Chess

[dazzlair]

May 5, 2018 21:45:54 GMT Brian said:

Just an observation, and I may be wide of the mark, but it’s wild to read the variety of reactions to Alexandra’s performance on this board- from one saying they’d pay to see her as Florence to another saying she’s awful and ruined the songs.

She seems to be quite a marmite character and I do wonder whether some people’s personal dislike of her impacts on an objective/ fair assessment of her performance. My sense is that it’s almost like the rest of us have to be apologetic for enjoying her input to the show.

Aside from one or two critics saying she was miscast, so many of the critics’ reviews have singled her out for praise and have mentioned that they would have liked her to have had a meatier role. More than one mentioned that she brought ‘light and shade’ to the character.

I accept that when people have shelled out for tickets, then of course they’re entitled to voice their opinions, but she does seem to come in for a disproportionate level of criticism.

She’s clearly not everyone’s cup of tea, but the casual criticism is unseemly at times.

I'll be the first to admit I wasn't enamoured when the casting was announced. I had even deliberately booked a Sister Act matinee when I knew she wouldn't be on. I don't know - I think maybe I have an innate snobbery about X Factor participants and want to see a "proper" MT performer.

However she really surprised me in Chess. I thought she held her own well against the seasoned pros. Someone Else's Story was done with soul which was dare I say, 80s Whitney-esque (to me, it is not a bad thing at all) and both voices blended so beautifully on I Know Him So Well. Endgame was great too. On the night I watched it, Michael Ball fluffed his line and she recovered it professionally. If I hadn't known she who she was, I would have assumed she was like any other West End performer (which she was in Bodyguard of course but you know what I mean).

So I've slapped my wrist for pre-judging. Bad me.

PS. Does the wardrobe department hate her? Because her costumes were maximum fugly. All that muddy brown!

[Being Alive]

I understand that Alexandra gets a lot of flack, and that’s probably not all justified. She does annoy me a bit in general but I don’t feel it affects my view of her as a performer.
But I’ve seen every show that she’s done (Bodyguard, Sister Act and then Chess) and have strongly disliked her performances in all 3.
I just don’t think she’s any kind of actress. Which is a big problem for me. She can sing, I don’t question, but I don’t think her voice is suited to any Of the parts she has played. I disliked her voice least in Bodyguard as it’s the closest to her pop style.
Her Act 2 opened in this, on reflection, was ok, but someone else’s story I thought was poor and CJ wiped the floor with her in I Know Him So Well.
I just don’t think she has a place in theatre - it’s not me being cruel, just my honest opinion.

[Being Alive]

dazzlair it’s amazing how different our views in our posts are.

That’s why I love this board - the range of views is incredible!

[dazzlair]

May 5, 2018 22:14:13 GMT Being Alive said:

dazzlair it’s amazing how different our views in our posts are.

That’s why I love this board - the range of views is incredible!

I wouldn't have it any other way! 

[denada]

I had no particular preconceptions about Alexandra Burke's talent going in because I don't watch X Factor and I had read that she was surprisingly good in Bodyguard in particular; she certainly has the voice to pull off those songs with aplomb, and I didn't think her line readings tonight were bad.

Thing is... Someone Else's Story, as it stands in this version of the show, is sung when Svetlana is at home watching the devastating news that her husband has just defected to the West without her - and in fact, with another woman. The lyrics are introspective and wistful - Svetlana is singing that she wishes to give herself advice in an ironically bitter and detached manner - it's not the stuff of full-throated thoughtless belting and wandering from mark to mark. You can still give it some welly, but not JUST welly. Watch Cynthia Erivo's performance at the Tim Rice celebration, or Helen Sjoholm in the Swedish production (sung by Florence with different lyrics but there's another video of her singing it in English), or listen to Judy Kuhn, or Kerry Ellis, or...

He Is A Man is a hard sell - it's a weird song anyway - and I thought the Where I Want To Be reprise and Endgame were fine, but Someone Else's Story is a stone cold classic... and I didn't think her performance was.

[couldileaveyou]

May 5, 2018 17:36:54 GMT Being Alive said:

I was up in the balcony and a lot of people clapped as he rose at the front and began his first line - the two woman next to me we’re going ‘there he is’ and pointing.

