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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2017 23:54:33 GMT
The worst part of Bend It was the score. It was a shoddy score with just one or two decent songs and one great song! If it had a better score, it would of been a good night out. The cast were fantastic. The design, likewise coulda used some work, but worked well for the show. Preeya and Jamal were the standouts by a mile, and Natalie Dew was great, though anyone who said she could/should beat Imelda for the Olivier I wanted to slap.  |
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Post by littlefluffychick on Feb 15, 2017 23:59:07 GMT
You are going to get us in trouble dj14 discussing Bend It on The Girls thread. What would Gary say?!!
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Post by d'James on Feb 16, 2017 0:33:53 GMT
I know what you mean but I think specifically with this show that the story has been done to death. Ah, but surely can't the same be said of the same people who revisit Wicked over and over again?  I know the conversation has moved on but I just want to answer to this. I think the difference is knowing the story in advance. With Wicked the story is probably a nice surprise along with the songs. That's why the first time seeing a show is important and although you know what's coming, seeing it again can bring back those memories. There's no chance of that happening with The Girls because I already know the story. I might love the songs but still that's only half the impact a new story with new songs could have. To join in the Bend It Like Beckham tangent, I really liked that show because I didn't know the story very well and I enjoyed the songs but Daniel is right, there aren't many 'stand out' songs to sell the show. I didn't love Preeya and that Olivier nomination was just bizarre. Jamal was really good as were the whole cast frankly. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 0:44:18 GMT
I didn't love Preeya and that Olivier nomination was just bizarre. See, I was really hoping she would get nominated so when she was, I was happy. She was the best part for me! It was one hell of a category... Emma Williams, Amy Lennox, Preeya and Lara Pulver. I almost wish there were five nominees, as Gemma Sutton for Gypsy was deserving too, but if I had to bump one of them out for Gemma, it would probably be Preeya. On that topic, still bitter Emma lost to Lara.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 0:54:22 GMT
I didn't love Preeya and that Olivier nomination was just bizarre. See, I was really hoping she would get nominated so when she was, I was happy. She was the best part for me! It was one hell of a category... Emma Williams, Amy Lennox, Preeya and Lara Pulver. I almost wish there were five nominees, as Gemma Sutton for Gypsy was deserving too, but if I had to bump one of them out for Gemma, it would probably be Preeya. On that topic, still bitter Emma lost to Lara. Something strange happened there Daniel. Not my words  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 8:42:39 GMT
I find it utterly patronising and cliched in its' depiction of Yorkshire folk. It's the direction and clumsy set that bother me.
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Post by westendwendy on Feb 16, 2017 9:03:37 GMT
The problem with this show is that the comedy play was MUCH better.
Funnier, better pace, better text, better character development, more heartfelt, you cared about the people more and in short we've all seen the stage play and the film to death.
"The Girls" never should have been a musical. I really thought the music (Like Bend it) was just dreadful. Jo Riding was so wasted. She's such a wonderful performer.
In other British musicals - Me and My Girl, Oliver, Blood Brothers, Betty Blue Eyes, High Society, Spend Spend Spend, Brigadoon, Sweeny Todd, Mrs Henderson Presents etc at least you get good solid songs and melodies - this was a total mess for the Phoenix yet again!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 16, 2017 9:09:23 GMT
Seeing this tomorrow evening with a completely open mind. In principle I like to support new musical theatre writing. I loathe juke box shows, so appreciate a new score. However, musicals are notoriously difficult to write (many try and many fail) but the rewards are massive if you get it right, which is why so many people give it a go! However, if it's poor ... it's poor - new writing or not.
The show opens next week after a long preview period, so now the show is fixed, regular readers of this forum, no doubt, will be waiting with baited breath - not, to see what I think.
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Post by westendwendy on Feb 16, 2017 12:19:03 GMT
I love new musicals too and support them a greatly. The ClockMakers Daughter a classic example - but sadly in this case the music is appalling. I think it will get very mixed reviews generally 3 star. The group I went with on concencsus gave it 6/10.
