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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 4, 2023 12:11:29 GMT
Saw this a few days ago and enjoyed every second. Even more than I'd hoped. And how lovely to be in an audience that applauds a Julia McKenzie reference. My people!
I had assumed that since I'd seen the BBC broadcast of the gala concert that I wouldn't be as moved by certain parts because I knew they were coming, however I found myself with a lump in my throat watching the actual Bernadette Peters in real life perform Sunday. Just gorgeous. That memory will stay with me for a while. And we won't talk about the weeping mess I became with the double hitter of Not a Day Goes By and Being Alive.
I'm almost disappointed now that the album we're getting is of the gala. Having seen this cast I'd much prefer it be them. Alas.
Harry Apps was probably the only soloist I wasn't familiar with before. Very impressed with him, lovely voice. He covered Jac's parts really well. It sounded to me like Bonnie's voice nearly gave out on her a couple of times which got me wondering if she called out who would cover her parts? One of the younger swings could easily fill in for You Could Drive a Person Crazy but I can't imagine they'd do I'm Still Here. And then I got to dreaming about Joanna doing it. So I'm very curious how that works out if any of the bigger names are ever off. I obviously don't want anyone missing out on Bernadette or Lea, who were both heaven, but I'm intrigued as to what the plan is if it ever does come to that?
On an entirely separate note, did the horns sound, well, off to anyone else?
Anyway, can't wait to go back. Kicking myself for even delaying to book in the first place. Worth every penny.
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Post by alece10 on Oct 4, 2023 12:33:06 GMT
Another 3*, this time from Time Out. I do like their lack of kowtowing to the expected 5*, “it’s Bernadette, it’s Lea, it’s Sondheim” enthralment that the likes of whatsonstage have, naturally, gone for with this. Not having as much of an investment in “the industry”, I tend to believe their views more. Hoping this will be the case with Sunset Boulevard too, as the newspaper critics will have seen live camera work onstage many, many times before, and will see that it’s actually a lot of recent, if old, ideas rehashed, unfortunately at the loss of the story and any sense of being moved. It’s always interesting the difference between reviewers for the industry website reviewers versus the newspaper ones. But can be a cold wake up call for those caught up in the event, rather than the originality of the content. Maybe best to go by theatre board star ratings rather than newspaper critics (who seldom like musicals). 18 5* scores and only 2 3* from board members. We are far better critics:) |
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Post by nash16 on Oct 4, 2023 12:51:30 GMT
😂 I’d love to do that, but, let’s be honest, something tells me us Theatreboard members slip into the whatsonstage category, than the more objective newspaper reviewers. I’m trying to look outside our echo chamber. . Another 3*, this time from Time Out. I do like their lack of kowtowing to the expected 5*, “it’s Bernadette, it’s Lea, it’s Sondheim” enthralment that the likes of whatsonstage have, naturally, gone for with this. Not having as much of an investment in “the industry”, I tend to believe their views more. Hoping this will be the case with Sunset Boulevard too, as the newspaper critics will have seen live camera work onstage many, many times before, and will see that it’s actually a lot of recent, if old, ideas rehashed, unfortunately at the loss of the story and any sense of being moved. It’s always interesting the difference between reviewers for the industry website reviewers versus the newspaper ones. But can be a cold wake up call for those caught up in the event, rather than the originality of the content. Maybe best to go by theatre board star ratings rather than newspaper critics (who seldom like musicals). 18 5* scores and only 2 3* from board members. We are far better critics:) |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 4, 2023 13:04:35 GMT
This is objectively not 3 stars in any way - I know comparing reviews is not the best way to get around this, but the same reviewer at Time Out gave Aspects 3 stars, and this is in a much higher league on every level so...3 stars is madness
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Post by apubleed on Oct 4, 2023 14:14:02 GMT
The problem is time and time again these theatre critics are not 'objective' they are just misinformed 'journalists' talking about things they have no business talking about or don't know anything about - feels like it's getting worse in London. We need real critics and a lot the people now need to have their opinion rolled up in a kind of general audience perspective-type blog or something  . |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2023 14:38:49 GMT
This is objectively not 3 stars in any way - I know comparing reviews is not the best way to get around this, but the same reviewer at Time Out gave Aspects 3 stars, and this is in a much higher league on every level so...3 stars is madness
Agree completely. Personally, I'm placing less weight nowadays on the star rating and more on the substance of the actual review, what they felt worked and what didn't, et al. I wonder how much of a hold star ratings still have on the general public given how we've learned that Amazon and other major website review systems can easily be manipulated.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Oct 4, 2023 20:38:43 GMT
It sucks that a few of these reviews don’t name most of the cast outside of Bernadette and Lea, when as a concert there’s plenty of word count to mention what they thought of the other individual performances.
I do like though that when Gavin Lee is name-dropped it’s often with an epithet: ‘the always impeccable Gavin Lee’ (West End Best Friend), ‘the invaluable Gavin Lee’ (London Theatre) - which he very much deserves!