Yes, it angered me that it’s been designed for the people who paid the most. I mean, I paid £17 but couldn’t see anything that happened downstage left at all, because the set had been built out into what would be the pit.

I didn’t detest it, but I didn’t like it. It just annoyed me. I thought it was dated as a show, but had some cracking numbers in. Cassidy Janson is the star by a clear mile - although it’s criminal she doesn’t get to reprise Anthem anymore at the end just to show how good she is. Burke was terrible, Ball can sing but can’t act (ending anthem with virtually Evita arms was just cringe) and Tim Howar was alright.

Orchestra were fantastic, and the wall of sound from the ensemble was thrilling. However, couldn’t hear a bloody word anyone sang most of the Time - such terrible sound design in the balcony.

I agree with pretty much everything, I haven't been so bored in a theatre in a long while, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I didn't like the score, a part from the four famous songs, I thought it was repetitive, bombastic and some of those silly recitatives should just be dialogues. There are also some appalling lyrics and the least is said about the book the better. At the end of it I told my friend that not even Tim Rice could have written something so bad and then I was informed that it was by Tim Rice. Made perfect sense.

Absolutely agree about Janson, she's the true winner of this production. I thought Burke sang the hell out of her songs, but her diction was monstrous. I mean, maybe the faulty sound design paid an important role in this, but I spent half of "He's a Man, He's a Child" thinking she was singing in Russian. Great orchestra and I loved the set and the staging (but I was sitting in the front of the dress circle, a rush ticket from TodayTix), even if "I Know Him So Well" could have been done better.

[Being Alive]

I’m actually going to email the Collesium and say how monstrous the sound is. I literally understood none of the first 15 mins of the show - and also not much of Burke’s stuff but that’s largely due to her diction.

Also, why does Someone Else’s story have new lyrics? I know it mainly from the concert version and they were so different to Kerry Ellis’s version.

[sf]

May 5, 2018 23:11:08 GMT Being Alive said:

Also, why does Someone Else’s story have new lyrics? I know it mainly from the concert version and they were so different to Kerry Ellis’s version.

I don't see it myself until Wednesday, but I believe they aren't new - they're from an earlier production of the show in Sydney in which the song was also given to Svetlana.

[shady23]

I thought Alexandre Burke was great and I am certainly not a fan. Not much acting required as she is hardly on stage. She is just requested to belt out her numbers, which she did.

Cassidy was definitely the stand out for me though. Wonderful!

Have to agree on thoughts on the set design too. Staging scenes so far forward that lots of the upper levels cannot see is madness. We had standers and lookers and extreme leaners as a result. I was getting very annoyed! I had a cheap ticket but still wanted to watch the performers and not the performers on a screen.

[bellboard27]

Seems the ENO is arguing its drinks policy for musicals is because they can attract bad behaviour! But then raise commercial points that would apply to all performances.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/05/eno-bans-audience-bringing-food-drink-musical-theatre-shows/

[Deleted]

I agree with the food and drinks ban. Inside an auditorium is not the place to have your picnic. I wish all theatres started doing it. We’d certainly see the number of posts in our bad behaviour thread diminish...

Interesting that they’re seeing different patterns of behaviour now they’ve started staging musicals. It says a lot about modern theatre audiences.

Anyway, a standing ovation for the ENO from me.

[buckybear]

Went Fri eve. Those soaring orchestrations sounded glorious with the ENO orchestra and I thought the performances were faultless, especially Cassidy who was standout. Her rendition of IKHSW with Alexandre was moving, powerful and really quite beautiful.

[clair]

Food is fair enough but making people throw away water is ridiculous - particularly with their over priced tickets! It costs enough to just go there, when I was at Chess there was no water freely available at the bar, staff said they were too busy to keep refilling the jugs. Clearly just a way of getting extra revenue, and of making me decide I have to REALLY want to see something to go there again.

[Deleted]

Yes, puts me off going at all, particularly as this isn’t a policy they have for opera so either money grabbing or a snobby attitude to musical audiences who it appears they don’t REALLY want in the building making it look untidy

[oxfordsimon]

I think we have all been in audiences where certain patrons have had too much to drink. With the high price of theatre drinks, people are arriving having enjoyed a pre-drink too many or are bringing in their own booze. One of the ways of doing that is vodka or gin in a water bottle. That is why theatres (and it is not just ENO) are clamping down.

