3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Sept 16, 2017 17:46:36 GMT
The original had its share of projections too. Thanks for this. Sounds like you liked it. Can't wait to see it in two weeks!
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4,177 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 16, 2017 18:01:24 GMT
Well i'd say i paid a pound for pretty much the same show as the punters paying £40 certainly tonight at least. No mess ups, no tech fails, no sound issues, no forgotten words, bum notes... pretty slick and well rehearsed and and the cast seemed to be giving it their all. Pretty pleased i decided to do this at the last min and try the dress rehearsal. I had envisaged things going wrong and show stops and stuff so well pleased.
On to my thoughts.
So first of all i just have to give top billing to the orchestra. It was a 16 piece orchestra and it sounded amazing playing that brilliant score. The music really is brilliant. It was just stunning and i got goosebumps at several points. Helped by the mixing and sound which was spot on already. It just honestly sounded brilliant. I've never experienced something like that at a show. Though i'm sure there are many on here who are used to things like that but i'm not.
On to the cast. They were all strong. Ria Jones was brilliant had a great voice, and particularly was strong towards the end when Norma was really descending. I know many were sceptical of Danny Mac as Joe and so i'm pleased to say i thought he was very good. I know the question was whether he'd be up to the score and to me he had a good voice, good power to it when needed and overall i thought he did very well.
All the other cast were good in their respective roles especially Molly Lynch as Betty and i liked Dougie Carter as Artie and would be interested in seeing his Joe. I think he'd be very good. I Maybe had a little issue with Adam Pierce as Max. He just seemed a bit comical with his looks and his ridiculously deep singing voice and i don't know if that's how it meant to be or not.
The set is basically a film studio lot/stage. That's the basic shell of it. Tiled walls with pipes and air vents and light and such and panels that represent the shutters/studio door which are either at the side or mid stage. When it's stuff set in the studio several extra pieces are rolled/brought on such as the famous paramount gates, lights, camera's, spot/camera platforms, bits of random set from films they are doing ect ect. For the mansion set the stage is dimmed and we have the big set piece staircase come on with various other bits of scenery such as the chaise lounge, piano, several candelabras , bookshelves ect ect. A shop frontage comes flying down for scenes in a bar (i think?). It was a good set. The thing is though because all the set is manually operated it can feel a bit clunky, the ensemble are constantly bringing things on and off and the staircase is rather cumbersome, especially as it is three pieces that come together and it seemed a bit of a effort for them. I expect that they will get slicker of course.
As mentioned i my interval post, there is heavy use of projections either to add to scenes or completely create them. So for example when Norma is singing about her past and career ect you'll have projections of her younger self posing or in film scenes on the back wall and side panels. That happened a few times and was very effective. There were several scenes of the characters driving and basically the whole stage would turn into a night time road with lights whizzing by and headlights ect ect as the car on stage is moved round by the ensemble. You'd see things like the Hollywood Sign or Paramount water tower projected on to the back wall, the night sky for outside scenes. Glittering lights for the new years eve party. Water effects everywhere for the poolside scene...(and yes Danny Mac wears swimming shorts and nothing else) and then in the scene where i'll just say Joe finished in the show....we see that whole scenario projected on to the stage panels (which they obviously filmed)...anyway you get the jist. They were gentle and dim, they weren't in your face or looked tacky (imo).
The costumes were great and yes their were several turbans.
All in all i really enjoyed it, more so act 2 i think and yes there are things that they probably need to iron out or get slicker at, i think especially the first couple of scenes which felt a bit manic and not quite smooth to me, but this was DR and i can't believe i saw a performance of that quality for £1!
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19,659 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 16, 2017 20:27:28 GMT
Omg it sounds brilliant! Can't wait!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2017 21:16:59 GMT
The most important question of all, does Danny wear a suit like the original for the title song, or does he don the Michael Xavier pants? 😅
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Post by centaured on Sept 16, 2017 22:09:55 GMT
Thanks for your review AndyH, I'll add some thoughts to this.
Absolutely agree that the orchestration was fantastic and sounded amazing.
As Andy has given a clear description, I would act 1 needs more work, the sets and the moving of the sets felt very clunky to me and took me out of the show.
The cast didn't feel together for the first few songs and there is room for tightening up, however act 2 was far stronger.
I did not like the driving / projection parts and I was very surprised at the "car" arriving at paramount, very disappointing.
