Post by Steve on Aug 2, 2022 22:22:58 GMT
Saw the matinee today, and felt it was significantly better dramatically than it was musically, but I was never bored, and the Rashomon style Groundhog Day type setup was compelling.
Some spoilers follow. . .
Having booked the Tuesday night Chess concert, I checked Todaytix for a Tuesday matinee, and found this, which I hadn't heard of. Todaytix has a £15 deal on this, so I booked, assuming it was a kind of musical version of Peter Brook's "Valley of Astonishment," which was all about synesthesia.
I was completely wrong lol.
It turned out to be 24 hours in the lives of 6 people who work at or frequent LJ's Bar, with the plot rewinding Groundhog Day style, to show us the experience of each of the 6 characters.
LJ is played by Mischief Theatre's Nancy Zamit, so it's no surprise to report that her strong suit was in her comedic frustration at the endless letdowns of all her employees. I found her character to be both funny and truthful.
One of the most interesting things about the show is how each character sees the events from their own perspective (like in Rashomon), so it never plays out exactly the same, and is reflected through the character quirks of the respective observer.
The best singing, and the most enjoyably written character, and the character whose egotism and positivity are the most infectious, shows us his version of events after the interval, so it's worth staying for Sam Kipling's wonderful George's perspective of the day's events.
Overall, however, the songs are samey, and are mostly the kind of sing-speak that annoys people, and the singing standard didn't match what was going on later at Chess at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, so like I said, see this for the story, if you fancy, and for the original ideas, and surprises.
I'm sure with work, this could become a good musical, but as it stands it was for me, a 3 star, never boring, intriguing story with pleasant but never compelling musical accompaniment.
Some spoilers follow. . .
Having booked the Tuesday night Chess concert, I checked Todaytix for a Tuesday matinee, and found this, which I hadn't heard of. Todaytix has a £15 deal on this, so I booked, assuming it was a kind of musical version of Peter Brook's "Valley of Astonishment," which was all about synesthesia.
I was completely wrong lol.
It turned out to be 24 hours in the lives of 6 people who work at or frequent LJ's Bar, with the plot rewinding Groundhog Day style, to show us the experience of each of the 6 characters.
LJ is played by Mischief Theatre's Nancy Zamit, so it's no surprise to report that her strong suit was in her comedic frustration at the endless letdowns of all her employees. I found her character to be both funny and truthful.
One of the most interesting things about the show is how each character sees the events from their own perspective (like in Rashomon), so it never plays out exactly the same, and is reflected through the character quirks of the respective observer.
The best singing, and the most enjoyably written character, and the character whose egotism and positivity are the most infectious, shows us his version of events after the interval, so it's worth staying for Sam Kipling's wonderful George's perspective of the day's events.
Overall, however, the songs are samey, and are mostly the kind of sing-speak that annoys people, and the singing standard didn't match what was going on later at Chess at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, so like I said, see this for the story, if you fancy, and for the original ideas, and surprises.
I'm sure with work, this could become a good musical, but as it stands it was for me, a 3 star, never boring, intriguing story with pleasant but never compelling musical accompaniment.
