On The Town concert (Proms: 2018)

[tonyloco]

Apr 19, 2018 20:58:25 GMT Dawnstar said:

I was at that concert & don't recall finding the orchestra playing inferior, though that may be because I always focus more on singers than orchestras.

If I can just drop in my two penneth – I thought the 'Singin' in the Rain' concert at the RFH was very disappointing because of the problems of doing musicals in that venue, which is acoustically difficult for that kind of repertoire. There was a lot of effort put into the performance by all concerned, but at the end of the day I felt it was not really worth the trouble, certainly not by comparison with other live performances of 'Singin' in the Rain' elsewhere like at Chichester.

So I think the bottom line is that regardless of where the players come from, there is something very special about performances of music from movie musicals and stage musicals by the John Wilson Orchestra and that's what we prefer to hear.

[Dawnstar]

Apr 19, 2018 22:42:23 GMT tonyloco said:

If I can just drop in my two penneth – I thought the 'Singin' in the Rain' concert at the RFH was very disappointing because of the problems of doing musicals in that venue, which is acoustically difficult for that kind of repertoire. There was a lot of effort put into the performance by all concerned, but at the end of the day I felt it was not really worth the trouble, certainly not by comparison with other live performances of 'Singin' in the Rain' elsewhere like at Chichester.

I don't remember if SITR was any worse than usual but I'd agree that in general amplified concerts at the RFH are usually not good in terms of sound. I'd say the same about ones at the Proms. I usually go to a Prom to see the performers then listen back to the radio broadcast to hear what they were actually singing!

[oxfordsimon]

Live broadcast:

www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/gwxp96/bbc-proms-2018--bernsteins-on-the-town/

[jgblunners]

Just watched the TV broadcast of this and thought it was pretty spectacular. It was a sort-of-concert staging, with blocking but no dancing and cut-down book scenes with the inclusion of a narrator to fill in the gaps.

The LSO under John Wilson sounded simply sublime, and really showed off just how much of a genius Bernstein was. The creativity and variety of music in this score is quite something. I also thought that the cast were pretty much perfect - Nathaniel Hackman and Louise Dearman in particular, who have the perfect voices for Gabey and Hildy. I'd never heard of Barnaby Rea before but he brought exactly the right kind of comedy to Pitkin and had a gorgeous bass voice. I won't write about every single one of the cast, but I thought they were pretty outstanding.

Brought back fond memories of seeing the Regent's Park production and my first experience of Drew McOnie's choreography - tonight I found myself welling up at the Lonely Town pas de deux which for me was such a beautiful moment in that production. I only wish I could've been there in the RAH tonight - there wasn't one second that I wasn't completely immersed and inthralled in that wonderful score.

[anthony40]

Yeah, I caught about 20 minutes of it too, from the end of the museum scene where the dinosaur collapsed to the interval and agree, it was terrific.

Made me too think of the Regents Park production.

[Dawnstar]

I thought all the cast were excellent tonight & intend to watch the TV broadcast to see them in close-up. It was nice to see so many singers who I have already liked in other shows & concerts. Of the principals only Siena Kelly was new to me. However I didn't find On The Town entirely satisfactory as a piece especially as, compared to last year's effectively fully-staged Oklahoma, the complete lack of dance tonight, given the large amounts of dance music, meant a lot of time just looking at the orchestra.

In the interval, as I was looking at the programme, the woman next to me asked if the second half would be the same musical or a different one. I was baffled. Firstly, surely it was apparent even in concert format that the plot hadn't finished and secondly, why would you book a concert without first reading what it would comprise of.

[talkstageytome]

It was gorgeous, wasn't it? So glad they broadcast this one. I thought the orchestra sounded utterly beautiful, and the whole cast was top notch. I need to see more of Nathaniel Hackman, he's just got such a watchable presence (not the most eloquent way to put it, but... y'know what I mean, so emotive and a lovely voice). And Louise Dearman's I Can Cook Too was another standout moment. I didn't want it to end! I'll definitely be revisiting some moments on iplayer.

This, followed by the West Side Stories documentary, made for a very entertaining evening on BBC4.

[theatrefan77]

This was excellent. The music sounded fantastic and the cast was very good. I wouldn't have cast Nathaniel Parker though, he didn't physically fit the part of Gabey and looked a bit overweight and unfit to be a sailor. He sang really well but I thought he was much better in Oklahoma. Louise Dearman was excellent as Hildy but somehow mismatched with Fra Fee who looked far too young for her. Btw, why does he always have the same hairstyle? Would a sailor in the forties have such long hair? Why they never change it to suit the part a bit better, it was exactly the same in West Side Story, The Ferryman and As You Like It. At least for the movie of Les Mis they added sideburns which fitted better within the historical period.

