Post by SageStageMgr on Mar 31, 2017 11:14:50 GMT
Well, this was pretty much exactly as expected.
I found the musical forgettable. I thought the staging was tidy, if unspectacular. A couple of laughs (I laughed out loud when Dewey calls the kids "douchebags" - nobody else around me did) but the funniest moment from the film "I've been touched by your kids... and I'm pretty sure they've touched me." is criminally thrown away as a sung line. The show is peppered with current pop culture references, which are all very safe and family friendly. Not funny in the slightest, but everyone "got" the references and nobody was offended. SO rock and roll. In fact, generally speaking there was lots of pandering to the audience; a game of Guitar Hero on stage (kids love the video games, you know), a rock concert (natch), digs at the "establishment"... but it's all done through the cynical eye of the white upper-middle class. So what's the point?
Unlike Matilda audiences, which seem to be mostly family groups, last night at SoR hoards of young teenagers made up the numbers. The stalls looked full, I was in a dress circle "restricted view" seat (£35 from TKTS, row C seat 6) which was in no way restricted. Nor could I possibly see how it could ever have been marked as such. A brilliant discounted seat and a great view, highly recommended.
I am absolutely not a fan of the New London Theatre, along with the Adelphi and Apollo Victoria theatre, it just feels like a barn. Plus the elevators and numerous stairwells are a chore...
Essentially, SoR is a very child friendly family musical, which tries to please fans of the movie. The children are undeniably talented, but ala Matilda, it's hard not to view them with a degree of suspicion, the little programmed robots. They're all there as per the movie and the audience lap up the saccharine - the minorities are all covered; the gay one, the Black one, the Asian one. I didn't spot a disabled one or fat one, though. Being triple threat performers in their own right (with instruments to boot!) I am loathe to lay into the kids too much - but the singing was noticeably "meh". The girl playing the "quiet one", when she sings "Amazing Grace" is written to leave the audience awed. The problem with this kind of writing, is that it assumes each performer will be good enough to actually deliver a world class moment. She wasn't.
As for Dewey himself, David Fynn was exactly as I expected. A Jack Black impersonation with a reasonable voice. Some decent comic timing, just a solid, completely unremarkable performance. Oliver Jackson channels Brad Majors, in a small supporting role. Preeya Kalidas is really, really hot. But has little to do. She's there to make the plot tick and does fine. The kids are alright (Offspring reference!) but it's not like you come away with a particular character, moment, song... anything really.
The whole show just plods along nicely, not ruffling any feathers. It's slick, capably if unspectacularly performed and packs in the kids. It's hard not to compare this show to Matilda. The family nature of the show, the cast of children, the glossy sheen which covers every scene.
But Matilda is much, much better show in every department.
And really, for as long as SoR runs, it'll always be a nice little show with good availability and a cheaper, less memorable alternative to Matilda.
I found the musical forgettable. I thought the staging was tidy, if unspectacular. A couple of laughs (I laughed out loud when Dewey calls the kids "douchebags" - nobody else around me did) but the funniest moment from the film "I've been touched by your kids... and I'm pretty sure they've touched me." is criminally thrown away as a sung line. The show is peppered with current pop culture references, which are all very safe and family friendly. Not funny in the slightest, but everyone "got" the references and nobody was offended. SO rock and roll. In fact, generally speaking there was lots of pandering to the audience; a game of Guitar Hero on stage (kids love the video games, you know), a rock concert (natch), digs at the "establishment"... but it's all done through the cynical eye of the white upper-middle class. So what's the point?
Unlike Matilda audiences, which seem to be mostly family groups, last night at SoR hoards of young teenagers made up the numbers. The stalls looked full, I was in a dress circle "restricted view" seat (£35 from TKTS, row C seat 6) which was in no way restricted. Nor could I possibly see how it could ever have been marked as such. A brilliant discounted seat and a great view, highly recommended.
I am absolutely not a fan of the New London Theatre, along with the Adelphi and Apollo Victoria theatre, it just feels like a barn. Plus the elevators and numerous stairwells are a chore...
Essentially, SoR is a very child friendly family musical, which tries to please fans of the movie. The children are undeniably talented, but ala Matilda, it's hard not to view them with a degree of suspicion, the little programmed robots. They're all there as per the movie and the audience lap up the saccharine - the minorities are all covered; the gay one, the Black one, the Asian one. I didn't spot a disabled one or fat one, though. Being triple threat performers in their own right (with instruments to boot!) I am loathe to lay into the kids too much - but the singing was noticeably "meh". The girl playing the "quiet one", when she sings "Amazing Grace" is written to leave the audience awed. The problem with this kind of writing, is that it assumes each performer will be good enough to actually deliver a world class moment. She wasn't.
As for Dewey himself, David Fynn was exactly as I expected. A Jack Black impersonation with a reasonable voice. Some decent comic timing, just a solid, completely unremarkable performance. Oliver Jackson channels Brad Majors, in a small supporting role. Preeya Kalidas is really, really hot. But has little to do. She's there to make the plot tick and does fine. The kids are alright (Offspring reference!) but it's not like you come away with a particular character, moment, song... anything really.
The whole show just plods along nicely, not ruffling any feathers. It's slick, capably if unspectacularly performed and packs in the kids. It's hard not to compare this show to Matilda. The family nature of the show, the cast of children, the glossy sheen which covers every scene.
But Matilda is much, much better show in every department.
And really, for as long as SoR runs, it'll always be a nice little show with good availability and a cheaper, less memorable alternative to Matilda.
).