Highlight for me was definitely Ria's "as if we never said goodbye" and her final descent in the last ten minutes of the show.
Criticisms: very clunky set and noisy moving it around really distracted, projections were difficult to see and almost pointless and overall, slightly played too light and campy for my liking.
Worth seeing and looking forward to seeing if it settles well the longer it runs.
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Post by ruggerlad on Sept 16, 2017 22:23:20 GMT
Thanks for reports on todays Dress Rehearsal and Performance. The £1 DR is a tradition at Curve but not always guaranteed, presumably if they don't feel capable to do the production as a straight run threw. Can't wait for Tuesday evening  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 5:48:43 GMT
How is Rias portrayal of Norma? she is what worries me most as everything ive seen from her and also the publicity photos has an air of cheesy campness about it
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5,795 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 17, 2017 6:42:55 GMT
How is Rias portrayal of Norma? she is what worries me most as everything ive seen from her and also the publicity photos has an air of cheesy campness about it That would be my concern. Any time I've seen her on stage, she's just reminded me of a cheesy cruise ship singer. |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 17, 2017 8:09:57 GMT
Thanks for your review AndyH, I'll add some thoughts to this. Absolutely agree that the orchestration was fantastic and sounded amazing. As Andy has given a clear description, I would act 1 needs more work, the sets and the moving of the sets felt very clunky to me and took me out of the show. The cast didn't feel together for the first few songs and there is room for tightening up, however act 2 was far stronger. I did not like the driving / projection parts and I was very surprised at the "car" arriving at paramount, very disappointing. Highlight for me was definitely Ria's "as if we never said goodbye" and her final descent in the last ten minutes of the show. Criticisms: very clunky set and noisy moving it around really distracted, projections were difficult to see and almost pointless and overall, slightly played too light and campy for my liking. Worth seeing and looking forward to seeing if it settles well the longer it runs. I agree about the first few scenes feeling not quite right. I don't really know what's wrong but something was. I'm sure they will settle down. I also agree act 1 in general needs to settle whilst act 2 is in very good shape. The set really is quite clunky and loud isn't it, i mean i do think it looks good and is used well but yes i think it could be distracting. I liked the projections and funnily enough especially the car sequences. It's right the projections during most other things were quit dim but i wouldn't want them much brighter because that's when i think it could pass into tacky/cheesy territory. I thought they got it right. I didn't understand the car to paramount so it was basically a full car but it seemed to be wheeled on in a large wheelbarrow type contraption that was just bare plywood. Is that what you got? I thought that might have just been a dR thing? I mean why not paint the thing black so it blended in at least? But overall i did really enjoy it and think it was a good production. Especially for the DR stage that i saw it in because it's only going to get tighter and slicker and some of the issues or things that don't work sorted out. I normally have a rule i don't see previews so when i go i see the finished ironed out hopefully slick end result so for me i was quite new to see it even before the previews! |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 17, 2017 8:38:54 GMT
For those asking about Ria, i thought she was very good. It was played slightly campy and cheesy but this is the first time i've seen the show other than some clips of some of the famous songs being performed so i don't really know if that's the norm(a). I'll get my coat.
