Yes Joseph and his Amazing Coloured Coat returned to The Palace just 7 months after its initial triumph, Craig Chambers is still leading the cast, and a damn fine job he is doing too. Concidering the Show has now been on the road for the best part of a year the energy and pure joy is still there. Most of the original Tour Company too are here, with only a couple of main changes. To my delight the Narrator has reverted to the more traditional female performer,Tara Bethan is wonderful in the role with a great voice, mind you being Welsh helps,and pretty to boot. Anthony Hansen moves up the cast to take over as Pharoh with Robert Gwyn makng his Touring debut as baby brother Benjamin.
I found this second visit every bit as enjoyable as the first, this time perhaps having a slightly Camp edge to it, A great show, and for the sheer fun of it, still Sir Andrew & Tim at their best.
Its on till Saturday So grab a ticket while you can ,if you can, sit back and enjoy. It's worth it.
Wednesday 26 November 2008
Monday 24 November 2008
"In the Heights" at the Top of My List
It's been a while since I've blogged and I'm way behind in reporting on Broadway shows I've seen but it's because I've been seeing so many that I don't have time to blog. I have to say that everything I've seen, I've liked. And one I really liked is "In the Heights" which Jade and I saw a couple of weeks ago. This is the wonderful musical that won it's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Musical. And he stars in it too. Jade and I met him at the Drama Bookshop a couple of months ago interviewing Charles Strouse, the composer of Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. Lin-Manuel was really enthusiastic and so sweet and genuine. As Jade and I neared our seats we saw an open stage with a magnificent setting of an uptown Latino neighborhood in New York City at night (check out the photo I took of the set on the Matinee Gallery). Little store fronts and apartment buildings and in the background the imposing George Washington Bridge. I thought to myself, this is going to be great. And it was. The sun rises and the street comes alive. Enter Usnavi played by Lin-Manuel and there he is with that same enthusiasm and high energy. It's so cute the way he jubilantly bops across the stage rapping about his neighborhood in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge called Washington Heights. While telling the personal stories of several characters and the obstacles they meet as immigrants trying to find the American dream, the backbone of the story is the camaraderie of the neighborhood and how they help each other forge through those obstacles to realize that they really have found their "home" and are an integral part of New York's vibrant tapestry. It's got it's soulful, sentimental scenes but for the most part, it's energetic and upbeat. The dancing is so much fun to watch thanks to the talents of the ensemble cast and the wonderful choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler which won him a Tony this year. And the awesome score with it's clever lyrics and extraordinary orchestrations runs the gamut of musical genres from hip hop/rap to different rhythms of Latin music to traditional Broadway sounds so there's something for everyone to relate to. The wonderful thing about this show, although it takes place on a Latino street, is that it could be the story of any ethnic group living in New York or any city. I think that's the reason that it's doing so well while other shows are closing one after the other. It's very genuine and relatable. And not only did it win for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography, it won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations thanks to the talents of the brilliant Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman.
A little sidebar. I saw Alex Lacamoire on the panel discussing Carol de Giere's wonderful book "Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked". Unfortunately he left before I could speak to him. I emailed Carol de Giere who had agreed to be a guest on The Matinee and she offered to give Alex my email address. Within a day he emailed back and asked how he could help. Of course, I emailed him back and as a postscript, I mentioned I was going to see "In the Heights" that coming weekend. I knew he was the music director but did not know he was the conductor (to be honest, I'm not so sure what the difference is). He emailed back inviting us to stop at the stage door to say hello. Jade and I had left for the city already because we were going to meet Bernadette Peters in the afternoon so I didn't see the email. After a fun but tiring day, we got to the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the evening performance. After the fabulous show, Lin-Manuel introduced the conductor and up popped Alex with his signature dark curls bouncing playfully. I told Jade it was Alex and she asked if we could go to the stage door to see if we could meet him. Of course I wanted to as well. I asked someone if Alex was backstage and the next thing I know, he peeked out the door. I told him who I was and he invited us in. He was very, very amicable and gracious. And that smile and those curls, adorable! (There's a picture of Jade and Alex in The Matinee Gallery as well). He agreed to do the show and will be on with us next week. He was supposed to be on this past week but he got stuck at an early meeting. He was so apologetic. I told him not to worry about it (we can all appreciate how busy he must be), and we made another appointment for the show. So listen in this coming Sunday, 11/19/08 to hear James, special guest host the X-Factor's Scott Bruton and me chat to Alex.
