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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2021 22:32:20 GMT
They're bringing the Antonio Banderas production to LONDON? ...did it have the original choreography?! According to the Madrid thread in International, yes. And he was in it! It seems a bit unlikely. Yes, it's a Spanish language replica of the original production. And Antonio Banderas played Zach in the Malaga run. It's currently playing in Madrid until April 2022, then it's going out on tour in Spain. But Banderas wants to bring the production to London after that, and then to the New York Public Theater for the 50th anniversary in 2025. Not sure how well a Spanish language production would go down in London. |
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Post by SuttonPeron on Dec 7, 2021 12:29:42 GMT
Banderas said in a live interview recently that he´s really keen on it happening. He even had Studio 54 booked in NYC pre-covid. I really hope it does. The cast and orchestra are sensational. I´m not sure either of how it´d go down, but Antonio is a big name and can sell tickets.
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Post by princeton on Dec 7, 2021 17:28:54 GMT
I'm interested to see the reviews for this production. I suspect that much will depend on how well acquainted people are with the original Michael Bennett version. I have a longstanding personal and professional relationship with the Bennett production and found this version very flawed. I don't think that every revival has to slavishly recreate the original staging - and indeed the Curve creative team have made it clear that they wanted to shake things up a bit - but I do think it has to remain true to the spirit. There's a reason why the original was billed as "Conceived, Choreographed and Directed by Michael Bennett" and that's because every element of the production is there to serve Bennett's original vision - be that book, music, lyrics or design. The Curve version was full of directorial, and other creative, missteps - some minor, some fundamental which kept pulling you away from the source material instead of drawing you in. Never for once did I think I was watching people audition for a Broadway musical in 1975 - rather I was watching technical trickery, lightning effects and inappropriate footwear! Which was a shame - as I thought many of the cast were very good and there were lots of powerful individual moments but overall I felt that they were being hampered by what they were being asked to do.
I'm glad that people are enjoying this version - but slightly saddened by the missed opportunities.
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Post by woobl on Dec 8, 2021 10:11:44 GMT
According to the Madrid thread in International, yes. And he was in it! It seems a bit unlikely. Yes, it's a Spanish language replica of the original production. And Antonio Banderas played Zach in the Malaga run. It's currently playing in Madrid until April 2022, then it's going out on tour in Spain. But Banderas wants to bring the production to London after that, and then to the New York Public Theater for the 50th anniversary in 2025. Not sure how well a Spanish language production would go down in London. The 2013 production barely made a dent. The trouble with the show is you need such a wide pros (at least for the original version), there are only a few in London that can handle the show. Which means more seats to sell. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2021 10:53:40 GMT
Yes, it's a Spanish language replica of the original production. And Antonio Banderas played Zach in the Malaga run. It's currently playing in Madrid until April 2022, then it's going out on tour in Spain. But Banderas wants to bring the production to London after that, and then to the New York Public Theater for the 50th anniversary in 2025. Not sure how well a Spanish language production would go down in London. The 2013 production barely made a dent. The trouble with the show is you need such a wide pros (at least for the original version), there are only a few in London that can handle the show. Which means more seats to sell. Yeah, that's why I think it would really struggle in London, even with Antonio Banderas's name attached. I agree with SuttonPeron that it was a great production, cast, and orchestra, but it's in Spanish (except for the final song). And to do it in English doesn't bring anything new, that wasn't there in 2013. |
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 8, 2021 11:51:15 GMT
Saw it last night, 4 stars from me. Review coming later 😁
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Post by jgblunners on Dec 8, 2021 11:58:22 GMT
4 stars in both The Times and Guardian. I haven't booked for this yet but I've been a big fan of Curve's musicals over the past few years so I will definitely be making a visit before this closes!
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 8, 2021 12:55:22 GMT
Has Dance Ten, Looks Three survived unscathed? Indeed it has and it's one of the highlights, delivered brilliantly 😁 |
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 8, 2021 14:39:13 GMT
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Post by Being Alive on Dec 8, 2021 22:05:27 GMT
It really would appear I missed something these reviewers found because I thought it was bang average 😂
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 11, 2021 17:15:00 GMT
Lights Ten, Wigs Three.