Yes, in part, it is to drive more people to their bars - but it is also about trying to control behaviour in the auditorium so they get less disruption from tipsy audience members. It is a blunt instrument but an increasingly common one.

The no-food rule is one that should be in place everywhere - and should include theatres not selling food for consumption in the auditorium - other than, perhaps, interval ice creams (though the mess they can create must be a pain to clear up)

[CG on the loose]

May 6, 2018 7:17:02 GMT @caiaphas said:

I agree with the food and drinks ban. Inside an auditorium is not the place to have your picnic. I wish all theatres started doing it. We’d certainly see the number of posts in our bad behaviour thread diminish...

Interesting that they’re seeing different patterns of behaviour now they’ve started staging musicals. It says a lot about modern theatre audiences.

Anyway, a standing ovation for the ENO from me.

It’s not a food and drinks ban - just a ban on food and drink bought elsewhere! That does, admittedly, restrict the picnic options, as food choices sold within are limited!

[Someone in a tree]

Chess I bought on tape as a teenager, fell in love with it and 25 ish years later I finally get to see it

Such great score but a terrible book with lousy showoff lyrics - I’m loving all the different translated versions on Spotify!

Some songs make a point in the first minute and then carry on for another 5. Some truncating could work wonders ...

Sound was terrible as I know it off by heart I was able to follow the ‘plot’ while the boyf struggled.

The closeups just reminded me how far away we were sat from the stage and we were sat on row A of the dress circle. Some really poor staging, Bangkok was the worst. Throughout the evening no attempt was made to integrate the ENO chorus with the rest of cast. Lazy!

I’m afraid I didn’t feel a thing emotionally. Still don’t understand why certain aspects was cut ie the reprise of Anthem and the build upto it

I thought Michael Ball sounded great. His voice fitted perfectly with the score.

I would love to see another. Perhaps more intimately staged.

[BurlyBeaR]

May 6, 2018 8:37:29 GMT clair said:

Food is fair enough but making people throw away water is ridiculous - particularly with their over priced tickets! It costs enough to just go there, when I was at Chess there was no water freely available at the bar, staff said they were too busy to keep refilling the jugs. Clearly just a way of getting extra revenue, and of making me decide I have to REALLY want to see something to go there again.

That’s against the law. Licensed premises have to provide free drinking water. 

[freckles]

May 7, 2018 8:15:49 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

May 6, 2018 8:37:29 GMT clair said:

Food is fair enough but making people throw away water is ridiculous - particularly with their over priced tickets! It costs enough to just go there, when I was at Chess there was no water freely available at the bar, staff said they were too busy to keep refilling the jugs. Clearly just a way of getting extra revenue, and of making me decide I have to REALLY want to see something to go there again.

That’s against the law. Licensed premises have to provide free drinking water. 

There is water available. The staff can’t always keep up with serving and keeping it replenished - mostly because there are so many people filling up huge water bottles rather than just taking a glass - but they will if you ask.

[freckles]

Saw the matinee on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked that it was a bit cheesy and eighties; it worked well I thought.
Michael Ball, Tim Howar and Cassidy were all great. Alexandra was OK, but miscast for me. She neither looked nor sounded right, and I couldn’t tell what she was saying a lot of the time. I do think she had some horrible, dowdy costumes though, poor thing. The ensemble work hard and are really well used, lifting a lot of the intermediate scenes. The orchestra is glorious.
The view from mid dress circle was good, and the staging combined with the screens worked well although at times I was torn which to focus on. Sound was fine. It’s very long (particularly Act 1).
Coming out, I heard a girl ask her mother “how do you know some of those songs so well, if you’ve never seen it?” Mother: “Well, they were big hits in the 80s”. “Oh, I didn’t know , I’ve heard IKHSW, which others?” Mother “One night in Bangkok was huge!” Daughter looks like mum has early onset dementia...

[Deleted]

May 7, 2018 8:25:27 GMT freckles said:

May 7, 2018 8:15:49 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

That’s against the law. Licensed premises have to provide free drinking water. 

