excellent script, but too long, which is the fault of the musical numbers rather than the script. He admired the directors cheek for the shameless way a standing ovation is engineered at the end and has recommended me to go, so last train to Lime Street for moi!
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Post by showgirl on Sept 10, 2017 18:20:43 GMT
Never had any interest in Cilla Black but on the basis of the enthusiastic comments here and links to great reviews, I've now booked to see this, so thank you to everyone who posted these. Also very useful to have the running time which confirmed that it'd be safest to stick to a matinee, but at least they're (slightly) cheaper for seniors. Now I do hope Kara Lily Hayworth is doing all the shows as it seems a heavy schedule with 3 matinees per week plus the 6 evenings.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 10, 2017 20:29:28 GMT
Had a bit of a Cilla-fest tonight while I was cooking my dinner. I was introduced to her sixties stuff by an ex, until then I saw her as a joke. She really did have a great voice when she was a kid and it's a shame she became a joke singing-wise although of course she became the highest paid female on uK TV so probably wasn't that fussed herself.
She was better than Dusty. Yup. I said it. Better than Dusty.
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Post by theatreian on Sept 10, 2017 21:13:29 GMT
Yes she did some great stuff in the 60's. Coming from a scouser she is really under rated as a singer as most just know her as a tv star. That's what's great but the TV drama and this musical, it takes it back to where it all began for Cilla.
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Post by boybooshka on Sept 10, 2017 21:40:54 GMT
She was better than Dusty. Yup. I said it. Better than Dusty. I really like her, but come on really? Lol Hoping the choreography for the show is inspired by numbers such as the one below from her to show in the seventies. |
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Post by hulmeman on Sept 10, 2017 22:58:28 GMT
You are gonna fry in hell for that Mr BeaR |
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Post by ilovewemusicals on Sept 11, 2017 6:12:14 GMT
I went to the press night on Friday evening; script writer Jeff Pope, Cilla's son, Bill Kenwright and Paul O'Grady were there. All lovely to fans except for Kenwright.
Verdict: Kara Hayworth was a strong Cilla but I felt her performance went from Cilla impersonation to Kara as herself. The two elements of her portrayal need to gel together more. I felt she did achieve this wonderfully during the song Alfie - which gave me goosebumps and one of the best renditions ever. Sadly the big Act One closer "Anyone Who Had A Heart" I felt was orchestrated wrong. The instruments overpowering the vocals. Plus still not sure why all of the big numbers are staged at the side of the stage rather than the centre.
Carl Au as Bobby was a star. He really can sing and act... Great chemistry with Kara too.
Staging: A bit strange. The Cavern club does not have the famous wall, it's just a stage and could be anywhere. Everything seems very simplistic but it does work and I was O.K. with it.
The main problem for me was the length of Act Two. It felt like too many non-Cilla songs were added to pad out the time and give Kara a break. The duet between Cilla and Bobby, although good, was so very random at the moment they broke up. They have broken up, why are they singing this sweet song? It would have been nice to see this expanded running time used to examine more of Cilla's later career like Blind Date and Surprise, Surprise. I also did not see an Old Cilla despite one being mentioned in the original cast list. The darker side of Cilla from the TV show has also been lessened, maybe as a result of this now being a tribute to her life - I kind of get that.
Overall though, I was entertained. The story is very intriguing and the Merseybeat scene in the 60s was unparalleled. **SPOILERS** The audience was fairly badly behaved, as I have just read they were at The Band. Singing along to a Beatles song, saying "Brian's dead" before that was revealed and "it's gone to number one". Stupid. It was nice to see the show in Liverpool though; references to Everton FC and Cilla being from Wales got the reactions you would expect. I am going again when the show visits Stoke and hoping that Kara will have developed her Cilla to an even better one.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 11, 2017 7:12:56 GMT
You are gonna fry in hell for that Mr BeaR Hee hee  |
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Post by stevej678 on Sept 11, 2017 7:26:45 GMT
Held off booking this but after reading the reviews have decided to take the plunge and see it in Liverpool tonight. Like showgirl , I can't pretend to have a great interest in Cilla Black but I could say the same about Carole King and I loved Beautiful so really looking forward to it. |
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Post by zsazsa on Sept 23, 2017 17:45:43 GMT
Saw today's matinee in Edinburgh. I thought Kara was fantastic as Cilla. Her performance was spot on and at no point did it feel like an impersonation. Carl Au was also great as Bobby and loved their duet in Act Two.
The show itself sticks close to the structure of the tv drama which does not translate well to stage and feels a bit drawn out. The songs don't flow in and out of scenes well. Something that Jersey Boys does quite successfully.
The staging is very unimaginative and follows the same clunky Dreamboats & Petticoats format.
Such a shame that this isn't in the hands of a better director and producer as it has potential to be a great show.
Spoiler: The show ends with 'Through The Years' but I feel the moment really would be better with some projected video / images of the real Cilla Black. A missed opportunity to pay tribute to a great icon.
Kara really is sensational and worth seeing for her performance alone.
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Post by Dannyboi on Oct 15, 2017 13:58:05 GMT
Caught the Matinee yesterday in Birmingham and here are my thoughts...
