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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 20:09:27 GMT
Late start. We're all in the bar waiting to be let in to our seats and someone's still sweeping the stage. Gagging to hear all about it. Please include seat configuration, enjoy! It’s the tiered config. “On-stage” tables aren’t as encroaching as I expected, some make up the front row of the tier basically and two pairs of tables either side. |
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Post by richey on Jul 6, 2018 20:13:46 GMT
Late start. We're all in the bar waiting to be let in to our seats and someone's still sweeping the stage. Gagging to hear all about it. Please include seat configuration, enjoy! Lots of louvre doors which are flung open frequently. Three large distracting paintings of Paris, Pau and Venice dotted around which are lit to denote where scene is set. Scene changes are tables and chairs whirled around with great flourish by cast members. Not impressed so far. Alex is far too young and his voice not very powerful at times. Actually contemplated leaving at interval but decided to stay to see how he handles the jump in age |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 20:16:59 GMT
Gagging to hear all about it. Please include seat configuration, enjoy! It’s the tiered config. “On-stage” tables aren’t as encroaching as I expected, some make up the front row of the tier basically and two pairs of tables either side. Tables aside, is it a single block of seating? Also are the aisles at the sides or in the middle or both? Thanks! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 20:18:12 GMT
It’s the tiered config. “On-stage” tables aren’t as encroaching as I expected, some make up the front row of the tier basically and two pairs of tables either side. Tables aside, is it a single block of seating? Also are the aisles at the sides or in the middle or both? Thanks! All seating on the right as you walk in from the bar. Single block. Aisle at right side of tier. |
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Post by richey on Jul 6, 2018 20:20:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 20:26:45 GMT
Tables aside, is it a single block of seating? Also are the aisles at the sides or in the middle or both? Thanks! All seating on the right as you walk in from the bar. Single block. Aisle at right side of tier. Thanks! Aisles on both sides of block? How many does this theatre seat? Set looks slightly basic! How does it sound with such a small band? Assume actors not miked?! Sorry, so many questions.... |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 21:46:00 GMT
All seating on the right as you walk in from the bar. Single block. Aisle at right side of tier. Thanks! Aisles on both sides of block? How many does this theatre seat? Set looks slightly basic! How does it sound with such a small band? Assume actors not miked?! Sorry, so many questions.... Aisle just one side of the tier. 120 is the capacity I read on the wall. It sounds ok. Actors are mic-ed, you can hear *mostly* everything. But ‘orchestration’ is questionable. Will do a full report tomorrow so fire away with any more questions. |
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Post by richey on Jul 6, 2018 22:23:06 GMT
I really wanted to enjoy this. I tried. Most of it worked, but for me the whole thing was ruined by the awful miscasting of Alex. His voice is so quiet. He spends most of the time staring offstage like a startled rabbit and his acting is limited to a series of nervous tics. Rose is excellent, 'Anything But Lonely' was worth the ticket price alone.
The intimate setting works quite well, the cafe seats aren't really onstage, just the front row and sides (be prepared to be part of Journey of a Lifetime if you're sat on one of the side ones!) They do obstruct the view if you're not sat on the raised seating.