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Post by nicolaa on Oct 5, 2023 8:15:44 GMT
Old Friends - Gielgud
A musical concert taking you through the works of Stephen Sondheim - the cast come on do a song or two from a musical and repeat for 2 hours.
Didn't really work for me - too bitty.
Starting off by saying we are only getting material from Cam Mac productions seems off, its supposed to be a celebration of the material not who has produced the material.
And whilst its nice to see Bernadette Peters in the flesh (who is giving her all and high stepping round the stage at various points despite being nearly 80) the voice has gone. Her opening speech and number are a bit Monty Python, you expect someone to come on and tell her to stop as its getting silly - things do improve for her over the show but it’s a very low base to start from and I assume they wanted her to open but then managed to get more suitable numbers for later on. Its a nice cast and most of them get moments to shine and I hate to say it but all of them are better than the headliner.
Its all fine if you want to sit through a nice cast doing "Now that’s what I call Sondheim…." but I do wonder how many people would take from this an urge to seek out more Sondheim. If you don't know that this song is from Company or that song is from A Little Night Music then are you going to wade through the material to find the show that the song you liked was from? Its not helped by the show coming to a screeching halt towards the end of the first half with an exceptionally overlong sample from Sweeney Todd.
It ends with a video cameo from the man himself which did lead to some sniffles around me.
For me though its a musical concert rather than a musical and for me I'd rather see a decent season of Sondheim musicals with a rep cast doing say four over the course of a year than this pick n mix because as noted above its too bitty to work for what it is - there are too many climaxes, which isn't surprising as they are cherry picking the songs and a lot of them are the crowd pleasers (Send in the Clowns, Somewhere, Everythings Coming Up Roses etc) which does mean that at some point you'll be hoping for a quiet moment but which seemingly never comes.
A very enjoyable night out but its not something Id'd recommend to anyone unfamiliar with the work of Mr S. I was nonplussed at the end by the standing ovation from many. - 5/10
Footnote - was booked to see Jo Martin in the Death of England at the National but she was off ill, and has now pulled out of the run, so this was a late substitution.
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Post by alece10 on Oct 5, 2023 12:06:14 GMT
Old Friends - GielgudA musical concert taking you through the works of Stephen Sondheim - the cast come on do a song or two from a musical and repeat for 2 hours.Didn't really work for me - too bitty. Starting off by saying we are only getting material from Cam Mac productions seems off, its supposed to be a celebration of the material not who has produced the material. And whilst its nice to see Bernadette Peters in the flesh (who is giving her all and high stepping round the stage at various points despite being nearly 80) the voice has gone. Her opening speech and number are a bit Monty Python, you expect someone to come on and tell her to stop as its getting silly - things do improve for her over the show but it’s a very low base to start from and I assume they wanted her to open but then managed to get more suitable numbers for later on. Its a nice cast and most of them get moments to shine and I hate to say it but all of them are better than the headliner. Its all fine if you want to sit through a nice cast doing "Now that’s what I call Sondheim…." but I do wonder how many people would take from this an urge to seek out more Sondheim. If you don't know that this song is from Company or that song is from A Little Night Music then are you going to wade through the material to find the show that the song you liked was from? Its not helped by the show coming to a screeching halt towards the end of the first half with an exceptionally overlong sample from Sweeney Todd. It ends with a video cameo from the man himself which did lead to some sniffles around me. For me though its a musical concert rather than a musical and for me I'd rather see a decent season of Sondheim musicals with a rep cast doing say four over the course of a year than this pick n mix because as noted above its too bitty to work for what it is - there are too many climaxes, which isn't surprising as they are cherry picking the songs and a lot of them are the crowd pleasers (Send in the Clowns, Somewhere, Everythings Coming Up Roses etc) which does mean that at some point you'll be hoping for a quiet moment but which seemingly never comes. A very enjoyable night out but its not something Id'd recommend to anyone unfamiliar with the work of Mr S. I was nonplussed at the end by the standing ovation from many. - 5/10 Footnote - was booked to see Jo Martin in the Death of England at the National but she was off ill, and has now pulled out of the run, so this was a late substitution. The reason you are only getting songs from Cam Mac shows is because it's his show and it a celebration of the musicals he has produced over the years.It was never supposed to be a celebration of all things Sondheim. After all it's his money so he is going to highlight his shows. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 5, 2023 13:41:46 GMT
But he’s never produced Gypsy or A Little Night Music or Company etc… or were those numbers also in Side by Side by Sondheim? I can’t remember… pretty sure Gypsy was never in there.
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 5, 2023 14:00:18 GMT
You're right that those shows were all featured in Side by Side by Sondheim, maybe not all the songs that they've used in Old Friends but I guess they're working on a technicality. The OLC album has some Gypsy with Millicent and Julia doing If Momma Was Married, and from what I remember reading You Gotta Get a Gimmick was done in New York?
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Post by alece10 on Oct 5, 2023 15:58:13 GMT
But he’s never produced Gypsy or A Little Night Music or Company etc… or were those numbers also in Side by Side by Sondheim? I can’t remember… pretty sure Gypsy was never in there. The reason I said that they were Cam Mac produced shows was because that's what he said in his speech at the gala night I attended last year so, as he is Cam Mac, I believed him. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 5, 2023 17:14:37 GMT
And im guessing Sunday because it was at the Wyndams ?