The rest is somewhere in the middle with the majority of the performances in the lower end of the scores I’m sorry to say. I’ll not get into individuals because it definitely is an ensemble piece but there are some issues. Apart from the acting many of the lines are gabbled through at a speed that makes it hard to hear them let alone to land and pack any sort of emotional punch. Maybe they were conscious of middle aged bladders and that no interval decision.
The dancing is ok but not at a level that I’d hope for - it’s a dance show right? The video camera thing could have been ok but frustratingly the audio was out of sync with the video by a second which made it hugely distracting and negated the couple of bits where it could have been clever.
And those wigs. Seriously, whoever is responsible for those needs to take a seat in the front stalls and have a long hard look at their handiwork. Sheila, Connie and Christine I commend you for getting through the show wearing these.
Band was great and there was a nice bit of business which allowed us to see them. Lighting stunning and the finale was fab and a huge crowd pleaser . Big standing ovation.
Maybe I’m being s bit grumpy because I was so looking forward to it and there are some good things about it, it just didn’t completely work for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
ETA fabulous theatre. That stage seemed to be the size of a football pitch. And the staging meant that from the front you could see all of the workings and gubbins. I very much liked that.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 11, 2021 21:25:29 GMT
Thanks to some catastrophe on the East Midlands line between London and Leicester I’ve just got home. I left home at 9.45 am this morning. Almost 12 hours 😩
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Post by marob on Dec 11, 2021 22:49:09 GMT
BurlyBeaR I feel your pain there. I went to the matinee the other day and was out for about 11 hours. The first train on the way there was late so missed a connection by seconds, and got to Leicester an hour later than planned. Tried a different way coming home and ended up on a train that was on a go-slow because of the weather from earlier in the week. No big disaster, just the usual poor service from Transport for Wales. Leicester’s not much further from me than Birmingham or Manchester but so much more awkward to get to. I’ve wanted to go to Curve since Nikolai Foster became AD there and it is a really nice theatre (cool exterior too) but thanks to the trains I probably won’t be going back again any time soon. I’m just glad I enjoyed it.
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 22, 2021 9:44:13 GMT
Full review to come but I was quite disappointed. A bit more than average and NOT a PATCH on the Palladium version.
There were so many little things they messed up and therefore made the piece look very ordinary in places.
Some hints of inspiration, but it's a hard task to reinterpret a show such as this.
I don't think a lot of the audience "got it" due to the lack of laughs. Nothing compared to the reaction it got in London (the 3 times I saw it)
a 3 star version of a 5 star show.
Full review to come.
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 22, 2021 9:47:58 GMT
Was also there this afternoon (ended up missing the opening number as public transport had it in for me today). I was not as wowed as everyone else I'm afraid. I thought the cast on the whole were 'fine' but no better. I love Carly Mercedes Dyer and she's a sensational talent but she didn't blow the roof off with Music and the Mirror as I felt she should have done. Not that I thought that was her fault mind... My main issue is Ellen Kane's choreography which I thought by and large pretty poor. I thought the same of West Side Story a few years back and wonder if I just don't get on with her style but it just seemed all over the shop to me. None of the numbers were 'wow' enough for me. The problem with having a show with routines as quite as iconic as ACL is that if you're going to reinvent them, you need to be fresh and it needs to be as exciting. Music and the Mirror is a showstopper but missed the mark by a long way for me in this. Didn't enjoy the staging of 'One' either - the split of the men first and then the women joining them doesn't work for me as it's supposed to be those that got in first, followed by those who didn't... Also had some issues with quite how busy the stage felt with lights dropping in and out etc - I think they went too OTT with the set when it could be a lot more stripped back. Still, audience loved it and everyone stood up at the end. 3 stars from me - maybe they'll all settle in to it (I know it's previews) but it did feel quite under rehearsed to me... Totally agree. The wow was missing throughout most of it. The music was underpowered for two thirds of the show and a lot of the cast were underpowered too. |
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 22, 2021 9:53:18 GMT
It really would appear I missed something these reviewers found because I thought it was bang average 😂 I think there's an aura of "over generous" reviewing still going on post theatres re-opening. Anytime they try and relate said piece to the pandemic in some way, I'm like "oh, here we go - capturing a zeitgeist is as important as the show itself" |
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Post by danb on Dec 22, 2021 10:07:15 GMT