Hopefully it'll improve as this was the first preview.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 10:58:40 GMT
Thanks! Aisles on both sides of block? How many does this theatre seat? Set looks slightly basic! How does it sound with such a small band? Assume actors not miked?! Sorry, so many questions.... Aisle just one side of the tier. 120 is the capacity I read on the wall. It sounds ok. Actors are mic-ed, you can hear *mostly* everything. But ‘orchestration’ is questionable. Will do a full report tomorrow so fire away with any more questions. Look forward to hearing your full review. One of my fave ALW musicals. Desperately wanting it to be good! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 10:59:55 GMT
I really wanted to enjoy this. I tried. Most of it worked, but for me the whole thing was ruined by the awful miscasting of Alex. His voice is so quiet. He spends most of the time staring offstage like a startled rabbit and his acting is limited to a series of nervous tics. Rose is excellent, 'Anything But Lonely' was worth the ticket price alone. The intimate setting works quite well, the cafe seats aren't really onstage, just the front row and sides (be prepared to be part of Journey of a Lifetime if you're sat on one of the side ones!) They do obstruct the view if you're not sat on the raised seating. Hopefully it'll improve as this was the first preview. He does look ridiculously young in all the photos. I mean just unrealistically so. Quite liked his voice at press launch though. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 11:16:26 GMT
Mindful that last night was the first preview, I'm going to try to be careful with some of my thoughts and opinions knowing that things can change once a piece finds its rhythm and tightens up. However there are some fundamental issues that seem to stem from decisions made in the creative process which prevents this production from showing resolute success before its even begun. I'm assuming my experience was fairly different to that of richey in that - having never seen Aspects of Love before and only being familiar with the two biggest numbers from the show - I had no preconceptions or ideas of what to expect (other than the Parisian cafe aspect promoted on social media). AoL struck me as Lloyd-Webbers attempt at a Sondheim-type show, not necessarily musically, but thematically and dramatically. It's interesting that this week in another thread I've read people defending the case of Lloyd-Webber's recycled musical ideas, saying he doesn't do it, yet I noted a number of musical themes and tunes borrowed from other shows in this piece including Starlight, Joseph and most notably one re-occurring musical theme which was developed further into 'The Lady's Paying' in Sunset. Its no criticism, just an observation. What expectations I did have for this production were based on two incredibly strong preceding Hope Mill shows by Aria - Pippin and Spring Awakening. They set the bar for conjecture, as did promotional materials and press releases penning this as "their most ambitious production to date". Like Richey, I went in wanting to love it, but left rather underwhelmed. More fundamental an issue that the aforementioned mis-casting of roles was the criminal decision to proceed with an "orchestra" of two keyboards and a selection of things being hit. I'm fairly certain that for Act 1 there was no second keyboard player present as the only additional layer of instrumentation came from some subtle vibraphones which could legitimately have been played by the percussion section. There were moments of duelling pianos in the second act, but not nearly creative or emotive enough to have justified this move. The simple addition of 1 violin and 1 cello (instead of a second keyboard player) would really have added a depth to the instrumentation so crucially lacking to make this piece convincing. The problem with electronic keyboards, pianos especially, is the relative inability translate dynamic, when a player needs to get some really fortissimo going and he's playing as hard as he can, it become a low end, muddy messy. It seemed in the second act when the keys wanted to create some instruction of emotion he'd resolve to glissandi which got tiresome quickly. Lloyd-Webber scores are naturally romantic and dynamic and restricting it to a pair of electronic keyboards grossly affected this pieces ability to translate emotion. And the subject of lacking emotion brings me onto the casting of Alex, who I'm sure is a lovely guy in really life, but ill suited to this role. He seems to have studied at the Jamael Westman school of acting whereby you don't present emotion physically... When he belts it out he's vocally competent but for the majority of the time his performance is severely diminished and muted. There's an innocence which overrules his performance and I guess this comes from inexperience. He, like a number of other cast members, fall over at basic stage disciplines like the ability to find their place in a tight spot of light which results in periods of dialogue and song unlit. The greatest - or worst - example of this is a moment where Rose, George, Alex & Jenny were all sat down and lit with very tight spots of light (par 36 pin spots). When cue-d no-one was in the right place (their chairs positions hadn't been spiked) meaning non of them were lit. The more experienced actors though - Rose and George - both immediately responded and moved subtly to get themselves lit. Alex and Jenny did not respond and stuck where they were, unfortunately leaving one audience members crotch illuminated for the duration. This issue is not limited to Alex and seems to be part of a number of flaws in the lighting design. This piece is littered with moments of unlit cast and darkened areas of stage - although this could be down to blocking and a lack of tech rehearsal time. Some questionable programming of lighting cues (particularly flashing during the finale) as well as some weird positioning of some LED fixtures just felt sloppy in areas. There's a white backdrop upstage which is effectively lit for depth but for some reason despite what looks to be good clearance above it, is about 2 foot too short and as a result leaves a gaping black hole and rigging truss on show. A quick change/prop store area masked off with black fabric up-stage left eats up into the cyc too much as well. Even more distracting though was a suspended parallelogram, meant to represent a ceiling (I think), which was not centered to the rest of the set and hung on the piss. I couldn't stop staring at it and it really set an element OCD off. This lack of attention to detail seems prevalent throughout. The repeated ballet of chairs and tables gets tedious in the second act (I had to remind myself I was watching Aspects of Love and not Chicago!) but that becomes quite forgivable in comparison to the f***ing glowsticks that come out in the circus scene. Glowsticks and ribbons on sticks, topped off with some balls thrown in a hat. Hardly circus. Parsley would tear this scene apart. It's these elements, and more, that unfortunately make this production fairly futile. Isolated these issues are excusable but cumulatively they highlight a wider contention and that is that this piece suffers as a result of poor direction. Alex, when he delivers, has great potential but he seems un-directed resolving to hands in pockets too frequently. The material itself doesn't help matters, with its abrupt changes in action and drama. Characters jumping from in love, to gun slinging, to friends again, with the diplomacy of a learner drive's first attempt at the clutch, but the direction does nothing to resolve this. What also doesn't help is the confusion surrounding the age of everyone, which ultimately again is a flaw in the casting. Resolute opinion outside the theater afterwards was no-one really understood who was what age and this hampered the productions integrity as a result. There is one saving grace however and that is Rose. She holds the cast together and rightfully commands the stage. This show is hers. At the interval I was of the opinion I'd like the return to see this again once its settled and found a rhythm, however at the end of the second act, after clocking in just shy of 3 hours with the interval in the stifling humidity I was less than encouraged to return. For those excited about a visit ultimately the best way to approach this production is to go in without any expectations, that way you won't be leaving disappointed. |
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Post by richey on Jul 7, 2018 11:25:58 GMT
Thank you serialshusher, I think you've summed up all that I found wrong with it too. My earlier post was random thoughts on the bus home and I was wondering if I'd been particularly unsympathetic after the late start and the heat but you've echoed all the faults I found with it.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jul 7, 2018 11:36:46 GMT
Glow sticks. Is this production set at the time of the musicals composition?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 11:50:29 GMT
Glow sticks. Is this production set at the time of the musicals composition? I actually found myself cringing when the glowsticks came out. It was vile. That's another bone of contention I'd not mentioned though. According to the programme its set in periods between the '40s & '60s but some of the costumes didn't fit that period (Jenny's pjyamams looked fresh out of primark for example). At points the lighting seemed to contradict the periodic setting also. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 12:05:10 GMT
Thanks so much for your review serialshusher, a really interesting read. And certainly confirms a lot of the worries I have had about this production.
Though still very much looking forward to seeing for myself in two weeks. And hopefully will improve as the run gets going.
So disappointed by the orchestration though. Who is credited for it? Assume not David Cullen or ALW. Wonder if the latter sanctioned it. Or has indeed heard it. Intimate is fine, but this just says cheap to me. They could have at least assembled a 5 or 6 piece.
Feel a bit sorry for the guy playing Alex as sure he is very talented. But it’s producers and casting directors who are to blame when in so many shows they cast people inappropriately straight out of drama school when they have not had the chance to mature. I assume as they cost less.
