Congratulations To [Some Of] The Cast & Crew Of The UK Tour Of SOUTH PACIFIC...

...For turning a practically perfect production of one of the greatest musicals ever written into something boring, lifeless and second-rate at The Bristol Hippodrome.

The show was incredible at the Barbican back in the summer. Paulo Szot, Samantha Womack, Loretta Ables Sayre, Daniel Koek and everyone in the cast gave brilliant performances, that really were perfect.     

Fast forward three months, and Emile is being played by Jason Howard - more wooden than a shed. No, scratch that. He's not just wooden, he simply just can not act. He just does not have the ability to act. There was no emotion in the lines, superficial understanding of the text, and he treated the songs as if he was in concert. Some of the best songs ever written for the stage had become boring, pointless and out of place. Every single time he spoke, it was as if he was saying "I'M AN OPERA SINGER." His singing was not even that impressive. Quite nice, yes, but gone are the exquisite legato lines and the incredible dynamic and emotional range brought to the role by Mr. Szot. "This Nearly Was Mine" was nowhere near to bringing down the house. Gone too was the incredible chemistry between Emile and Nellie (played by Samantha Womack). Samantha looked like she was as annoyed with him as I was.     

Also a shame, is that Samantha Womack has gone from a brilliantly fresh, daring and edgy interpretation of her character to simply phoning her performance in. She went through the motions, and gave an OK performance, but the poignant acting was now no better than found in a soap opera, and the singing (though never as good as Kelli O'Hara's) was now annoyingly nasal. Her main high point was "Honey Bun", where she did seem to come alive (thankfully).     

 

                         "This Nearly Was Mine"...The incredible Paulo Szot.

The performances of Loretta Ables Sayre, Daniel Koek and the rest of the ensemble (especially the sailors, who performed an amazing "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame) were still as amazing and as energetic as they were in London. It really is a treat to watch those actors perform. Unfortunately, however, when your leading man and leading lady aren't up to par, the entire show begins to fall flat.     

Adding to this, was the loss of 7 members of the orchestra as the show has moved to tour. It was inevitable that this would happen, but a shame, as this score really deserves a full orchestra. Fortunately though, there's not too much of an impact on the overall sound, though the other players would have been a much-needed luxury to sweeten the hard bargain we were receiving on-stage.     

Bitterly disappointed with this. I can only hope the show picks itself up when it comes to Cardiff next year, and brings with it Matthew Cammelle as Emile.     


3*

(On a side note, the Bristol Hippodrome was a really poor place to be last night. They were severely understaffed, and the staff that were there seemed to be more concerned with selling ice-cream. The (many) disabled and elderly members of the audience were not receiving a good enough service, and it's not acceptable from an important a theatre as the Hippodrome, where front of house is normally so good. Annoying too, was the horrible audience who talked/coughed/ate sweets to the EXTREME for the entire show).

Theatre Review – Chess (Bristol Hippodrome - Tuesday 1st March 2011)

Chess. Chess. Oh, whatever happened to Chess? Despite one hell of an amazing creative team, this musical was not accepted well by the critics from the beginning of its life in London in 1986. One would think that a musical with book and lyrics by Tim Rice, music by “the guys from ABBA” and starring Elaine Paige would be incredibly successful. But critics and audiences alike always struggled with the complicated, heavy story and the show was considerably less successful on Broadway than it was in the West-End.

Surprisingly, this new production from Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood manages to get it even less right. The ever-changing book still doesn’t work, the production is ill-conceived, the actors mismatched, and the score isn’t exactly consistent. It was quite simply one hell of a bore.

The show opens with “The Story of Chess”, which does exactly what it says on the tin and explains the story of Chess; which wouldn’t be so out of place if this plainly simple song wasn’t wedged into a show with songs striving for metaphor. This odd mixture served only to confuse the audience.  In this song we were introduced to the character The Arbiter and one recognises quickly Tim Rice’s love for narrators. This show joins his three other successful musicals Joseph and his amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and EVITA to make a quartet whose plot (in the vision of Rice) could not advance without an irritating ‘ever-present’ character to offer their (and influence the audiences’) opinion on matters.