Spent most of the first act thinking it was just ok but nothing really grabbed me. Kara was instantly a likeable and believable Cilla but didn't have much to do in the line of singing for most of Act one. A large stage that made up the Cavern club would roll forward,various groups would perform non Cilla songs whilst the young leads met,danced and spouted lines lifted directly from the tv show in front of the stage. I begun to quickly realise this really was a very faithful adaptation of the tv show,only every song performed in the club was played in full,over and over. The stage would roll back, a scene would be set in the house or on a street, then the stage would roll forward again for another cavern club scene, which became repetitive and quite boring. Was not a fan of that bloody stage!
And then came Anyone who had a heart. WOW. Kara was amazing and blew the song and the rest of the show that came before it clean away. And this momentum carried on for me over into the second act with performances of You're my world, Alfie, and step inside love all showcasing what an absolute star in the making Kara Lily Hayworth is and she really is the ace up this shows sleeve. Sounding enough like Cilla,but not an imitation, her voice and full and warm with a big belt,every cilla number was a winner.
Which for me was the main problem with the show, too many songs especially other peoples crow barred in at every opportunity,making the show too long (3 hours!!) without really adding anything to the very slim story. I realise this was to pad out Act 1 before Cillas first hit,and you can't blame them for wanting to end Act one with it, like I said before its phenomenal, but did anyone really need,or expect Mamas and Papas to randomly show up half way through act 2, as nicely performed as California Dreaming was.
Its easy to rave only about Kara but the rest of the cast also did a great job with the material. Carl Au's Bobby bought all the charm needed to invest in his and Cillas romance,even if there wasn't much drama in their second act break up,you know they end up together,but at least you believed in thee two of them.
Andrew Lancel was also great as Brian Epstein. The book may have dealt with his personal life with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer ,and having him sing You've got to hide your love away was as on the nose as you can get,but this moment was quite a highlight for me,the emotion was raw and quite unexpected.
I usually hate enforced standing ovations in musical theatre,but this one has to be admired for sheer calculation and cynicism!! The end of the show proper,the finale,and the curtain calls all seem to strangely merge into one. You're like oh,were at that part now,which robs the ending of any emotional clout. Plus that bleeding stage makes a return for the finale,leaving the whole company to clunkily stand in front of it,nearly falling off the front of the real stage as they manoeuvred round each other for their solo bits, and into my lap! I was in the second row,and the awkwardness as each company member moved the other out the way was quite unnerving! Please get rid of that stage lol.
So in closing, was Cilla a flawless and well directed piece of musical theatre? God no.
Did I (eventually) find it a hugely entertaining crowd pleaser performed by an amazing cast? YUP.
Is it worth seeing just for Kara Lily Hayworth? Definitely.
Could a good show be turned into an amazing one if they removed about half an hour of filler? Maybe.
Have I just booked to see in again in Nottingham next year? .... Might have! xx
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2017 14:20:05 GMT
Hadn't heard Andrew Lancel was playing Epstein again - he was very good in the same role in this a couple of years ago - epsteintheplay.com/ - although the script wasn't up to much (most of it was along the lines of "I guess you could say Brian was A REAL NOWHERE MAN. He lived at a time when if you were gay everyone told you that "YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY". But when THIS BOY came along he realised that really ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE".) |
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Post by Dannyboi on Oct 15, 2017 15:01:58 GMT
Yes I only realised he had played him before whilst reading the programme,no wonder he had such a firm grasp on the character!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2017 20:37:59 GMT
Saw the show last Wednesday in Birmingham, Kara has an amazing voice which unlike the real Cilla's didn't change key mid-song. This show could be a great launch pad for her as other good roles should come her way. Carl Au was also very good as Bobby who went from being a wideboy chancer to being totally devoted to Cilla. He could also hold a good tune and wasn't overshadowed by Kara on You've Lost That Loving Feeling.
I wasn't sure why they randomly had the Mammas and Papas crop up on the Ed Sullivan Show, surely it would have made more sense to have given Bobby's character an extra song or even the Mum and Dad singing an older song.
Special shoutout to the guy who was Danny La Rue type character - he looked amazing.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2017 23:10:26 GMT
I just registered now to post a comment about Cilla the musical. I just saw the musical tonight at the first night in Blackpool. The show is darn good. It is not a cheap production. There are 18 performers in the show. The first half edges towards being a stage drama. In the second half the show keeps hitting you with many great songs by great performers until your face has to smile. Standing ovation at the end. It may have been slightly engineered but was well deserved. If you like musicals, go see it, it is the bees knees.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 5, 2017 5:45:39 GMT
Those who have seen it recently, could you please give an idea of the current running time, which Dannyboi reported, some weeks ago, was close to 3 hours? I am seeing it this week but neither the show's website nor the venue's gives any idea of this, which is really unhelpful and frustrating. I booked a matinee anyway (thank goodness!) but am wondering what I can book to follow this, which depends on when it ends. Thank you. |
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Post by macksennett on Nov 5, 2017 7:09:02 GMT
2hrs 50min - it's a long show!
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Post by showgirl on Nov 5, 2017 8:00:14 GMT
Thank you very much, macksennett, for the fast and helpful response. It's still about 10 mins shorter than I'd allowed for, so ample time for me to see an early evening film nearby or scoot into central London for an evening show. |
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Post by musicalmarge on Nov 8, 2017 23:25:24 GMT
“CILLA” the musical! Some of it great, some of it terrible. Some goosebumps other parts I cringed.
Andrew Lancel playing Epstein needed to be shot for over acting and the musical was too long at almost three hours.
But the lead girl playing Cilla was super. She just needed bigger teeth.
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