…and whilst it was revolutionary in 1975 it has informed so much modern musical theatre that it seems quite average and commonplace by comparison. Whilst I enjoyed the Palladium version I still had a bit of a ‘meh…is that it’ reaction. It just is not what it was anymore because of what it has subsequently enabled, likewise ‘Dreamgirls’. I think the only way either of them could be made ‘eventful’ again would be with megawatt casting and flashy million dollar overhauls which would be totally at odds with the shows themselves.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 22, 2021 10:52:11 GMT
But of all of them ACL shouldn’t need a million dollar overhaul should it? It’s literally an empty stage. I loved the lighting in this but it really wasn’t necessary and in fact rather incongruous given the supposed circumstances we’re being asked to believe in. They should have focussed on casting it for the dancing and acting. And now I’ve said that I WILL single some of them out, Paul and his speech did nothing for me whatsoever. I don’t think it did much for him either. I could have been up there reading it from a script and managed as much emotion. Cassie - same singing voice as in Anything Goes - nope.. she wasn’t putting that squeaky voice on for Ermine that’s her ‘real’ voice. She was the worst for gabbling her lines too.Judy Munro, totally unbelievable. Diana - it was her first professional performance apparently and it showed. Al was good, Kristine was good and I really liked her “Sing” despite the wig. Val was good, Sheila was ok and had to cope with by far the most laughable wig on stage. The rest of them were either unmemorable or pretty average.
A good touring production of ACL is overdue and I wouldn’t be mad with a bit of stunt casting if those chosen can act and dance and it was going to put bums on seats.
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 22, 2021 11:20:40 GMT
But of all of them ACL shouldn’t need a million dollar overhaul should it? It’s literally an empty stage. I loved the lighting in this but it really wasn’t necessary and in fact rather incongruous given the supposed circumstances we’re being asked to believe in. They should have focussed on casting it for the dancing and acting. And now I’ve said that I WILL single some of them out, Paul and his speech did nothing for me whatsoever. I don’t think it did much for him either. I could have been up there reading it from a script and managed as much emotion. Cassie - same singing voice as in Anything Goes - nope.. she wasn’t putting that squeaky voice on for Ermine that’s her ‘real’ voice. She was the worst for gabbling her lines too.Judy Munro, totally unbelievable. Diana - it was her first professional performance apparently and it showed. Al was good, Kristine was good and I really liked her “Sing” despite the wig. Val was good, Sheila was ok and had to cope with by far the most laughable wig on stage. The rest of them were either unmemorable or pretty average. A good touring production of ACL is overdue and I wouldn’t be mad with a bit of stunt casting if those chosen can act and dance and it was going to put bums on seats. I think what let it down for me was not having a completely different set for "One", because that reveal is such a coup-de-theatre in the original. Having some lights laid on top of the normal set (pretty as they were) didn't cut it for me in terms of that transition from behind the scenes to the stage of their dreams/future.... Carly thingy was totally miscast as Cassie (she would have made a better Sheila, perhaps) Her dancing was not at the standard it needed to be for The Music and The Mirror - I shall never forget Summer Strallen's lithe performance - gliding across the stage - simply thrilling. Judy Munroe - dreadful. I actually thought Diana Morales (renamed Deanna, for reasons unknown) was pretty good actually. One of the better ones. She managed to convey some of the Latina personality. The wigs, as you say were horrifying. Cheap-ass! The Sheila was too hammy. It's a hard part to get right, and she didn't have the technical ability to tow the right line. No one has mentioned Adam thingy as Zack - who I thought was excellent! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 22, 2021 11:54:54 GMT
I must have seen the understudy Diana because I went a couple of weeks in and it was specifically announced that it was her first ever performance. Yes Zack was ok, no complaints but let’s face it he’s the last person we’re interested in. . The dance captain, Larry is it? British accent for some reason. Not sure what that was all about, he only had one line “”Should I bring the kids back in now?” but it sounded very out of place. Maybe he forgot to do the accent?
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 22, 2021 12:09:06 GMT
I must have seen the understudy Diana because I went a couple of weeks in and it was specifically announced that it was her first ever performance. Yes Zack was ok, no complaints but let’s face it he’s the last person we’re interested in. . The dance captain, Larry is it? British accent for some reason. Not sure what that was all about, he only had one line “”Should I bring the kids back in now?” but it sounded very out of place. Maybe he forgot to do the accent? Yes, totally Southern English accent, however I completely forgave him as he was the hottest guy on the stage!  |
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Post by properjob on Dec 23, 2021 12:17:43 GMT
I had never seen a production or heard the soundtrack of A Chorus Line before but had heard of the show. This means I have nothing to compare it to. I liked it and I can see it would be revolutionary at the time but now feels dated.