Soon we were introduced to the lead characters Freddy (the American Chess player – played by James Fox) and Florence (his assistant and wife – played by Shona White) who both gave, at best, mediocre performances. These roles are considered ‘challenging’ to play, but Fox and White seemed to interpret them as a chance to stride around the stage screaming for two and a half hours. The songs that were supposed to be significant for these two characters (Pity the Child and Heaven Help My Heart) completely passed me by as these wannabe rock stars (Fox in particular) followed the musical cliché of pouring their hearts out in every song to the extent that when it mattered, I didn’t care.

In contrast, however, Steve Varnom as Molokov performed his main song The Soviet Machine incredibly well. One can’t help but feel that if Horwood were a more effective director he may have coaxed more focussed performances from his cast. And had more time to invent decent choreography.

                                                 The lead actors of Chess.

The score is one of the strangest pieces of the show. Generally considered to have some of the greatest music written for theatre and I might be inclined to agree. That is, however, if it wasn’t so inconsistent. I always like to remind people that there is a difference between a score and a group of songs. And whilst Chess has a couple of great songs (Nobody’s Side & The Soviet Machine mainly) it doesn’t mean it is a complete musical score of complete quality. One friend of mine summed it up by saying “If you like one continuous song with a hit thrown in, then you might enjoy this…” which is, of course, exaggerated but on the right lines. The score varies so much it might give the most musically open-minded of people a headache. Starting with quasi-opera music of Les Miserables tendencies, the score proceeds to dramatically change every five minutes to everything  from epic power ballads (Nobody’s Side) to funk and rap (One Night in Bangkok) and to what sounded like a reject from Fiddler on the Roof (The Soviet Machine). Whilst these were fantastic standalone songs, it is rare you find composers talented enough to combine many different styles in to one score effectively. Where Lloyd-Webber and Bernstein succeeded, Benny and Bjorn failed.

This production uses something like the 5^th incarnation of the book. Each production has jostled songs and details around to the extent that performers in the original production would hardly recognise the show now.  What is presented before us is a collection of highly dramatic, angst-filled scenes hastily and messily glued together. The narrative is incoherent (a word often used to describe Chess) and just downright confusing. The question of what happens in Act II is surely one of the ultimate ones of the world and one which I cannot find the answer for. Presumably because I was asleep (I blame the lights). These scenes were presented to us on a silver platter vomited on with the kind of campiness and flashiness we might expect from Revel-Horwood which results in many audience members wowing with delight. It is the age of trick of blinding them with sheer spectacle that they see past the faults that a show might have. As one might expect, Chess needs a hell of a lot of spectacle to cover up its many faults. This is reflected in Ben Cracknell’s atrocious lighting design which does nothing to reflect the events of the show and feel less at home in a theatre, and more like it belongs in a rock stadium. Even being sat in the very last row I became the victim of a migraine; which, contrary to popular belief, isn’t actually necessary.

                                                         The company.

I've never been a huge fan of the concept of having the actors play the instruments too, but in some cases they method is really effective. If the instruments are used theatrically and are part of the action and narrative, and aid the plot (like the current UK tour of Guys & Dolls or Punchdrunks’ Woyzeck) then the image can be very effective, but to simply have the actors and instrumentalists “doubling up” gives the impression of trying to save money and detracts from the action, which is the last thing an audience needs in a show as difficult to follow as Chess. However, it does work well under the aforementioned theory of using “dazzle” to cover-up the shows flaws. The upside of this coin, however, is that the band did make a fantastic sound, although that was mostly thanks to the offstage rhythm section holding the show together.

An additional plus point was that although the actor/musicians were unnecessary and got in the way, they did have fantastic costumes designed by Christopher Woods that were aesthetically pleasing and blended well with his modern, chic set design which heavily echoed that of the original production.

In conclusion, Chess had some nice moments. Mainly the costume and set design and a couple of performances. With the exception of these, however, it did not make for an enjoyable evening at the theatre. It is rumoured that a West End production is on the cards. I can only hope that this doesn’t happen and that Chess is left as a relic of its time and not brought back to haunt us in the 21^st Century.