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Post by Steve on Feb 16, 2017 13:43:22 GMT
Saw this last Saturday matinee, and very much enjoyed it. Some spoilers follow. . . Going in completely cold, I instantly cringed at the tweeness of this Yorkshire with it's cheerful green hillock and pleasant gamboling villagers. I prejudged the first song, seeing the title, "Yorkshire," expecting a celebration of the soil and said green hillock which would be queasily exclusionary and nationalistic in tone. I was wrong. The modest lyrics were a universal celebration of human life at it's most modest, rooted in an amusing British defeatism, with descriptions of late buses stuck behind tractors and schoolchildren who don't appreciate the beauty of the Yorkshire mist, as well as an outward embrace of every other county, an embrace even extending to Europe, which ships the flowers that ride the trucks to Yorkshire. I was still in two minds about the show when the second song, "Girls" embraced the easy and dated girls-are-like-this-boys-are-like-that nonsense that has been done to death in every comedy show since Shakespeare. But then Joanna Riding's Annie came out and sang about her worries about losing her witty good-humoured husband, James Gaddas' John, himself uncomplainingly dying of cancer, in the song "Scarborough," and she broke my heart. A lot of this is performance, as Riding knows how to milk a moment, giving the impression of trying to withhold powerful emotions, while in fact deliberately showering the audience in a storm of sadness. But it is not only Riding that makes "Scarborough" brilliant, it's the lyric writing, which calmly rides the gently wilting waves of Gary Barlow's lovely melody to deliver sudden surprising punches to the emotional gut. As a frequent ticketbuyer, the idea that people I buy tickets for won't live to use them hurt, but so too did the idea that Annie might lose the man who can reach towels on high shelves or clear scary spiders from the bathtub. Maybe I'm just a sucker for emotional manipulation, but the specificity of the song, the banality of the details, the sense that these details describe the precious ordinary moments of every life, made "Scarborough" overwhelmingly emotional for me. And I knew that the musical was a hit for me, when the fourth song "Who wants a silent night?" turned out to be a much needed and vastly successful change of pace, with a rollicking Claire Machin, as Cora, expressing every bit as much joie de vivre as Riding had expressed deep sadness. As the musical went on, the love of Joanna Riding's Annie for her husband John, threatened to be forgotten as a story thread, as we move on to the shenanigans surrounding the nude calendar, but Tim Firth and Gary Barlow never allow that to happen, returning to the principle emotional thread periodically, in particular in the song, "Kilinanjaro," in Act 2. The nude calendar fun delivers everything you would expect, in as tasteful a way as you would expect, proving that taste and fun do mix. And the thread with the teens, which involves an endearing Ben Hunter fretting about losing his virginity to a bolshy girl, delivers the kind of diverting moments which will make a trip to this show worth it for young ones forced to accompany their parents to see this. That is, these moments aren't integrated well, but they are somehow necessary anyway. Overall, this is an excellent cast, performing a show which has something for everyone, but which derives it's greatest value from Joanna Riding's brilliant evocation of grief for her dying husband. Recommended, if you like this sort of thing. 4 stars. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 16, 2017 13:47:39 GMT
I find it utterly patronising and cliched in its' depiction of Yorkshire folk. It's the direction and clumsy set that bother me. Preach, Sister! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 14:29:44 GMT
I too, was in attendance last night. This was my second viewing, after initially seeing the run in Leeds in '15. There were some major changes (for the worse, and for the better) and some minor, too.
The opening number, Yorkshire has been paced down considerably - with with more dialogue inserted as we are slowly introduced to each character. I personally preferred the original arrangement, which opened the show with a vibrance that hooked you in instantly. The other noteable change is the end of act one. The interval has moved forward by roughly five minutes, after Chris' big number, "Sunflower" where she comes up with the concept of the calendar. It makes a big difference, and it now feels as though it should've always been here. In Leeds, the interval came in on a big laugh, which now appears at the start of Act 2.
