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Post by inthenose on Aug 3, 2022 1:36:28 GMT
I was a bit underwhelmed at this. I thought Hadley and Sam were both very very good and I did enjoy Joel's Freddy, but the rest of the cast left me feeling a little disappointed. I don't know if Ako was ill or just this role wasn't suited to him? I do love the music to the show so at least that was enjoyable. Just really poor casting re: Ako Mitchell I think. I didn’t go to town on him in my mini write-up just in case he was indeed poorly/throat issues. But yes, the first night was pretty atrocious. This wouldn’t explain the diction, though. Hadley Fraser really is a terrific singer. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Aug 3, 2022 3:22:56 GMT
Ako is not very good at the best of times, IMO. Not sure how he gets the work quite honestly.
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Post by stagebyte on Aug 3, 2022 6:21:22 GMT
Saw this yesterday afternoon.
Have seen this production in its many forms over the years including the iconic original London I thought this one was decent.
It’s always a thrill to hear the chorus and orchestra go for it in this one and I thought the LMTO delivered. Didn’t notice any rushing as previous posters had mentioned.. Endgame is always a hair on the back of the neck moment and this was no exception.
Thought the cast were great bar two who did t seem to get the ‘-acting through song’ memo.
The two male leads were in fine voice Anthem the highlight, if Hadley Fraser lacked a bit of charisma on the acting front. Joel Harper Jackson was a fun Freddie but needed a bit more oomph in Pity the Child for me, I like my Trumpers a bit more overwrought in that song with less riffing on the end note but I enjoyed his performance. Murray Head retains the crown.
The Arbiter was frankly a wasted opportunity. The character needed an injection of fun. We didn’t need another male lead trolling portentously about the stage. His diction was atrocious and if I didn’t know the score inside out I would’ve struggled to know what was going on. McCann as Svetlana another puzzlement. I can only conclude she’s the IT girl of the moment but she looked like a small child playing with the grown ups. Molotov (excellent) had just told her things would get bad for her and her children in Russia. Why was she smiling her way through the worst moments of her life? Didn’t like her wild ‘pop’ gesturing with her arms when singing either and her accent? Just pick one? She and the arbiter opted for park and bark concert style while the rest of the cast were clearly putting in the effort acting wise. They both just looked awkward.
I can’t tell you how much I hated the distracting let’s add a hand gesture for every word choreography going on in the back of some of the most beautiful music. I eventually learned to tune them out from my peripheral vision and focus on the action. Please I beg of you if this gets a second life like Bonnie and Clyde ditch the pointless windmill arms choreo. At the very least dress them in black AND white to depict the chess board if they are representing the chess moves which looked like what they were aiming for. When they started clumping around in their really noisy boots at the start I wanted to push them all off the mountain.The only time where I felt the choreo was well placed and made some sense was Soviet Machine, the rest...
On the subjects of shoes both female leads either needed smaller heels or the staging needed to be lower. Both struggled up and down the stairs the choreo forced them to traverse up snd down in every song (the late great Dick Emery sprang to mind in the graceful stakes and I genuinely feared for both of them)
The less said about the projections the better. Looked like they’d been put together for a year 6 project.
A ‘cracked screen’ on the words ‘and now the cracks begin to show’ a crying child in ‘pity the child’ you get the idea. And as for the bloody shooting star in Mountain Duet 🙄
Added absolutely nothing.
Samatha Barks the only person to touch Florence since iconic Elaine her singing was just effortless. Stunning vocals.
3 out of 5 for me. The score will always make up for the book. Potential for 5 with the casting and choreo fixed. I’d pay to see a full production in a heartbeat. Pull in Lucie Jones or Laura Pitt Pulford for Svetlana and anyone else for the arbiter and you have my money.
There were lots of offers on the tickets but it was fantastic to see so many young people there who were buzzing about it.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 3, 2022 8:09:35 GMT
Interesting to see the comments about Samantha Barks, I’ve always said she has a lovely voice but zero charisma.
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Post by dazzlair on Aug 3, 2022 9:14:55 GMT
Interesting to see the comments about Samantha Barks, I’ve always said she has a lovely voice but zero charisma. I kind of concur. Great singer but rather bland. Shona White, Cassidy Janson, Sarah Galbraith and Rebecca Storm were far superior (alas I wasn't around for the original production) - injecting that fire and fury with powerhouse vocals. |
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Post by danb on Aug 3, 2022 12:26:53 GMT
Interesting to see the comments about Samantha Barks, I’ve always said she has a lovely voice but zero charisma. I kind of concur. Great singer but rather bland. Shona White, Cassidy Janson, Sarah Galbraith and Rebecca Storm were far superior (alas I wasn't around for the original production) - injecting that fire and fury with powerhouse vocals. Yes! Shona White was about the only positive of that drab CRH actor-muso Chess. |
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Post by Scswp on Aug 3, 2022 12:37:53 GMT
Interesting to see the comments about Samantha Barks, I’ve always said she has a lovely voice but zero charisma. I kind of concur. Great singer but rather bland. Shona White, Cassidy Janson, Sarah Galbraith and Rebecca Storm were far superior (alas I wasn't around for the original production) - injecting that fire and fury with powerhouse vocals. Rebecca Storm was stunning in the role. Wish I had seen Jacqui Scott as Florence too, but most of that tour got cancelled due to poor ticket sales, I think. |
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Post by longinthetooth on Aug 3, 2022 21:58:22 GMT
I was at yesterday's matinee. Whilst I don't have anything like the amount of knowledge some board members have about this musical (I've only seen the Colosseum version before this), I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts.