1*

Theatre Review – Love Never Dies (Adelphi Theatre, 8th January 2011)

It has been a few months since I saw Love Never Dies for the first time, and in the time since, it has closed for 4 days and been rewritten. Thus, going to see the show last week, I was in fact going to see Love Never Dies “Version 2.”

Love Never Dies (now perhaps famously) continues the story of the most successful musical in the world: The Phantom of the Opera. The action takes place ten years after the original ended when The Phantom has moved to Coney Island and set up “Phantasma” perhaps the first ‘theme park’ and Christine (now married to Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny and with a son, Gustave) is booked to open Oscar Hammerstein’s brand new opera house in New-York City. Of course, The Phantom finds out and tries to win Christine back from Raoul, finding out some secrets along the way about Gustave and ultimately giving her a choice: She either sings for him at Phantasma or he will take her son.

Joseph Millson as Raoul & Sierra Boggess as Christine

                                              

The tension is high and the drama intense throughout and the characters are played so effortlessly by the leading cast, who have such a solid relationship that you never once feel nervous or anxious that they get something right. Ramin Karimloo shines as The Phantom, his strong, lyrical voice carrying through the theatre and directly into the hearts of his audience. Other leads Joseph Millson as Raoul and Celia Graham (on for Sierra Boggess as Christine) also gave phenomenal performances, with Millson delivering such fine acting as well as beautiful singing in ‘Why Does She Love Me?’ And Graham’s performance of the title song being the highlight of the performance (deservedly getting the largest mid-act ovation I have ever encountered.)

The supporting cast hold their own too, with Liz Robertson (not working with the most melodic music to be fair) creating the jealousy-filled adviser to The Phantom and the manager of Phantasma, Madame Giry and Jessica Kirton (on for Summer Strallen) as her daughter Meg, previous long-time friend of Christine at the Paris Opera and headline act at Phantasma.

The changes to the show have further tightened the action, making the narrative flow better, and making the story a lot easier to follow. There is now more background (the opening now shows the Paris Opera house burning down) and indeed the story is now more believable  - rather than being lured to New York City by mysterious Mr. Y (The Phantom in disguise) it is now plausible that Christine might go and open Oscar Hammerstein’s opera. Another welcome addition is more music and themes from The Phantom of the Opera. We now hear the (famous) chord progression heard at the end of the original at places during Love Never Dies, and one song that has been reborn with new lyrics in Love Never Dies is ‘Stranger than You Dreamt It’. The first time we see The Phantom in Love Never Dies, he is also kissing the ring which Christine returned to him the night she left him for Raoul ten years previously.

Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom

Whilst some songs are removed, what made Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s score the best of the last decade in West-End theatre still remains – The opening song is now The Phantom’s ballad ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ (which was well-received, as always by the audience) and the show continues to produce well-received songs from lush romantic string-filled duets (Look With Your Heart, Once Upon Another Time) to burlesque-inspired show numbers (Bathing Beauty) and the typical Andrew Lloyd Webber aria Love Never Dies (which, incidentally is a far better fit in this show than in previous show The Beautiful Game.)

Bob Crowley’s set and costume designs, Paule Constable’s lighting designs and Mick Potter’s sound design remain largely unchanged from my last visit – and with good reason too – they were perfect.

Moderations to the book and Jack O’Brien’s original direction by Bill Kenwright were welcome – making the show less static and although Bill Deamer’s revisions of Jerry Mitchell’s choreography were not actually necessary, they did not take away from the production.

The best changes, however, lie in Charles Hart’s revision of the lyrics. We know from his beautiful words from The Phantom of the Opera that Charles Hart really is a master of the romantic lyric, and so, he has revised some Glenn Slater’s awkward lyrics and has written some original ones of his own. One addition not necessary, however, was the addition of lyrics and choreography in The Coney Island Waltz – this being another part that was perfect to begin with.

All things considered, Love Never Dies is still the best original musical in the West-End and with some of the long-runners looking tired now; it might be the best bet for any London theatregoer. The changes have improved the already amazing show to now make it phenomenal.