And Aspects is a show that requires actors who can sing!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 12:22:58 GMT
Thanks so much for your review serialshusher, a really interesting read. And certainly confirms a lot of the worries I have had about this production. Though still very much looking forward to seeing for myself in two weeks. And hopefully will improve as the run gets going. So disappointed by the orchestration though. Who is credited for it? Assume not David Cullen or ALW. Wonder if the latter sanctioned it. Or has indeed heard it. Intimate is fine, but this just says cheap to me. They could have at least assembled a 5 or 6 piece. Feel a bit sorry for the guy playing Alex as sure he is very talented. But it’s producers and casting directors who are to blame when in so many shows they cast people inappropriately straight out of drama school when they have not had the chance to mature. I assume as they cost less. And Aspects is a show that requires actors who can sing! Couldn't say who's credited for the 'orchestrations', didn't buy a programme, just looked briefly at one at the bar - so maybe someone else can confirm? It just felt like they'd left a rehearsal pianist in situ. Big shame. Doubt ALW has heard it. I'm adamant just adding a violin and a cello would have improved it tenfold. Yes, feel like the actor playing Alex has been done over a little. He can sing well, when hes not singing to himself, but its the direction (or lack thereof) that lets him down. And its by no means a catastrophe or car crash. There are Aspects of Good. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 12:41:15 GMT
Yes, thanks for your detailed review. I wouldn’t have been coming up to Hope Mill to see it (much as I’m tempted by the venue which I’m told is great) but I would have gone along if it’d transferred down south after its run. I really liked their version of Pippin, like you, which I saw at Southwark Playhouse.
But reading your comments about the reduced ‘orchestra’ has made my heart sink...
I have such fond memories of this show which I (and others) have commmented on before, but it doesn’t mean that I’m averse to new productions. Far from it. But this sounds dreadful and beyond repair, particularly musically.
Smaller scale, (‘intimate’/‘chamber’) reinventions can often work: many considered the NT’s Sweeney Todd an improvement on the original Broadway transfer which played at Drury Lane; the Menier’s Sunday was superior to the NT’s; the recent Charing Cross Woman in White worked far better than the Palace Theatre version, but I really wish some of these little fringe venues would stop doing some of these rather good pieces on a shoestring. They’re often completely ruined by cost-cutting orchestrations, cheap sets and costumes and (often) inappropriate casting.
Those who come to the show new wonder must what all the fuss was about.
The Union’s Children of Eden was awful. And I’m afraid I hated their version of Chess (which I know some on here loved). I’ve stopped going there now.
I’d rather live with the memory of a happy moment.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2018 14:07:24 GMT
Yes, thanks for your detailed review. I wouldn’t have been coming up to Hope Mill to see it (much as I’m tempted by the venue which I’m told is great) but I would have gone along if it’d transferred down south after its run. I really liked their version of Pippin, like you, which I saw at Southwark Playhouse. But reading your comments about the reduced ‘orchestra’ has made my heart sink... I have such fond memories of this show which I (and others) have commmented on before, but it doesn’t mean that I’m averse to new productions. Far from it. But this sounds dreadful and beyond repair, particularly musically. Smaller scale, (‘intimate’/‘chamber’) reinventions can often work: many considered the NT’s Sweeney Todd an improvement on the original Broadway transfer which played at Drury Lane; the Menier’s Sunday was superior to the NT’s; the recent Charing Cross Woman in White worked far better than the Palace Theatre version, but I really wish some of these little fringe venues would stop doing some of these rather good pieces on a shoestring. They’re often completely ruined by cost-cutting orchestrations, cheap sets and costumes and (often) inappropriate casting. Those who come to the show new wonder must what all the fuss was about. The Union’s Children of Eden was awful. And I’m afraid I hated their version of Chess (which I know some on here loved). I’ve stopped going there now. I’d rather live with the memory of a happy moment. I share your thoughts - is likewise the minimalist 'orchestra' that is making my heart sink! I'll stay open minded till I hear it though. Couldn't agree more what a shame it is for those coming to the show new - they really will wonder what all the fuss was about. Funnily enough I came to the Union's Children of Eden 'new.' Had been desperate to see it for years and always regretted missing the original (ditto Moby Dick in the same season). Yes, it was all a bit amateur. And the heat was interminable! But, despite clearly being on a shoestring, even they managed a pretty good 5 piece band! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 7, 2018 14:22:41 GMT
Damnit. The very last thing I expected after Spring Awakening was a cut back version of Aspects. Surely this is the one musical this year that from name recognition alone is pretty much guaranteed to get new punters through the HM doors and if those people see a bargain basement version of the show it could colour their opinion of fringe theatre in Manchester irrevocably.
