Post by Dr Tom on Aug 8, 2019 20:55:32 GMT
Well, that must be the worst deflating ending to a show I’ve ever seen. Shame, as I was more warm to the show than you might expect up to that point.
It’s like the “we’ve had your £24, now get out” finish.
This show is essentially a series of Jerry Herman songs performed one after another in the small Union Theatre. It’s a revue. A cast of ten young people on stage, plus the most talented person in the room, the pianist.
The stage (floor) of the Union has a few props, some screens which also form a clothing area, clothes dotted about, a dressing table, that type of stuff. Most of the song performances are simple, with a little dancing and tap thrown in.
The evening was really set with one of the audience members taking a phone call just as the show was about to start. So we all know about his 2:30 appointment tomorrow. There were giggles in the audience and it was hard to keep a straight face.
I collected my ticket early to make sure I’d be in the first group to enter and get a good seat. In the end, everyone was in the first group. I was still able to get a front row seat. Just as well as, without amplification, some of the cast were rather hard to hear, particularly when in the corners and facing away from the audience.
This is a very short show. Two 40 minute halves and a 20 minute interval.
The cast, mostly freshly graduated, did their best, but you could read their faces and see their confidence levels weren’t there yet. There are some people with potential, but the pitch of the songs wasn’t right for everyone. Still, you can’t help but enjoy the music and it was only the second night.
It is quite a warm building too, but luckily many of the audience were there because they knew someone in the cast and the director, Luke Byrne, had come prepared with a fan. He was actively taking notes and seemed like a really nice guy, so I hope that’s a good sign.
So, what really annoyed me at the end? They did what looked like a false finish. The cast grabbed hats and bags and quickly walked off the stage with them. The pianist played the first bars of Hello Dolly, which hadn’t been performed. But no one returned, the crowd filed out (as did the director) and, the other option didn’t happen either, as there was no one waiting outside to sing.
Such a shame!
The song list is cut way down from the one on Wikipedia as well.
Can this be salvaged? Perhaps. Run straight through without an interval. Sort the ending, so people leave feeling they’ve had an ending. Stage it so everyone can be heard (can’t imagine what it would have been like sat at the back). Lose the cute touches, that just don’t fit.
Will it be salvaged? This is one of those shows where some maturity regarding working with the Union Theatre’s shortcomings really helps. It just isn’t the space where you can always direct your dream interpretation of a show, however much you may want to do so.
It’s like the “we’ve had your £24, now get out” finish.
This show is essentially a series of Jerry Herman songs performed one after another in the small Union Theatre. It’s a revue. A cast of ten young people on stage, plus the most talented person in the room, the pianist.
The stage (floor) of the Union has a few props, some screens which also form a clothing area, clothes dotted about, a dressing table, that type of stuff. Most of the song performances are simple, with a little dancing and tap thrown in.
The evening was really set with one of the audience members taking a phone call just as the show was about to start. So we all know about his 2:30 appointment tomorrow. There were giggles in the audience and it was hard to keep a straight face.
I collected my ticket early to make sure I’d be in the first group to enter and get a good seat. In the end, everyone was in the first group. I was still able to get a front row seat. Just as well as, without amplification, some of the cast were rather hard to hear, particularly when in the corners and facing away from the audience.
This is a very short show. Two 40 minute halves and a 20 minute interval.
The cast, mostly freshly graduated, did their best, but you could read their faces and see their confidence levels weren’t there yet. There are some people with potential, but the pitch of the songs wasn’t right for everyone. Still, you can’t help but enjoy the music and it was only the second night.
It is quite a warm building too, but luckily many of the audience were there because they knew someone in the cast and the director, Luke Byrne, had come prepared with a fan. He was actively taking notes and seemed like a really nice guy, so I hope that’s a good sign.
So, what really annoyed me at the end? They did what looked like a false finish. The cast grabbed hats and bags and quickly walked off the stage with them. The pianist played the first bars of Hello Dolly, which hadn’t been performed. But no one returned, the crowd filed out (as did the director) and, the other option didn’t happen either, as there was no one waiting outside to sing.
Such a shame!
The song list is cut way down from the one on Wikipedia as well.
Can this be salvaged? Perhaps. Run straight through without an interval. Sort the ending, so people leave feeling they’ve had an ending. Stage it so everyone can be heard (can’t imagine what it would have been like sat at the back). Lose the cute touches, that just don’t fit.
Will it be salvaged? This is one of those shows where some maturity regarding working with the Union Theatre’s shortcomings really helps. It just isn’t the space where you can always direct your dream interpretation of a show, however much you may want to do so.
