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Post by ali973 on Apr 5, 2016 18:30:36 GMT
NO! You are SO lucky that Ria got to do it! Was it a piano only accompaniment?
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Post by steve10086 on Apr 5, 2016 18:34:30 GMT
NO! You are SO lucky that Ria got to do it! Was it a piano only accompaniment? Yeah, Murray Hipkin (assistant conductor/chorus master) on the piano. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Apr 5, 2016 18:48:42 GMT
I was there, and there were no speeches. I didn't think ALW was going to appear at the end as Don Black and Christoper Hampton came on without him. Is it an opera thing to make a bigger deal about the composer in particular? Quite hard to say given the vast majority of operas performed have deceased composers! I'm not very keen on modern opera so I think I've actually only twice seen a composer come onstage but in both those cases he came on at the same time as the librettist. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 5, 2016 20:31:03 GMT
That explanation of young Norma is absolute BS! She's just annoying and distracting. Made me chuckle though I'm really curious about this "young norma" re-appearing in this production. One reviewer was describing it and talked about it as being another example of ALW's fascination with "Ghost stories" (WIW, Phantom, Aspects all having these elements) that in a sense, Sunset also has the ghost of Norma's past there. Interesting idea and would bring a different dimension to the show rather than scoring and staging the film (as some reviewers complained was all they did with the original go-round) If anything, I'm glad that this production put to bed the Watermill-pared-down version. If I remember, that got some good reviews and I could never imagine Sunset being done on a dinky stage with the actors playing instruments. This needs to be done big and it shouldn't apologize for it |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 5, 2016 20:32:14 GMT
I'm sorry but how is this show flawed?! It has everything I want in a musical (except tap dancing) Seeing this tomorrow and trying to lower my expectations as I do not want to be disappointed with "the theatrical event of the year"! I notice that the reviews are generally 4 stars rather than 5 - it must be the nature of the staging that prevents it from being a 5 star show? It's also the nature of the flawed show in itself and not everybody raved about Michael Xavier. |
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Post by showtoones on Apr 5, 2016 20:34:14 GMT
Does Norma wear a turban in this production? There are none in the pictures....Nora needs a turban!!
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Post by ali973 on Apr 5, 2016 20:35:34 GMT
Yes in Eternal Youth is Worth a Little Suffering. I'm not sure about Hello is this Gladstone 9821 scene if she's wearing a turban or the red wig.
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Post by showtoones on Apr 5, 2016 20:36:53 GMT
Does she wear a turban in "With One Look"?
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 5, 2016 20:37:02 GMT
Can someone please tell me what time the curtain comes down? THANKS
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 5, 2016 20:37:55 GMT
Who's Nora? Does Norma wear a turban in this production? There are none in the pictures....Nora needs a turban!! |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 5, 2016 20:38:31 GMT
Depends what time it goes up Can someone please tell me what time the curtain comes down? THANKS |
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Post by chernjam on Apr 5, 2016 20:45:53 GMT
Just catching up on the latest posts - a few quick questions:
1 - What was Ria Jones doing at the Q & A (and yeah, that must've been cool seeing the first workshop Norma singing that)
2 - What change did ALW make to the overture? I can't even imagine it being changed.
3 - Any SB addicts pick out any other changes so far?
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Post by richey on Apr 5, 2016 20:51:33 GMT
Can someone please tell me what time the curtain comes down? THANKS We were out just after 10.20 last night and that was with a late start and extended curtain calls |
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Post by richey on Apr 5, 2016 20:52:17 GMT
Does she wear a turban in "With One Look"? Nope. No turban. |
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Post by distantcousin on Apr 5, 2016 20:57:28 GMT
Can someone please tell me what time the curtain comes down? THANKS We were out just after 10.20 last night and that was with a late start and extended curtain calls Thanks! Sounds like I can't risk getting my train!! AARGH! |
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Post by steve10086 on Apr 5, 2016 21:00:27 GMT
Just catching up on the latest posts - a few quick questions: 1 - What was Ria Jones doing at the Q & A (and yeah, that must've been cool seeing the first workshop Norma singing that) 2 - What change did ALW make to the overture? I can't even imagine it being changed. 3 - Any SB addicts pick out any other changes so far? 1) Ria Jones is Glenn Close's understudy 2) No good with music technical terms, but in essence the timing of the beats in the music that would correlate to "if you said Hollywood..." has changed. Instead of "hol-ly-wood" it's "hol...lywood". Someone else will be able to explain that better I'm sure 3) There's a slight chance in the "Too Much in Love..." lyrics |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 5, 2016 21:13:44 GMT
BTW is Ria in the ensemble? I tried to spot her but it doesn't look like her. Normally the Norma understudy is (Heather?) who says "She must be about a million years old".