There was a terrific atmosphere in the theatre - I am convinced I half recognised more than one person who should feature in the "People I've Seen In The Audience" thread, but I am hopeless at identifying anyone out of context, as it were.
The orchestra and singers were fabulous. I loved Samantha Barks, but sadly I'm not a fan of Hadley Fraser, never have been. I find him dull - sorry. I wasn't familiar with Joel Harper Jackson, but thought he was very good. As for Frances Mayli McCann, she looked far too young to be HF's wife, more like his daughter! Someone said earlier that she sounded as if she was auditioning to be a Disney princess, and that just about summed her up. I didn't know Ako Mitchell either, and was underwhelmed by his performance - maybe he had voice problems?
Unlike most people on here, I quite enjoyed the dancers.
Several goosebumps moments for me, but not totally blown away. Thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, though.
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Post by inthenose on Aug 3, 2022 22:08:39 GMT
I kind of concur. Great singer but rather bland. Shona White, Cassidy Janson, Sarah Galbraith and Rebecca Storm were far superior (alas I wasn't around for the original production) - injecting that fire and fury with powerhouse vocals. Yes! Shona White was about the only positive of that drab CRH actor-muso Chess. I liked her too, but she was just a touch too shouty when I saw her. She really did go full Elaine Paige at times. Daniel Fox (?) who played Freddie gave a really turgid, lethargic performance until he suddenly smashed “Pity the Child” out of the park with a phenomenal energy. Then reverted immediately back to looking bored and uncomfortable. Clearly, sometimes, just auditioning the main solo isn’t enough… |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Aug 3, 2022 22:40:06 GMT
Rebecca Storm was stunning in the role. Wish I had seen Jacqui Scott as Florence too, but most of that tour got cancelled due to poor ticket sales, I think. Yes, the 1996 tour only played 5 venues out of a planned 21. Both Jacqui Scott and Maurice Clarke as Anatoly were excellent. |
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Post by theoracle on Aug 3, 2022 22:40:21 GMT
I thought all the principals were very good yesterday evening with Samantha Barks, Hadley Fraser and Joel Harper Jackson being highlights. I only really knew I Know Him So Well and Anthem going into the show and wasn’t sure how the first was going to fit into the show after listening to the first half and when those first few bars started playing, I’m not sure if it does. The story didn’t really make sense to me as I couldn’t make out much of the ensemble parts and I’m not sure how much of the book was cut. Still I found the orchestra very enjoyable and the leads to be brilliant so was happy to join in the standing ovation in the end.
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Post by Oleanna on Aug 3, 2022 23:07:02 GMT
If Merano was cut, how were Freddie and Florence introduced?
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Aug 3, 2022 23:34:20 GMT
Hello Chess Fans!
I saw this on Monday and overall, I thought it was top notch.
Samantha Barks was thrilling, though i thought she was a bit shouty in places. Nobody's Side was the first big number that people were waiting for and she delivered. It was a real goosebumps moment for me and she got huge applause, much deserved.
Hadley Fraser (and his thick Russian accent) was wonderful and Anthem showed how exciting his voice can be. I wish they had let him sing it on a less crowded stage, because he deserved to be center stage and I wished there was cheesy star cloth twinkling behind him. Cliched maybe, but i don't care.
Joel Harper-Jackson played heavily into the usual cocaine addict tropes but without any of the energy that might come with it. It was a choice. Maybe one that tries to explain why he behaves the way he does, but it didn't land for me. He can certainly hit those notes with ease, and I thought Pity The Child easily his best number, but it was a bit pretty sounding, I missed the edgier, rocky sound of previous Freddie's, Zubin Varla being the top of the pack.
Frances Mayli McCann. (played the Russian wife with an American Accent)I don't get it. She seemed all a bit manic and smiley and at one point delusional towards Anatoly. Someone Else's Story was raced through and lost any kind of nuance.
Ako Mitchell. Initially I was getting 'Che' in Evita vibes, but then he started singing and I was embarrassed for him. I felt he improved later on, but I was still nervous for him when he sang. Why not lower the key or find someone who can sing it as originally intended.
I can understand why some of the cuts were made and what story they wanted to focus on, but i don't think they were all successful. I missed Commie Newspapers. I liked that Svetlana was introduced in the first half, but now the end of Act 1 seemed all a bit top heavy with big numbers, but big numbers is the only thing Chess has. As others have stated, it was the clearest presented story out of any of the productions i've seen. The ensemble were over choreographed for such a tight space. I understood the moves relating to specific chess piece at the start of the show and thought it was clever, but it was too fast and overused by the end of it.