This is an emotional rollercoaster of a musical, with tears and laughter in equal measure. No doubt, as I've said before, this show wouldn't be what it is without the excellent writing of Tim Firth and the fantastic chemistry and wealth of experience the main cast bring to it. It is far from perfect, however it's still an enjoyable piece which deserves a prosperous future. I echo Steve's 4/5 review also. If you're yet to see it, do give it a chance. I'm already planning on going again for a third trip.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 20:27:50 GMT
Tom89 - what was Judith Street like as Jessie?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 21:35:29 GMT
Tom89 - what was Judith Street like as Jessie? Very good, I thought. She slotted into the role perfectly I thought. To those who didn't know Michelle was ill, wouldn't have known any different. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 0:23:15 GMT
Apparently Barlow and Firth are in discussions for a cast recording album with Decca Records and for some reason Disney Music.
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Post by westendwendy on Feb 17, 2017 9:34:05 GMT
A CD is fine but it would help if there was more than one decent song in it!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 9:45:26 GMT
I thought some time ago GB had his own label? He signed a very promising talent called A*M*E - I wonder what happened there?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:14:17 GMT
I thought some time ago GB had his own label? He signed a very promising talent called A*M*E - I wonder what happened there? He *did* have his own label for 3 years but shut it to concentrate on his "solo career" and not at all coz it was sh*t. A*M*E* released a single that got to #1 a few years ago but nothing else, prob works as a consultant now |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 16:38:19 GMT
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Post by d'James on Feb 17, 2017 16:49:55 GMT
Oh dear. Hope she recovers soon. I really liked Judith Street in Titanic. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 16:54:51 GMT
Oh dear. Hope she recovers soon. I really liked Judith Street in Titanic. I wonder how long that will keep her from the show? I mean press night is next week, I'm sure she'd hate to miss that |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 17:08:50 GMT
I think for them to consider Jessie as lead role is a bit of a stretch. Still, here's hoping Michelle a restful recovery. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 17, 2017 20:45:51 GMT
Interval. I am afraid this just isn't for me.
House full with the target market - women who are lapping up the sentiment alternated with the humour.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 18, 2017 2:52:02 GMT
So a more considered view after getting home.....
Certainly not for me as I said above, but I have to report that a packed house of 80% women lapped it up - laughed and cried and a full standing ovation at the curtain call. The original "calendar girls" came on and joined the cast - I assume they are in town over the weekend doing promotion and for the gala and first night next week. I can't see them doing the full run!! So unlike other shows, the story certainly has a following and a strong emotional connection with an audience - everyone knows someone who has had cancer. So....I smell a hit?
The show itself has its highs and lows.
Lows first. As ever with new shows it could do with trimming, the running time 2.40 and the second act longer than the first - apparently they have moved the interval back? But 10 - 15 minutes too long.
The depiction of Yorkshire is ludicrous. I spent the first 20 years of my life in Yorkshire - so I should know - it looks and sounds nothing like what was on stage at the Phoenix Theatre! It was completely "Disneyfied". I think this is why I failed to connect with the piece really. The set, costumes and accents - the whole look was off.
The score is very bland apart from 3 good numbers - Scarborough, Dare and something about Sunflowers and formulaic - all the "girls" have to have a solo number and "their moment" Pathos has to be followed by a comedy number which in turn is followed by sentiment.
High points. Great to see a show with 6 strong female leads, led here by the fabulous Joanne Riding and Claire Moore (the original Ellen in Miss Saigon all those years ago! )They really work together well and elevate the material. A joy to watch them work. Sophie Louise Dan - hilarious (as usual - she does seem to play the same "type").
As said above - 3 great songs.
Some big laughs in Act 2 which was generally much stronger than the first act, climaxing (if that is an appropriate word) in an hilarious photo shoot scene which is cleverly and bravely staged by these leading actresses.
So, in summary not for me - I think women will enjoy it far more than men, but women buy the theatre tickets and so I think it will have a decent run and will receive very good reviews.
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Post by Mark on Feb 18, 2017 11:07:23 GMT
Could someone post the song list from the programme please? |
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