Back to On The Town it was a wonderful night and a great way to mark what would have been Bernstein's 100th birthday.  John Wilson is on top form.

[tmesis]

I really enjoyed this. There was a great sense of occasion in the RAH and it was absolutely packed.

It's amazing to think that Bernstein was only 26 when he wrote this. It all has the freshness of youth, but then we get Some other Time, one of the most touching songs in all music theatre, and that feels like it has been written by a composer with a lifetime of theatrical experience behind him. This song, which is quite hard to pull off, was immaculately performed tonight. All the singers were excellent. Louise Dearman was a terrific Hildy, but best of all was Nathaniel Hackmann as Gabey. He impressed me last year in Oklahoma! but he was even better tonight. His performances of Lonely Town and Lucky to be Me were near definitive.

My only slight disappointment was the LSO. Now if you'd never heard Wilson's eponymously named orchestra in this material you would quite justifiably think this was as good as it gets. Certainly the LSO play Bernstein much better for him than for Rattle. But his own hand picked orchestra are in a class apart in this sort of stuff as they proved in their recent definitive version of West Side Story. Specifically what the JWO have but the LSO lack are three things:

pin-sharp accuracy of attack

a laid-back-in-the-groove ability swing

a fabulous richness of the string section produced by using a slightly frowned upon in some quarters  preponderance of vibrato and portamento.

but...

The whole thing was still fab and I'm now going to watch the TV version...

[tonyloco]

I watched the TV broadcast in HD and agree with what has already been said about the sensationally good casting of all the performers. And I am also impressed with tmesis's analysis of why the LSO is less good at playing this kind of music than the John Wilson Orchestra.

But I do want to make one rather negative comment, which is that unlike the music of those three great composers for the dance: Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, I find Bernstein's dance music less rewarding to listen to without having dancers to watch. This is what made the recent production of OTT in Regent's Park so successful because we had Drew McOnie's wonderful choreography superbly danced to bring Bernstein's dance music fully to life. I also felt this somewhat during the radio broadcast of West Side Story.

Having got that off my chest, and I may well be in a minority of one, I did thoroughly enjoy the performance of OTT as a whole and I heartily agree with tmesis that 'Some Other Time' is one of the most touching songs in musical theatre, and it never fails to make me well up.

[alece10]

Watched this on TV and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great cast and wonderful singing. Orchestra sounded great but I do think John Wilsons own orchestra has the edge. They seem to be able to create a sound like no other.
Already wondering what the offering will be next year.

[jek]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting. It may have been just that up in the front of the Rausing Circle (our regular proms seats) we were too far away from the action but I found some of the diction poor and just felt a bit unengaged with proceedings. It was as if the performances were being directed to the TV audience rather than to the wider hall - understandable but not ideal if you were sitting where we were. It wasn't a patch on the experience of seeing the LSO do Wonderful Town at the Barbican last year. But I will watch the TV version and see what I make of that.

My favourite moment of the evening came before we'd even got into the hall. Just as we were circumnavigating the hall to get to the appropriate door a lady passed us going in the opposite direction. It was - unmistakably - Leslie Caron who must have all sorts of memories of working with Gene Kelly when watching a performance like that.

[mrbarnaby]

Poor Nathanial being put in that tight white tshirt- very unforgiving. I found it too distracting I must say.

Louise Dearman wonderful though ..

[mrbarnaby]

Poor Nathanial being put in that tight white tshirt- very unforgiving. I found it too distracting I must say. Also it’s just not a very good musical IMO.

Louise Dearman wonderful though ..

[londonmzfitz]

Watching this now, My Place bloody fabulous, Louise Dearman and Fra Fee are great! Seeing Fra this Wednesday at The Other Palace ...

[anthony40]

Was that Fra Fee? I thought it was. I've never actually seen him in anything on stage, so wasn't entirely sure.

[karloscar]

God, I see the body fascists are out in force. What body type does Gabey have to conform to? It doesn't mention it in the script. He just needs to be strong enough to rescue his mates from the ocean. Nathaniel Hackman's slightly goofy naïvety suited the role perfectly.
The whole cast was pretty spot on, but I loved Celinde Schoenmaker as Claire, a role that often loses out to whoever's playing Hilde. She was funny and sexy, and did a beautiful lead on Some Other Time. Will look out for her in future.