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Post by centaured on Sept 17, 2017 9:12:48 GMT
For those asking about Ria, i thought she was very good. It was played slightly campy and cheesy but this is the first time i've seen the show other than some clips of some of the famous songs being performed so i don't really know if that's the norm(a). I'll get my coat. Funny you said this. I thought the same. It was almost too tongue in cheek at moments but I'm biased, I like my Norma to be quite dark and gothic. Second act was far stronger, agreed. Oh and that car..... I practically sunk down in my seat with disappointment - they had better paint the wood around it as it just looks like a bad wacky races joke. And set clunk. It sounded like a kwik fit garage at times and it was really jarring to me, took me right out of the show and really spoilt it for me. Overall room for improvement - hope it settles and improves before manchester, otherwise I'm selling my tickets. |
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Post by bimse on Sept 17, 2017 10:14:19 GMT
For those asking about Ria, i thought she was very good. It was played slightly campy and cheesy but this is the first time i've seen the show other than some clips of some of the famous songs being performed so i don't really know if that's the norm(a). I'll get my coat. Funny you said this. I thought the same. It was almost too tongue in cheek at moments but I'm biased, I like my Norma to be quite dark and gothic. Second act was far stronger, agreed. Oh and that car..... I practically sunk down in my seat with disappointment - they had better paint the wood around it as it just looks like a bad wacky races joke. And set clunk. It sounded like a kwik fit garage at times and it was really jarring to me, took me right out of the show and really spoilt it for me. Overall room for improvement - hope it settles and improves before manchester, otherwise I'm selling my tickets. Been looking forward to this show , it's the only ALW I really like. I'm not sure how you'd play Norma camp and cheesy though? I hope I'm not going to be disappointed , Ria Jones got terrific reviews for her Norma at the Coliseum , does anyone know if she's giving basically the same performance ? |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Sept 17, 2017 10:49:50 GMT
Maybe not cheesy, wrong word, but a bit over the top. But also that is what i always thought Norma was, as someone who never saw it before yesterday i always envisaged Norma as quite a melodramatic character. I imagine the role can also be played quite seriously and dark, gothic as the poster said above, but she i think played it a little more campy. I really liked her performance so it's not a criticism from me. She was especially good towards the end as she really starts to melt down and in the more comedy (what there was) moments.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 17, 2017 10:55:16 GMT
Gloria Swanson didn't exactly 'underplay' it though, did she. The character is a grotesque, someone who's living in a silent movie. I don't see how you can play that subtly.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 11:10:15 GMT
no but she was believable. she wasnt a cartoon caricature played for campness and laughs. and that is why norma is such a hard role to pull off, its a fine line between the two
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Post by centaured on Sept 17, 2017 12:30:48 GMT
Maybe not cheesy, wrong word, but a bit over the top. But also that is what i always thought Norma was, as someone who never saw it before yesterday i always envisaged Norma as quite a melodramatic character. I imagine the role can also be played quite seriously and dark, gothic as the poster said above, but she i think played it a little more campy. I really liked her performance so it's not a criticism from me. She was especially good towards the end as she really starts to melt down and in the more comedy (what there was) moments. It certainly is a fine balance and she really comes into her own in the second act - As if we never said goodbye was stunning to be fair and I think you could see her visibly relax into the part. Final scenes (apart from the dress which I hated, bad bad costume) were glorious and worked very well, she nailed the descent to madness. However that car. Sheesh. |
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Post by richey on Sept 17, 2017 12:43:46 GMT
I'm surprised no-one's asked the important question. Are there turbans?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 12:54:09 GMT
i couldn't care less about turbans personally lol but one of the reviews further up does mention them
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Post by showtoones on Sept 17, 2017 16:30:01 GMT
I know its early in previews but how long is the show?
And if I come from London to see the show in Milton Keynes for a Sat matinee, will there be cabs at the theater lined up to take me back to the train station after the show is finished?
Thanks!!
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Post by distantcousin on Sept 17, 2017 17:48:06 GMT
Maybe not cheesy, wrong word, but a bit over the top. But also that is what i always thought Norma was, as someone who never saw it before yesterday i always envisaged Norma as quite a melodramatic character. I imagine the role can also be played quite seriously and dark, gothic as the poster said above, but she i think played it a little more campy. I really liked her performance so it's not a criticism from me. She was especially good towards the end as she really starts to melt down and in the more comedy (what there was) moments. To be fair, if you are not used to "melodramatic" acting, which is very outdated now in today's acting style, you would find it camp and cheesy. Every Norma performs it that way - that's the character. It's a heightened style. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 18:03:49 GMT
sorry i disagree, glenn close doesnt, neither did elaine paige. melodramatic yes, edging on deranged at times but always with grounds in reality. never 2d camp cheesy caricature
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 17, 2017 18:18:55 GMT
sorry i disagree, glenn close doesnt, neither did elaine paige. melodramatic yes, edging on deranged at times but always with grounds in reality. never 2d camp cheesy caricature I agree. Glenn at The Coliseum was not cheesy. Camp? Hmm... sorry the whole thing is hugely camp. As was the original movie. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 18:27:11 GMT
the movie is still considered one of hollywoods finest noirs, i can see the camp argument and camp has such a broad meaning
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 17, 2017 18:31:23 GMT
OK lets cut to the chase - forget all this nonsense about Norma, orchestra, staging, lighting and cars - how does Danny Mac look in his trunks?
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5,795 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 17, 2017 19:09:38 GMT
He can only look better than the strange moobs I had to suffer at the Coliseum
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