Let’s hope the niggles with the set are due to lack of preparedness and will be corrected, but incompetent acting and a 3 person band trying to do justice to an ALW score seems difficult to forgive.
I’m going at the end of the month.
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Post by princeton on Jul 7, 2018 18:13:46 GMT
I haven't seen this production yet - though I did work on the tour/west end revival with Kathryn Evans (eventually) as Rose and Alex Hanson as his own namesake - and as a piece it is a real oddity. On paper it is a small chamber piece about 5 people and their romantic entanglements - yet at times the music has a really epic sweep to it in the big numbers and with a full orchestra sounded amazing but some of the through sung elements/libretto are fairly pedestrian. The original production looked fabulous but it was slightly lost amidst travellators and large moving set pieces - but the pared down Menier version didn't really work either in spite of a good cast. Perhaps because you were simply too close to a bunch of fairly unpleasant people - for, with the exception of Jenny, none of the principal characters are particularly likeable. I wonder whether the piece will always be an interesting failure. I think our production was the best of the lot - with a good balance between intimate and epic (swishy curtains instead of solid panels) but still had moment which didn't work.
And the character of Alex is really difficult to play. He starts off with the really big hit song - and then suddenly it's flashback and he has to be a credible seventeen year old fan boy. Then in act two he's in his mid-30s with his own teenage fan - and there's not a lot on the page to help the character development. I've seen about seven actors play Alex and no-one has really managed all aspects of the character - either too old for 17 or too young for 35 (or both).
In fairness to Felix Mosse - he's not straight out of drama school. I think he's about 26 (just a couple of years younger than Michael Ball when he played Alex) though may look/play younger - and seems to have worked pretty consistently for the last five years including a year in Book of Mormon and a year in Les Miserables (covering Marius - I heard good things about when he went on) and recently completed the European tour of Rocky Horror Show as Brad.
I'm due to see this production towards the end of the run - and will be approaching with caution - though it will probably be tighter than the first preview. I had hoped for a string quartet as a minimum for the orchestra - but I guess that's not going to be the case!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2018 10:05:42 GMT
I haven't seen this production yet - though I did work on the tour/west end revival with Kathryn Evans (eventually) as Rose and Alex Hanson as his own namesake - and as a piece it is a real oddity. On paper it is a small chamber piece about 5 people and their romantic entanglements - yet at times the music has a really epic sweep to it in the big numbers and with a full orchestra sounded amazing but some of the through sung elements/libretto are fairly pedestrian. The original production looked fabulous but it was slightly lost amidst travellators and large moving set pieces - but the pared down Menier version didn't really work either in spite of a good cast. Perhaps because you were simply too close to a bunch of fairly unpleasant people - for, with the exception of Jenny, none of the principal characters are particularly likeable. I wonder whether the piece will always be an interesting failure. I think our production was the best of the lot - with a good balance between intimate and epic (swishy curtains instead of solid panels) but still had moment which didn't work. And the character of Alex is really difficult to play. He starts off with the really big hit song - and then suddenly it's flashback and he has to be a credible seventeen year old fan boy. Then in act two he's in his mid-30s with his own teenage fan - and there's not a lot on the page to help the character development. I've seen about seven actors play Alex and no-one has really managed all aspects of the character - either too old for 17 or too young for 35 (or both). In fairness to Felix Mosse - he's not straight out of drama school. I think he's about 26 (just a couple of years younger than Michael Ball when he played Alex) though may look/play younger - and seems to have worked pretty consistently for the last five years including a year in Book of Mormon and a year in Les Miserables (covering Marius - I heard good things about when he went on) and recently completed the European tour of Rocky Horror Show as Brad. I'm due to see this production towards the end of the run - and will be approaching with caution - though it will probably be tighter than the first preview. I had hoped for a string quartet as a minimum for the orchestra - but I guess that's not going to be the case! That’s really cool that you worked on the Gale Edwards tour - I enjoyed that very much. Yeah I never really think of Aspects as a “small” musical. It has many intimate elements, but also is great typical ALW orchestral sweep for much. I think possibly it’s thought of as smaller/chamber as it came just after the gargantuine Cats/Starlight/Phantom trio. But in it’s own right I think a 15+ band and some money on sets suit it well. That said I also think it COULD work well in a small space. Ahh ok, apologies, I didn’t realise that about Felix Mosse. So does have some decent MT acting credentials. |
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Post by stevej678 on Jul 9, 2018 10:32:34 GMT
Pleased to report that most of the lighting issues cited at the first preview seemed to be resolved for the second performance on Saturday afternoon – only one very brief moment where the wrong area of the stage was lit and this was quickly corrected.