Nowadays it feels exploitative to the characters which makes it hard to warm to. Tell your deepest personal stories to the director and then don't get a part or in real life a decent cut of the massive profits the show made. It is frustrating to meet all these characters and then not go anywhere with them.
I was sat very close to the front which meant I was distracted by the wigs which as others have said stuck out horribly and feel unnecessary.
I really liked the lighting which was also the set.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Dec 23, 2021 12:43:15 GMT
But of all of them ACL shouldn’t need a million dollar overhaul should it? It’s literally an empty stage. I loved the lighting in this but it really wasn’t necessary and in fact rather incongruous given the supposed circumstances we’re being asked to believe in. They should have focussed on casting it for the dancing and acting. And now I’ve said that I WILL single some of them out, Paul and his speech did nothing for me whatsoever. I don’t think it did much for him either. I could have been up there reading it from a script and managed as much emotion. Cassie - same singing voice as in Anything Goes - nope.. she wasn’t putting that squeaky voice on for Ermine that’s her ‘real’ voice. She was the worst for gabbling her lines too.Judy Munro, totally unbelievable. Diana - it was her first professional performance apparently and it showed. Al was good, Kristine was good and I really liked her “Sing” despite the wig. Val was good, Sheila was ok and had to cope with by far the most laughable wig on stage. The rest of them were either unmemorable or pretty average. A good touring production of ACL is overdue and I wouldn’t be mad with a bit of stunt casting if those chosen can act and dance and it was going to put bums on seats. I think what let it down for me was not having a completely different set for "One", because that reveal is such a coup-de-theatre in the original. Having some lights laid on top of the normal set (pretty as they were) didn't cut it for me in terms of that transition from behind the scenes to the stage of their dreams/future.... Carly thingy was totally miscast as Cassie (she would have made a better Sheila, perhaps) Her dancing was not at the standard it needed to be for The Music and The Mirror - I shall never forget Summer Strallen's lithe performance - gliding across the stage - simply thrilling. Judy Munroe - dreadful. I actually thought Diana Morales (renamed Deanna, for reasons unknown) was pretty good actually. One of the better ones. She managed to convey some of the Latina personality. The wigs, as you say were horrifying. Cheap-ass! The Sheila was too hammy. It's a hard part to get right, and she didn't have the technical ability to tow the right line. No one has mentioned Adam thingy as Zack - who I thought was excellent! At least learn the actors bloody names. Carly Mercedes Dyer Adam Cooper And it was SCARLETT Strallen. Not Summer. And she was totally miscast IMO. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 23, 2021 12:52:07 GMT
Are you popping up to Leicester to see it mrbarnaby? It’s only an hour on the train. Do you good to get out of London! 😀 |
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Post by distantcousin on Dec 23, 2021 13:43:14 GMT
I think what let it down for me was not having a completely different set for "One", because that reveal is such a coup-de-theatre in the original. Having some lights laid on top of the normal set (pretty as they were) didn't cut it for me in terms of that transition from behind the scenes to the stage of their dreams/future.... Carly thingy was totally miscast as Cassie (she would have made a better Sheila, perhaps) Her dancing was not at the standard it needed to be for The Music and The Mirror - I shall never forget Summer Strallen's lithe performance - gliding across the stage - simply thrilling. Judy Munroe - dreadful. I actually thought Diana Morales (renamed Deanna, for reasons unknown) was pretty good actually. One of the better ones. She managed to convey some of the Latina personality. The wigs, as you say were horrifying. Cheap-ass! The Sheila was too hammy. It's a hard part to get right, and she didn't have the technical ability to tow the right line. No one has mentioned Adam thingy as Zack - who I thought was excellent! At least learn the actors bloody names. Carly Mercedes Dyer Adam Cooper And it was SCARLETT Strallen. Not Summer. And she was totally miscast IMO. Why, is it in the rules? I didn't realise there was an etiquette to follow. Lighten up. |
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