A little sidebar. I saw Alex Lacamoire on the panel discussing Carol de Giere's wonderful book "Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked". Unfortunately he left before I could speak to him. I emailed Carol de Giere who had agreed to be a guest on The Matinee and she offered to give Alex my email address. Within a day he emailed back and asked how he could help. Of course, I emailed him back and as a postscript, I mentioned I was going to see "In the Heights" that coming weekend. I knew he was the music director but did not know he was the conductor (to be honest, I'm not so sure what the difference is). He emailed back inviting us to stop at the stage door to say hello. Jade and I had left for the city already because we were going to meet Bernadette Peters in the afternoon so I didn't see the email. After a fun but tiring day, we got to the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the evening performance. After the fabulous show, Lin-Manuel introduced the conductor and up popped Alex with his signature dark curls bouncing playfully. I told Jade it was Alex and she asked if we could go to the stage door to see if we could meet him. Of course I wanted to as well. I asked someone if Alex was backstage and the next thing I know, he peeked out the door. I told him who I was and he invited us in. He was very, very amicable and gracious. And that smile and those curls, adorable! (There's a picture of Jade and Alex in The Matinee Gallery as well). He agreed to do the show and will be on with us next week. He was supposed to be on this past week but he got stuck at an early meeting. He was so apologetic. I told him not to worry about it (we can all appreciate how busy he must be), and we made another appointment for the show. So listen in this coming Sunday, 11/19/08 to hear James, special guest host the X-Factor's Scott Bruton and me chat to Alex.
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Never has there been a tale of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo...
This was the first production by The Royal Shakespeare Company which I had seen, and I know that they are the Shakespeare ‘experts,’ but I didn’t know what to expect as there have been that many interpretations of Romeo and Juliet in its 511 year history. What did we get? A very “The Godfather” inspired performance.
The stage opened to all the cast on stage wearing typical 1930’s Italian costumes –peasants, widows, noblemen and typical workers of the time. There was also a traditional Italian Tarantella band on stage that provided eerie music at heightened points of tension throughout the play, ranging from a re-working of ‘The Godfather Waltz’ to a typical Tarantella dance.
The chorus’ opening speech setting the tale of the ‘star crossed lovers’ was well done in the way that the ‘voice’ stepped out from the crowd to make their speech. The setting throughout was quite plain, but also very clever. There were only black panels on stage and black chairs, but the lighting (of only blues, reds and whites,) changed at the protagonists’ click of fingers. (The set did change however for the final scene in the Capulet’s vault, as Mafioso type characters (who I realised eventually represented ghosts,) revolved the panels to form a tomb.)
Not using microphones, the cast did a very good job of projecting over the hoards of rowdy school kids in the auditorium, who found that laughing at important moments and wolf whistling at kisses quite hilarious. The cast themselves were quite diverse too. To say it was set in 1930’s Verona, there were many different voices of Scotch, Welsh, English and one Juliet’s mother could easily have passed at the part of Eva Peron.
Speaking of Evita, Juliet’s shadow cast on the back wall of the stage when stood on her bed (doubling as her balcony,) was very Peron-esque from the Balcony of the Casa Rosada. –Just a nice little point there!
Some of the choreographed fight sequencing was almost certainly West End Story inspired, primarily due to the fact that flick-knives were used. A nice effect was the use of a ‘Flash, Bang, Wallop!’ type camera effect, which blinded at least the first 10 rows of the audience.
Personally, for me, the best part of the show was the Tarantella band. Being half Italian, this music I was quite familiar with on recordings and such, but to actually hear one live, adding to the tension of one of Shakespeare’s finest plays was fantastic. They added a haunting undertone to the play, stepping out ‘from the blackness’ with their music commenting on the action.
In comparison to the production of Othello last month, there were many. RSC obviously do Shakespeare ‘the best,’ there is no comparison. Their performance was practically faultless, and they all kept their characters –something which those in Othello did not do. It was also evident that the cast knew their characters well as they all added their own little quirks to them.
A very good performance indeed!
S.L.
The stage opened to all the cast on stage wearing typical 1930’s Italian costumes –peasants, widows, noblemen and typical workers of the time. There was also a traditional Italian Tarantella band on stage that provided eerie music at heightened points of tension throughout the play, ranging from a re-working of ‘The Godfather Waltz’ to a typical Tarantella dance.