One change since my last visit to the Hope Mill for Spring Awakening is that there’s now a proper box office (which on Saturday came complete with a little canine assistant!). The window is just ahead of you as you turn left through the entrance to head towards the bar. It’s the door within the bar that provides the entrance to the auditorium for this production, as with Spring Awakening, though I’m sure for the latter the steps up to the raked seating where on your right immediately as you entered the theatre. This time around, you have to walk across the front of the stage, with the steps on the far side. Green ticket holders enter first for the table seating, then it’s the usual split between blue and red ticket holders for the main bank of seats. It was stiflingly hot at first in the theatre on Saturday, even right at the front, though it did become slightly less uncomfortable as the show progressed, presumably helped by what appeared to be two large air conditioning units positioned by the door at the rear of the theatre.
Onto the show then and this left me quite frustrated because lots of the elements that have made previous Hope Mill productions so enjoyable are there but the decision to cut the orchestra to just three is unforgivable. It means the score never has the chance to soar as it should. The explanation in the programme that the reduced orchestra helps to place the focus on the characters seems risible but also leads onto the next problem which is the casting of Alex.
Vocally, Felix Mosse is okay – perfectly pleasant if rather quiet – but he injects his character with such little personality and shows so little emotion or reaction to anything going on around him, it made me wonder how the audience are supposed to invest in Alex if the character himself seems so indifferent to everything which life throws at him. The result is that the energy of the production – and my engagement with it – repeatedly fell when he was to the fore on stage.
The strength of the rest of the company, particularly Kelly Price as Rose and Eleanor Walsh as the blossoming Jenny, went some way to compensating, with a playful, assured performance filled with vivacity from Eleanor Walsh on her professional debut, while Kelly was never less than completely enchanting as the whirlwind Rose.
The unfortunate mis-casting of Alex aside, I wouldn’t say this is a mis-step from the Hope Mill Theatre but unlike previous visits, where they’ve always impressed with what they create in such a small space, here the budget constraints seem more to the fore. Recycling a feature of the Spring Awakening set (the suspended parallelogram) doesn’t really help matters, while the circus scene felt like a huge missed opportunity – the glowsticks and ribbons on sticks with a few balls thrown into a hat comes across as just lazy. For a production which according to the programme has been more than a year in the planning, surely they could have come up with something a little more imaginative than that? All it needs in its current guise is the glowsticks failing to switch on and you've got the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society does Barnum.
For all the frustration at some of the decisions made (and perhaps expectations being exceptionally high given the standard of previous work), I still had an enjoyable afternoon but unlike A Little Night Music at Chester’s Storyhouse the previous evening, this felt somewhat undercooked. So near but yet so far from being another triumph for the Hope Mill.
Three stars.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 10:57:25 GMT
stevej678 good spot on the paralleogram being recycled from Spring Awakening. As was the on-stage piano.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 9, 2018 11:26:23 GMT
The box office was installed during the Spring Awakening run. It wasn’t there for opening night but was there when it closed.
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Post by richey on Jul 9, 2018 17:22:18 GMT
So I put a comment on one of their Facebook posts this morning saying I'd found aspects of the show disappointing and they appear to have removed it!
Meanwhile there's an £18 ticket offer for tonight and Thursday
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