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Post by mrpianoman on Apr 5, 2016 22:01:23 GMT
BTW is Ria in the ensemble? I tried to spot her but it doesn't look like her. Normally the Norma understudy is (Heather?) who says "She must be about a million years old". Hi. Saw it tonight. What can I say!! This production is phenomenal and Glenn is amazing!! What a performance. She deserves all the awards she can get for this. To hear the score being played with a full orchestra was spine tingling. The rest of the cast were all great too. Can they please extend this or transfer it to another theatre. I've never seen an audience reaction like it when Glennsang her main numbers and at curtain call. Ali - in answer to your question, Ria was not on stage during this performance from what I could see and she is not listed under the ensemble in the programme. She's listed as Understudy Norma Desmond so is probably on standby. |
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Post by Oleanna on Apr 6, 2016 0:05:07 GMT
Just catching up on the latest posts - a few quick questions: 1 - What was Ria Jones doing at the Q & A (and yeah, that must've been cool seeing the first workshop Norma singing that) 2 - What change did ALW make to the overture? I can't even imagine it being changed. 3 - Any SB addicts pick out any other changes so far? In answer to number 2, in bar 5 of the overture, the rhythm of the melody has been changed from crotchet-crotchet-crotchet-crotchet to crotchet-minim-quaver-quaver (the change then persists each time that bar is repeated). |
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Post by Oleanna on Apr 6, 2016 0:05:40 GMT
BTW is Ria in the ensemble? I tried to spot her but it doesn't look like her. Normally the Norma understudy is (Heather?) who says "She must be about a million years old". Ria Jones is standby only (i.e not in the show). |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2016 1:09:41 GMT
Full report to follow tomorrow morning, but everyone should see this. It* really is sensational!
*She
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Post by infofreako on Apr 6, 2016 7:49:10 GMT
Totally blown away by this last night. Catch it while you can.
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Post by londonmzfitz on Apr 6, 2016 8:40:56 GMT
I was at the pre-performance talk too, ENO did say they were filming it, possibly for online viewing. Talk was in the upper bar, about 40 people. Lonnie Price (Director) and Matt Cowart (Associate Director) talked first (mostly Lonnie, very interesting guy). Said the young Norma is something he and Matt were still discussing (I guess they know it's not quite working; when I saw it on Friday night the two ladies behind me were discussing what was the relevance). It was further mentioned in the quick Q&A afterwards. Set Designer asked the directors if there really had to be a staircase (reluctantly) ... then built two. Didn't want to "spoon feed" the audience too much in terms of set, chandelier and staircase. The relationship between a man in his 30's and a woman in her 50's these days wouldn't be the scandal it would have been then. How amazing Fred is as Max; interesting story that in the film Erich Von Stroheim plays Max, who had directed Gloria Swanson (triv from IMDB - As the butler in Sunset Blvd. (1950) he is in the projection room when Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis are watching one of Norma's old films. The film is actually Queen Kelly (1929), which von Stroehim directed and which starred Gloria Swanson, who is playing Norma Desmond).
Then Murray Hipkin talked about the difference between Opera trained singers and Musical Theatre singer, the "change" as described above, something ALW wanted to always do but never got around to.
Ria Jones sang - in this small, intimate setting really quite something else! Lonnie said in a pause while waiting for a working mike for audience questions how much all the cast love Ria, her warmth. Really very touching
Q&A - Would the directors have thought about casting Joe as of a different ethnicity. Lonnie said it's not something they had thought about, and actually apologised! The young Norma on stage. That Ria had sung "Could I stop my hand from shaking" instead of "trembling" ...
Large screen TV set up with production shots of the show.
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Post by chernjam on Apr 6, 2016 19:25:30 GMT
Thanks for everyone's feedback and reports of the show. For Steve10086 - its nice for us who were fans way back and when it first opened (which is how you and I "met" in the infancy of the internet) to see the show having a "return" of it's own. This is how it has to play - lots of intrigue both on and off the stage. I'd love to see Meryl Streep have a go or some other Hollywood Actress - but I guess ALW learned what happens when you diss a Norma (ie LuPone and her voodoo doll of him  ) Keep looking online for any clips of the "corrected" overture (thanks for the description of it... It's hard to imagine tampering with that at all - it's such a legendary opening sound...) |
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Post by crabtree on Apr 6, 2016 19:55:46 GMT
Do we think Bette Midler would make a good Norma?
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