The chorus’ opening speech setting the tale of the ‘star crossed lovers’ was well done in the way that the ‘voice’ stepped out from the crowd to make their speech. The setting throughout was quite plain, but also very clever. There were only black panels on stage and black chairs, but the lighting (of only blues, reds and whites,) changed at the protagonists’ click of fingers. (The set did change however for the final scene in the Capulet’s vault, as Mafioso type characters (who I realised eventually represented ghosts,) revolved the panels to form a tomb.)
Not using microphones, the cast did a very good job of projecting over the hoards of rowdy school kids in the auditorium, who found that laughing at important moments and wolf whistling at kisses quite hilarious. The cast themselves were quite diverse too. To say it was set in 1930’s Verona, there were many different voices of Scotch, Welsh, English and one Juliet’s mother could easily have passed at the part of Eva Peron.
Speaking of Evita, Juliet’s shadow cast on the back wall of the stage when stood on her bed (doubling as her balcony,) was very Peron-esque from the Balcony of the Casa Rosada. –Just a nice little point there!
Some of the choreographed fight sequencing was almost certainly West End Story inspired, primarily due to the fact that flick-knives were used. A nice effect was the use of a ‘Flash, Bang, Wallop!’ type camera effect, which blinded at least the first 10 rows of the audience.
Personally, for me, the best part of the show was the Tarantella band. Being half Italian, this music I was quite familiar with on recordings and such, but to actually hear one live, adding to the tension of one of Shakespeare’s finest plays was fantastic. They added a haunting undertone to the play, stepping out ‘from the blackness’ with their music commenting on the action.
In comparison to the production of Othello last month, there were many. RSC obviously do Shakespeare ‘the best,’ there is no comparison. Their performance was practically faultless, and they all kept their characters –something which those in Othello did not do. It was also evident that the cast knew their characters well as they all added their own little quirks to them.
A very good performance indeed!
S.L.
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Broadway's Spring Awakening is Being Put to Bed
Spring Awakening's last Broadway performance will be on January 18, 2009. Why? Is it a victim of our economic times? Sadly, I think it is. It won the 2007 Tony for Best Musical plus 7 other Tony's. A blockbuster, a juggernaut. Well, it should be. In my opinion it's the best thing on Broadway. In fact, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen with a brilliant score by Duncan Sheik and lyrics and book by Steven Sater based on the first play of German playwright Frank Wedekind. Written and staged in 1891, it was banned as scandalous. It's an adult musical about children. Children left in the dark about their changing bodies and raging hormones. It's about ignorance and denial and their often dire ramifications. The staging is ingenious, taking teens coming of age in 1891 Germany, wearing clothing of the times, settings of the times, but modernizing it with bursts of lights and rock music as these frustrated children on the brink of adulthood express their teenage angst. It's emotionally charged with the joys and sorrows of sexual discovery and the consequence of ignorance thanks to unapproachable parents, teachers and clergy. The opening song sets the tone with the beautiful 15 year old Wendla singing "Mama who bore me, Mama who gave me, No way to handle things, Who made me so sad". Wendla who is so full of life and curious and asks questions that need to be answered but are glossed over by her puritanical mother. When it is later found she is pregnant, she has no idea how it happened.
This is musical theatre for theatre lovers who don't love musicals. The story is sensitive, profound, breathtakingly emotional and, in my opinion, a must-see.
The good news is, although it will soon close on Broadway, it will continue to touch audiences across the United States with it's American tour, and around the world with productions soon to open in London, Vienna, Toronto, Helsinki and Seoul. And I read in Playbill News that a film version is likely.
Spring Awakening is set to begin performances at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on January 23, 2009 with an official run from February 3rd to February 28th.
This is musical theatre for theatre lovers who don't love musicals. The story is sensitive, profound, breathtakingly emotional and, in my opinion, a must-see.
The good news is, although it will soon close on Broadway, it will continue to touch audiences across the United States with it's American tour, and around the world with productions soon to open in London, Vienna, Toronto, Helsinki and Seoul. And I read in Playbill News that a film version is likely.
Spring Awakening is set to begin performances at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on January 23, 2009 with an official run from February 3rd to February 28th.
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