The Pirate Queen Reviews- Page 9

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:22am

songanddanceman2- The more posts I read of yours I find that you're really nasty. YOU need a bitch slap!

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 7:51am

Concerning Word of Mouth, these people are so stupid. Why can't they get people like us to review the damn shows. Well, I live in Massachusetts so I wouldn't be able to do it but you know. But you know what they say:

People like us
We slip by through the cracks
We'll never be famous
So who's gonna care
Nobody needs us
And everyone's had us
We're here but not here
We've been there but not there
And where--where do we belong?
We only have ourselves.
Where--where do we belong?
People like us
Lost
And found
Where...?
Where...?

Audrey, if you and Clark are reading this, that was from a QUALITY Broadway musical.

[MarkK]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:03pm

The Sun is a Pan

Drowning in a Sea of Sap


It must have seemed like a good idea — or at least a lucrative one — at the time.

Blend Anglophobe populism right out of "Braveheart" with a bit of "Wicked"-style revisionist girl power. Toss in memories of last year's most popular film (pirates!) and of last year's most memorable film performance (Queen Elizabeth! Well, the first one!). Then get the tunesmiths behind "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon" to write it and the duo behind the Irishdance megalith "Riverdance" to produce it. Can't miss, right?

"The Pirate Queen," as it happens, misses by a nautical mile. An indifferently constructed blend of period pageantry, power ballads, and battleof-the-sexes pandering, this soggy melodrama does little to stir the pulse, to say nothing of rehabilitating the rusty image of the pop opera


Sun Review Updated On: 4/9/07 at 12:03 PM

[MarkK]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:05pm

As is New York Magazine

I just think all of these reviews are mean-spirited.

New York Magzine Review Updated On: 4/9/07 at 12:05 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:11pm

It was not as BAD as everyone is saying- I read ll the reviews & seen the show- some reviews were over the top/ mostly exaagerated- I was just laughing with the reviews , very entertaining but sorry I dont agree with most of it-jaystarr

[Popular]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 4:58pm

"The Pirate Queen" ($704,024) managed to hit its top tally so far despite a heavily comped press week and a soggy critical reception."




Link Updated On: 4/10/07 at 04:58 PM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 5:11pm

I'm surprised you didn't deem this worthy of its own thread, hun.


Edited: I misused an apostrophe.

Updated On: 4/10/07 at 05:11 PM

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 5:16pm

"It was not as BAD as everyone is saying."

Oh, but it is. It IS bad, Blanche. It's the worst thing that any show can be-- boring.

[WordedGrace]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 6:19pm

Took the words right out of my fingers, Sorrygrateful, lol

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 7:35pm

I totally agree. PIRATE QUEEN was, in fact, that bad. It was like DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES without as many unintended laughs.

[queenbee2]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 10:32am

With all the press bashing PQ took, I thought it might be nice to post a review that leaned more towards the positive and constructive. Not a great review, but certainly not the hateful wrath that came from most of the other critics.

-QB
(Who is prepared to be chastized for posting a semi positive review. How dare I!)

-----------

From The News-TImes Live
The Pirate Queen," the latest musical extravaganza from the pens of Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg ("Les Miserables""Miss Saigon") opened last week at the Hilton Theatre in New York City and fans of full-throttle, swashbuckling fare will be in clover "" again. It's been 22 years since "Les Miz" first took romantics by storm.
"Queen," which also includes contributions to the book and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., is based on the real life Grace O'Malley (1530-1603) -- a member of an Irish clan known as seafarers and pirates. The musical was inspired by the novel "Grania: She King of the Irish Seas," which should give you some idea of the lady's credentials. Blending facts with dramatic fantasy, the musical follows the exploits of O'Malley, who became chieftain of her clan and earned the ire of Elizabeth I for aiding Irish resistance to English expansion and domination.

That kind of historical confrontation, especially between women, would be enough in itself for the kind of grand, sweeping musicals for which Boubil and Schonberg are known. Add in a hot-blooded love triangle between Grace, her love Tiernan (Hadley Fraser) and Donal (Marcus Chait), the man she's forced to marry to keep the clan from breaking up, and you have the makings of a near operatic saga.


"Queen" has something that neither "Les Miz" or "Miss Saigon" had -- an abundance of dancing. Renowned choreographer Graciela Daniele is in charge of the musical staging and, with an assist from Carol Levy Joyce, an Irish dance pro, has come up with exuberant step dancing numbers that would rival those in "Riverdance."

Like "Les Miz," this latest historical potboiler is big on visual treats. Designer Eugene Lee hasn't stinted on panoramic visions of the sea or Irish cliffs and castles, and Martin Pakledinaz's costumes are as rich and ornate as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie epic.

Some have been critical of the musical strengths of the composers, complaining about repetitious motifs and singsong lyrics. To some degree it's a fair caveat, but under the baton of Julian Kelley, who did the lush orchestrations, this is music to be swept along by, not the kind to analyze.