[Dr Tom]

Just enjoyed this on TV. I do think it's a shame they cut these concert productions down so much. Both this and West Side Story are very visual pieces.

I'm not sure I'd feel I'd got value for money had I been in the RAH when compared to a regular West End show.

[karloscar]

You can do these concerts with a under a week of rehearsal if everyone knows the score fairly well before they start. Anything more elaborate requires more time, especially if choreography is involved, which bumps up the costs.

[princeton]

I've always found the almost fully staged, choreographed, costumed musicals such as last year's Oklahoma, and previous ones like My Fair Lady and Kiss Me Kate, slightly incongruous as part of the Proms - no matter how entertaining they were (and I suspect they are very costly - no where else would they spend 4 weeks rehearsal for a couple of performances). The Proms is first and foremost a celebration of music - and these concerts versions put the music - orchestral and vocal - front and centre. True it sometimes makes the plot difficult to follow - and for those who know the work it can feel lacking particularly during longer orchestral moments when on stage there would be large dance routines. However it allows really good voices - from people who might not be cast in a full production (or have the wrong haircut!) - to perform great songs from the musical theatre cannon. And played by a full orchestra which you simply wouldn't hear in a theatre these days. I saw the West Side Story prom and The King and I in the same week - and didn't feel shortchanged by either (even with the severely truncated WSS). That's not to say that I didn't picture great dance routines while at the Albert Hall - or sit wishing for John Wilson and his Orchestra whilst at the Palladium - Kelli O'Hara and a full orchestra - can you imagine.......

[paddy72]

I agree with so many others. These concerts are undemanding easy listening entertainment if you accept that they are a fraction of what a full blown musical really is. Especially a great big show like Onthe town and WSS were, with all that dance, the book, the costumes, the sets, the staging, the lighting etc etc etc.... I really hope that these concerts are not the future for musicals but with no big original new creations (as opposed to jukebox shows) on the horizon I fear they are. I’ll miss the sum of the whole musical which at its best thrills me like no other sort of entertainment I know.

[jek]

Now having seen this on TV I can see more why people are so positive about it. It was certainly more entertaining than it was from the Rausing Circle on Saturday night.

Am just back from the lunchtime prom at Cadogan Hall (the only prom day seating I do as at Cadogan Hall you get an actual seat for £6 rather than having to stand). The Canadian mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta was singing songs by Bernstein and friends (including Blizstein, Copeland and Sondheim). A really enjoyable way to spend an hour.

[tmesis]

Aug 27, 2018 14:30:39 GMT jek said:

Now having seen this on TV I can see more why people are so positive about it. It was certainly more entertaining than it was from the Rausing Circle on Saturday night.

Am just back from the lunchtime prom at Cadogan Hall (the only prom day seating I do as at Cadogan Hall you get an actual seat for £6 rather than having to stand). The Canadian mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta was singing songs by Bernstein and friends (including Blizstein, Copeland and Sondheim). A really enjoyable way to spend an hour.

I was there too. A really good recital. Some interesting rarities, including Bernstein's musical settings of cookbook recipes (yes really.) We also got a fascinating instrumental prototype of 'America' immaculately played by piano duet and percussion. The Blizstein songs were fantastic. 

I'm having a bit of a Bernstein Promsfest - I'm on my way to RAH to hear the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra play his 2nd Symphony.

[mrbarnaby]

Aug 27, 2018 14:24:52 GMT paddy72 said:

I agree with so many others. These concerts are undemanding easy listening entertainment if you accept that they are a fraction of what a full blown musical really is. Especially a great big show like Onthe town and WSS were, with all that dance, the book, the costumes, the sets, the staging, the lighting etc etc etc.... I really hope that these concerts are not the future for musicals but with no big original new creations (as opposed to jukebox shows) on the horizon I fear they are. I’ll miss the sum of the whole musical which at its best thrills me like no other sort of entertainment I know.

I don’t think there’s any risk that these concerts will replace fully staged musicals. They aren’t pretending to be more than they are. Yes we’ll probably still continue to get the annual depressing Coliseum offering, but big musicals can mean big money and there are enough producers , writers , directors etc out there to ensure musicals are staged properly. More so I’m NYC than here though sadly.

[karloscar]

The musical theatre scene is healthier than it's been for decades. New shows are getting produced rather than just workshopped to death. Some of it is great, some mediocre, some popular, some innovative. And there's always room for a good revival of a classic.