There is water available. The staff can’t always keep up with serving and keeping it replenished - mostly because there are so many people filling up huge water bottles rather than just taking a glass - but they will if you ask.

OK, so the water jugs are empty because people are filling up the bottles they've been forced to empty by the security staff, but the bar staff can't fill up the water jugs as they are too busy selling drinks to people who have had drinks confiscated by the security staff. 

[freckles]

May 7, 2018 8:47:50 GMT @xanderl said:

May 7, 2018 8:25:27 GMT freckles said:

There is water available. The staff can’t always keep up with serving and keeping it replenished - mostly because there are so many people filling up huge water bottles rather than just taking a glass - but they will if you ask.

OK, so the water jugs are empty because people are filling up the bottles they've been forced to empty by the security staff, but the bar staff can't fill up the water jugs as they are too busy selling drinks to people who have had drinks confiscated by the security staff. 

Well, some people do actually want to buy drinks! But yes, they’ve created a Catch 22 with the water. If people had a glass though, the system would work. They’re going to sit through one act of a musical, not trek across the Sahara.

[loureviews]

Laughing at the girl's reaction to ONIB being a big hit. 80s children, admit it, you knew all the words and danced to it in your bedrooms when playing your tapes of the charts

It makes me a little sad to read people dismissing this show's score as 'boring'. But then I have had the concept album for 35 years and this was my fourth time seeing a production.

I love the cheesy bits. I love the high octane emotional bits. I love the clever lyrics (I think they are). I love the glorious sound of an orchestra and chorus. I love the conceit of having a musical number about chess champions of the past.

If you have grown up with the show go and see this. If you're curious give it a chance.

Oh, and Burke's costumes. She is a wife and mother behind the Iron Curtain. She won't have access to fashions from the West.

[cherokee]

Chess is a conundrum. This production doesn't solve it and I'm not sure it's even possible too. Yes, the score is wonderful. But the story remains as dissatisfying as when I first saw it twenty years ago. A bunch of horrible, self-involved people that you don't care about. Who cares whether Freddie or Anatoly wins? They're both pretty obnoxious. And the love story seemed slighter in this version than ever. We spend more time watching them playing chess than we do falling in love, and it's not helped by the fact that Janson and Ball are a pretty unlikely romantic couple to begin with.
Freddie is such a horrible character, and his songs are pitched so high, that you just want him to go away. And it's not helped by Tim Howar gurning away, acting badly and looking exactly like Harry Enfield playing Smashie or Nicey. By the time we're asked to feel some sympathy for him in 'Pity the Child' it's too little too late.
Michael Ball sings nicely - although he got a few of the lyrics wrong when I saw it, nothing major but when you know the score backwards it shows.
Cassidy Janson is good too: but Florence appears so late in the story, and with one of her numbers having been given to Svetlana, she doesn't feel like the main character any more. (Reflected in the fact that she doesn't get the final bow either.) Which leaves you wondering who exactly you're supposed to be rooting for.
I was relieved Alexandra Burke didn't get too self indulgent with vocal flourishes a la X Factor, but I still think she was miscast. And what had she done to annoy the costume designer? That rust coloured jumpsuit she wore at the end was horrible!
Philip Brown has a good voice but he can't act either and his speech impediment was distracting.

So overall I wasn't overly impressed with the cast or the story. The Bangkok scene was dated and cliched too. And there are also concerns over yellow face. Although again I have some sympathy: what can a director do there? Hire 15 Asian ensemble members for one song? Cut the second most famous number in the show?

Still it's a big spectacle and in spite of my seeming to slate it, I thought the plethora of 2 star reviews was a little harsh. I'd have gone for 3 stars purely for the score. The ensemble did great work too.

[distantcousin]

May 6, 2018 8:37:29 GMT clair said:

Food is fair enough but making people throw away water is ridiculous - particularly with their over priced tickets! It costs enough to just go there, when I was at Chess there was no water freely available at the bar, staff said they were too busy to keep refilling the jugs. Clearly just a way of getting extra revenue, and of making me decide I have to REALLY want to see something to go there again.

Utterly ridiculous. I was made to throw mine in the gutter, before I would be let in.  It was a hot day for goodness sake!

However, i was pleased to see plentiful iced water available at Dress Circle level.