Likewise the story may be short on subtlety, but love, death and dueling generate potent moments and the large orchestra is always at the ready to pump up the emotions.

It's a large cast "" 42 in all, and is headed by Stephanie J. Block in the title role. At the performance I attended, her understudy, Kathy Voytko, went on for the indisposed star and like a backstage Cinderella story scored a knockout. I'm sure Block is terrific, but if you get to see Voytko you'll be mightily impressed.

Two handsome, powerful singers play Grace's love interests. As the man who has to wait his turn, Fraser' has a voice with soaring tenor overtones bordering on the baritone. He radiates enough masculine charisma to boost Irish pride among fellow countrymen in the audience. Chait is also most persuasive and it seems a shame he has to turn into a villain of sorts.

Jeff McCarthy was solid as Dubhdara, Grace's father.

Perhaps the most fun to watch were the English villains "" Queen Elizabeth (Linda Balgord) and her head henchman, Sir Richard Bingham, played with oily evil by William Youmans. The English in their grand red outfits often look like giant tin soldiers.

Balgord has a field day as the imperious Virgin Queen, and gets to wear a new, outlandishly fancy costume in every scene. Some actresses would probably die for the outfits if not the part.

They say that everyone is Irish on March 17 and I suspect pretty much everyone leaving the theater will count themselves as such. "The Pirate Queen" is a bit heavy for youngsters, though they can be primed to understand the politics and romance "" and they'll surely love the sword play, shipboard donnybrooks and special effects.

"The Pirate Queen," for all its obvious dramatic and musical manipulation, is crackling entertainment and big enough to justify the ransom that's demanded for tickets.
Updated On: 4/13/07 at 10:32 AM

[queenbee2]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 10:35am

One more semi-positive write up from The Daily Record-

-QB
----


"The Pirate Queen" is no "Les Miserables."

Then again, "Les Mis" creators Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg were not working with a sweeping story by the celebrated French novelist Victor Hugo.

The duo, who also wrote the music and lyrics for "Miss Saigon," wrote the book for their new Broadway musical with lyricist and director Richard Maltby Jr.

It is based on a historical figure, Grace O'Malley (1530-1603), leader of an Irish clan of seafarers and pirates.

This period of Irish history does have its share of drama, with warring clans uniting to defeat the English who are attempting to conquer them.

"The Pirate Queen" ultimately leads to a meeting between two powerful women, Grace and the English monarch, Queen Elizabeth I -- at a time when women held no power.

Stephanie Block ("The Boy from Oz") plays the leading role of Grace. Unfortunately, she was not performing at the matinee I saw.

Fortunately, her understudy, Kathy Voytko, was excellent.

Hadley Fraser and Marcus Chait also turned in good performances as Tiernan, the man Grace loves, and Donal O'Flaherty, the shallow man she agrees to marry to help unite two clans, respectively.

The show's main producers also were responsible for "Riverdance," the celebration of Irish dance that has toured the world.

"The Pirate Queen" features some lively footwork but not so much as to overtake the story.

The production design is impressive, especially the sets of a ship in which the sailors appear to raise and lower the sails. And each costume for Queen Elizabeth outdoes the one before it

[queenbee2]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 10:37am

And one last interesting article I found. Not a review, per se, but more of an editorial comment on the reviews of the show.

-QB
----

Judge The Pirate Queen for Yourself!
By Debbie McGoldrick of the Irish Voice

THE critics have had their say, and they haven’t been kind, but The Pirate Queen, the new Irish musical on Broadway launched by Riverdance producers John McColgan and Moya Doherty, will hopefully get the audience it deserves in the weeks and months ahead.

At the end of the day, a critic’s opinion is just that the thoughts of one person. Opening night last Thursday also offered some opinion on the show in the form of standing ovations and loud shouts of approval from the packed house.

The audience reception was also similar at a Saturday matinee we attended, so the public is obviously seeing something that the high and mighty critics are missing. No surprise there, really.

We’re not quite sure what show the likes of Ben Brantley (The New York Times) and his fellow reviewers were watching, or perhaps they were determined to give a thumbs down regardless of what they saw on stage, but The Pirate Queen is a big, splashy, thoroughly engaging and enjoyable musical.

The actors are perfectly cast, with Stephanie J. Block in the title role as Grace O’Malley leading the ship of stars. She perfectly captures the essence and might of Grace, a swashbuckling woman who was several centuries before her time.

Here’s some advice give The Pirate Queen a chance. Be your own critic. We promise you won’t be disappointed.

[bardolator]

Posted: 4/13/07 at 11:41am

"As the man who has to wait his turn, Fraser has a voice with soaring tenor overtones bordering on the baritone. He radiates enough masculine charisma to boost Irish pride among fellow countrymen in the audience."

Agreed that Fraser has a rich voice (SJB told a group of us last April that you wanted to reach out and touch it, and she's absolutely right). Also agreed that he's probably more baritenor than tenor.

But...he's English, not Irish!

(Still: YUM.)