5*

Theatre Review – ‘Oliver!’ (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 5th January 2011)

If you are one of the fortunate ones who have seen “Cameron-Mackintosh’s-new-production-of-Rupert-Goold’s-recreation-of-Sam-Mendes’-direction-of-Lionel-Bart’s-theatrical-masterpiece-‘Oliver!’”, consider yourself (pun intended) lucky. And breathe.

It seems a bit pointless reviewing this production considering it has closed now, but I thought it would be worth it in any event. This recreation of the 1994 Cameron Mackintosh production at The London Palladium opened almost two years ago with Rowan Atkinson in the much-coveted role of Fagin, and Jodie Prenger (who had won the role in TV talent search competition I’d Do Anything) as Nancy, and now stars Griff Rhys Jones as Fagin and Kerry Ellis as Nancy.

                                  The Company of 'Oliver!' in "Who Will Buy?"

We follow the story of Victorian orphan Oliver Twist, who is sold from the workhouse, escapes from the funeral directors he is employed at and ends up living with Fagin and his gang of boys in London, until one day, in a twist of fate, picking the pocket of an old man turns out to be a life-changing experience.

Lionel Bart’s score shines through in this production, with orchestrations by William David Brohn and we remember why we fell in love with it in the first place, with all the favourites featuring beefed-up, cinematic orchestrations which completely immerse the Drury Lane in the Dickensian London  we see onstage. The score of ‘Oliver!’ is like pink custard – completely typical, filled with gimmicks yet a guilty pleasure for any listener.

Anthony Ward’s set and costume design are without par in the West-End at the moment, the incredible use of the Drury Lane’s football pitch-sized stage and fly towers apparent in huge production numbers like “Consider Yourself” and “Who Will Buy?” The costumes are perfect Victorian down to the last detail without being overly melodramatic and reminiscent of pantomime, which is a common occurrence of many musicals set in this time period.

Rupert Goold’s direction and Matthew Bourne’s choreography fit perfectly with Ward’s designs to create a visually stunning show that conveys every detail which one can presume Dickens intended. The unique thing about Bourne’s choreography and the thing that works well in ‘Oliver!’ is that he doesn’t choreograph a huge dance sequence where the whole cast is doing the same thing. Every cast member has something different to do, in character, which makes up a huge picture of simply spectacular choreography

                                The Company of 'Oliver!' in "Consider Yourself"

Griff Rhys Jones’ interpretation of Fagin was both fun and deeply serious – a heavily black comedic role which Jones played to perfection. He ranged from playing with the audience (making topical jokes about the price of tickets and the Irish banking system) to the scary villain that Fagin actually is which concludes in the chilling final picture of Fagin’s silhouette disappearing into the London sunset. However, in future, Jones may take advantage of the good idea of maintaining character as one makes entrances and exits.

Masterful also is Kerry Ellis’ performance as Nancy, ranging from the camp “Oom-Pah-Pah” to the ultimate Torch Song “As Long He Needs Me.” Long before “I Dreamed a Dream” and “Memory”, “As Long As He Needs Me” is the original power ballad about love, love for the man who constantly abuses her in Nancy’s case. And Ellis simply delivers the greatest interpretation of this song in the history of the role, her magnificent voice soaring and effortlessly filling the theatre.

In this case, the man who constantly abuses Nancy, Bill Sikes is played by ‘Oliver!’ veteran Stephen Hartley who originally played the role in the London Palladium production alongside Robert Lindsay as Fagin. Hartley has the perfect physique for Bill Sikes including a perfect voice you couldn’t put-on.

This production is a perfect, flawless revival of this classic musical, though one feels that perhaps the production far outweighs the material. ‘Oliver!’ is a fantastic musical; though its highest merits are the book and the production. The music can at times be too typical, and the lyrics are, though cleverly rhymed (see rhyming ‘uppity’ with ‘cup o’ tea’), are merely passable at times. The material does have good points though, with As Long as he Needs Me being the main one with the perfect matching of beautiful melody and haunting lyric.

                                               Rowan Atkinson as Fagin

Whatever problems the show itself may have, they go largely unnoticed in Cameron Mackintosh’s production which is certainly a production for the ages.

4*