But the link with Woods is?
Although, i dont really care about the link or not because Old Friends is a fabulous show
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 5, 2023 17:47:50 GMT
I'm pretty sure the opening bit with Bernadette and Lea said they would "mostly" come from shows produced by Cameron anyway. So they just added the usual ones for a tribute concert. You never really get anything from the likes of Assassins or Pacific Overtures at these type of things, as much as I'd enjoy it.
But what I'd REALLY love, since we got a Dick Tracy song anyway (and I'm greedy), is for them to have included What Can You Lose? One of my favourite Sondheim songs. Imagine Lea singing that?? I may have ascended.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 5, 2023 18:33:33 GMT
I do love the Dick Tracey songs but for me to ascend it would be for Bradley and Gavin to sing Best thing that has ever happened ...
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Post by interval99 on Oct 5, 2023 20:24:54 GMT
New 2023 trailer is out now with lots of moments the forum members have been mentioning.
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Post by jr on Oct 6, 2023 12:37:20 GMT
But what I'd REALLY love, since we got a Dick Tracy song anyway (and I'm greedy), is for them to have included What Can You Lose? One of my favourite Sondheim songs. Imagine Lea singing that?? I may have ascended.[/quote]
What Dick Tracy song? Can't remember one being sung when I attended.
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 6, 2023 13:03:26 GMT
What Dick Tracy song? Can't remember one being sung when I attended. Jason Pennycooke does Live Alone and Like It in act one. |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 6, 2023 13:30:47 GMT
Interestingly for me, Jason Pennycooke is the only one who doesn't knock any of his numbers out of the park - like they're fine but they're such great numbers (particularly Buddy's Blues) that you'd hope for them to be showstoppers and I've yet to feel like...they are.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 6, 2023 13:33:08 GMT
Interestingly for me, Jason Pennycooke is the only one who doesn't knock any of his numbers out of the park - like they're fine but they're such great numbers (particularly Buddy's Blues) that you'd hope for them to be showstoppers and I've yet to feel like...they are. Agree. I think it’s cos he’s trying so damn hard to sell them. |
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 6, 2023 13:37:40 GMT
Interestingly for me, Jason Pennycooke is the only one who doesn't knock any of his numbers out of the park - like they're fine but they're such great numbers (particularly Buddy's Blues) that you'd hope for them to be showstoppers and I've yet to feel like...they are. Yeah, for some reason his numbers didn't gel with the rest of the show for me? I couldn't tell if it was the songs they had him performing not being the usual revue/concert style songs or what. I normally enjoy him a lot but was left a bit cold with his songs. |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 6, 2023 13:37:40 GMT
Interestingly for me, Jason Pennycooke is the only one who doesn't knock any of his numbers out of the park - like they're fine but they're such great numbers (particularly Buddy's Blues) that you'd hope for them to be showstoppers and I've yet to feel like...they are. Agree. I think it’s cos he’s trying so damn hard to sell them. I think he's good, the problem is that Buddy's Blues simply doesn't work as a solo number, no matter how many guys have tried |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 6, 2023 13:46:30 GMT
Agree. I think it’s cos he’s trying so damn hard to sell them. I think he's good, the problem is that Buddy's Blues simply doesn't work as a solo number, no matter how many guys have tried I actually disagree - I think you have to work super hard to make it work, but it can be pulled off (Gary Wilmot actually did a pretty good job in the Gala with 0 props or anything) - Pennycooke totally loses me (and looks like he's sorta given up too) when he gets the audience to clap along to the final chorus (meaning they're already hyped for whooping and cheering at the end) |
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 6, 2023 13:56:57 GMT
I think he's good, the problem is that Buddy's Blues simply doesn't work as a solo number, no matter how many guys have tried I actually disagree - I think you have to work super hard to make it work, but it can be pulled off (Gary Wilmot actually did a pretty good job in the Gala with 0 props or anything) - Pennycooke totally loses me (and looks like he's sorta given up too) when he gets the audience to clap along to the final chorus (meaning they're already hyped for whooping and cheering at the end) Oh I haaaated the encouraging the audience to clap along. Felt cheap. I think that's the word I want. |
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 6, 2023 14:08:22 GMT
What Dick Tracy song? Can't remember one being sung when I attended. Jason Pennycooke does Live Alone and Like It in act one. Interesting! I've not attended this show so can't comment bit I did attend the Gala event last year at the Sondheim theatre. Whilst I don't have problem with any of the sings from Dick Tracy (I love What Can You Lose) my understanding is that the songs are from shows produced by Cameron Mackintosh. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a stage show based upon the Dick Tracy film, using the Sondheim songs. So, regardless of how god these songs are, if they've not been in show produced by Cameron Mackintosh, then aren't they out of place in this? The three songs I know from Dick Tracey are More, Sooner Or Later and the previously mentioned What Can You Loose. |
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