I do wonder if Chess could be really stripped back, take out some of the more bombastic endings and be presented in a smaller chamber style show. I'd love to see someone try it.
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Post by danb on Aug 4, 2022 5:05:37 GMT
Yes! Shona White was about the only positive of that drab CRH actor-muso Chess. I liked her too, but she was just a touch too shouty when I saw her. She really did go full Elaine Paige at times. Daniel Fox (?) who played Freddie gave a really turgid, lethargic performance until he suddenly smashed “Pity the Child” out of the park with a phenomenal energy. Then reverted immediately back to looking bored and uncomfortable. Clearly, sometimes, just auditioning the main solo isn’t enough… It was Fame Academy’s James Fox and Daniel Koek was Anatoly. |
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Post by richey on Aug 4, 2022 10:19:19 GMT
Have just come across a video of a previous production in Umeda Arts Theatre in Japan also with Hadley and Samantha. It looks like this heavily influenced the Drury Lane production as the distracting choreography looks very similar!
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Post by galinda on Aug 4, 2022 10:58:34 GMT
Have just come across a video of a previous production in Umeda Arts Theatre in Japan also with Hadley and Samantha. It looks like this heavily influenced the Drury Lane production as the distracting choreography looks very similar! Wasn’t it Ramin who did it in Japan or has Hadley done it there too? |
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Post by Dawnstar on Aug 4, 2022 11:20:20 GMT
I can understand why some of the cuts were made and what story they wanted to focus on, but i don't think they were all successful. I missed Commie Newspapers. They cut that? I'm glad I didn't go then, as that's one of my favourite numbers & I would have been very disappointed not to hear it. |
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Post by dazzlair on Aug 4, 2022 12:01:52 GMT
I do wonder if Chess could be really stripped back, take out some of the more bombastic endings and be presented in a smaller chamber style show. I'd love to see someone try it. Yes, there was a great performance at the Union Theatre in 2013 with a cast of 16 and a band of 6. Spare, dark, gritty and thrilling. The leads were uniformly excellent: Florence: Sarah Galbraith Freddie: Tim Oxbrow Anatoly: Nadim Naaman Svetlana: Natasha J. Barnes Alexandra Molokova: Gillian Kirkpatrick Walter: Neil Stewart The Arbiter: Craig Rhys Barlow Embassy Officials: Katie Bradley and Wayne Rodgers Angela St Angelo (Reporter) Natalie McQueen |
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Post by dazzlair on Aug 4, 2022 12:10:15 GMT
I liked her too, but she was just a touch too shouty when I saw her. She really did go full Elaine Paige at times. Daniel Fox (?) who played Freddie gave a really turgid, lethargic performance until he suddenly smashed “Pity the Child” out of the park with a phenomenal energy. Then reverted immediately back to looking bored and uncomfortable. Clearly, sometimes, just auditioning the main solo isn’t enough… It was Fame Academy’s James Fox and Daniel Koek was Anatoly. I thought Daniel Koek's Anthem was phenomenal. He repeated "my heart" at the end with a soaring note (sorry, not musically trained so I don't know to describe it properly - but there are recordings on that video sharing site) |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2022 16:54:58 GMT
Hearing the praise for Hadley has me again lamenting the City of Angels run was stopped so abruptly in its tracks.
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Post by richey on Aug 4, 2022 17:49:33 GMT
Have just come across a video of a previous production in Umeda Arts Theatre in Japan also with Hadley and Samantha. It looks like this heavily influenced the Drury Lane production as the distracting choreography looks very similar! Wasn’t it Ramin who did it in Japan or has Hadley done it there too? my mistake, it was Ramin. Oops. |
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Post by holbee22 on Aug 5, 2022 13:32:45 GMT
No Morano and Merchandisers? Florence's reprise of "Antham"? Did they use the American book by noted playwright Richard Nelson? I'm not sure that version has ever played the UK before (though it's the published performing version in the States).
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Post by richey on Aug 5, 2022 14:51:35 GMT
No Morano and Merchandisers? Florence's reprise of "Antham"? Did they use the American book by noted playwright Richard Nelson? I'm not sure that version has ever played the UK before (though it's the published performing version in the States). According to the programme, they were left out as part of the decision to focus on the love stories. As for Florence reprising Anthem, that was in both the RAH and Craig Revel Horwood versions if I recall correctly |
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Post by scarpia on Aug 5, 2022 15:16:24 GMT
Have just come across a video of a previous production in Umeda Arts Theatre in Japan also with Hadley and Samantha. It looks like this heavily influenced the Drury Lane production as the distracting choreography looks very similar! That'll be because it's the same guy directing/choreographing. |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Aug 5, 2022 22:45:07 GMT
Florence's reprise of Anthem was the only time I was surprised Samantha Barks DIDN'T modulate or riff at the end of it.
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