Any "Woman In White" reviews yet?

[pab]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:15pm

It opened in London last night (15th). It's the 16th there now and I was not sure if their reviews come out around the same kind of time as Broadway reviews. Anyway, if anyone has a link to any reviews, please post it. Very curious to see how this show was received.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:22pm

What I have heard, is that people didn't like it too much. I have heard a few clips of the music online and I really like what I heard. Can't wait until the cast recording comes out.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:25pm

me, too... spider, i can see what you meant about Beautiful Game... not much there but my favorite song is Our Kind Of Love... Donny Osmond does it on his Broadway CD, which is where i first heard it...

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:28pm

The first half of the cd (minus "Overature" "God's Own Country" and a couple of others) is kind of bad, but once you get to the wedding part it all becomes glorious. I love this recording. It contains some of Webber's best songs. And I also have the Donny cd, joey and he does an AMAZING rendition of it. A lot of people hate Webber, but I love him because he writes some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard and I love singing to his music.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:31pm

i think he's becoming more hit or miss with me now... i think the last good SHOW he wrote was Sunset Boulevard... Whistle Down The Wind had some good songs, but the recording itself was pretty bad, with those awful southern accents... I'm looking forward to hearing Woman In White... It's funny that there aren't any reviews yet, even in the London Times...

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:37pm

Actually, I am not that big of a fan of Sunset Blvd. I do like a good bit of the songs but as a whole I just don't like it (and I love the Wilder movie). My favorite of his are:

POTO
JCS
Joseph (it's just really fun)
Evita

and I do like the recording of Whistle, Beautiful Game, CATS, Starlight (although they aren't my favorites). I just don't like how he gets crap all the time from broadway folks. I mean, he has brought SOOO many people to musical theatre (myself included) that might never have given it a try. Also, he is really passionate about musical theatre and it's fans. He might be doing what he is doing for the money (as a lot of people try to say) but he is rich enough. Why doesn't he just stop if it is just because of the money? I don't know. Sometimes it makes me mad when people give other people crap when they don't deserve it. It is like it is the "Correct thing to do" to bash webber and praise Sondheim. I like them both and they both rock my socks.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 8:45pm

i think my favs are
JCS
Evita
Joseph
Sunset Blvd (the LuPone version)
for all the others, there are some songs i like but not the shows as a whole...

[pab]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:30pm

Here is the first review that I've seen so far:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1305706,00.html

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:45pm

I am in shock. The photos of Michael Crawford in Woman in White are unbelievable. I cannot believe that is him. Now to hear if he sounds as "unlike" Michael Crawford as he looks.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:47pm

where can i go to hear clips from it? anyone know??

Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:49pm

THE WOMAN IN WHITE

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 9/15/04 at 11:03pm

i couldn't find any clips on that site

Posted: 9/16/04 at 12:20am

I was at the press night and can report that the show received a standing ovation with Michael Crawford predictably stealing the largest cheers for his vurtuoso comic role as count Fosco. The rat too got a few catcalls.
The Woman in White boasts one of Lloyd Webber's most tuneful and inventive scores, with maybe a more operatic touch than before . It has a seamless quality with the use of numerous leading motives. Whereas in Aspects and Phantom there was a random quality about the use of themes to portray motive and character, here their use is highly sophisticated and includes moments of telling irony and menace.
The Woman in White is visually stunning. The computerized projections by William Dudley break exciting new ground and have to be seen to be believed - as when a train appears to come over the heads of the audience.
One refreshing aspect of this show is that it shows the hypocrisy and cruelty of the Victorians , most tellingly in the chilling depiction of a lunatic asylum. The London evoked is one that Jack the Ripper would have recognised - a seamy place of yellow fog and dirty streets. No picture postcard England here,
The performances are all good but I personally find Maria Friedman underpowered as Marian - she is inclined to shout to be heard which does not bode too well for her voice during the run. I suspect the show will need the services of an expert vocal coach like the legendary Ian Adam , the man who helped Michael Crawford to make Music of The Night a worldwide hit..
Maybe not a commercial show, but one London can be proud of. Updated On: 9/16/04 at 12:20 AM

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 1:04am

I remember a movie from the 80's called The Women (or was it lady?) in White. Is this what the show is based on?? I loved that movie

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 1:07am

there was a movie called WOMAN IN WHITE that was based on the novel that this show is based on. Did you catch all of that?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 1:15am

Rob has a review in Broadway Pulse.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 1:22am

That was a great review by Rod. DANG IT!!! I want to see the show right now but I probably never will.

[londonlad]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 9:40am

Hi guys, my first post

Here is the review from the Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14769-1265266,00.html

[leeinlondon]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 9:45am

There is also a summary of reviews thread I kicked off today

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/16/04 at 12:56pm

Alas, the sound at the site is not from the score, but a sort of BLAIR WITCH ambiant motif. Too bad.

[tantantan]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:23pm

just back from the 'woman in white'...it was the fourth (but first saturday)perfomance.
I didn't expect it too "multimedia"...but I liked it after 10 minutes. it restored my faith in musical score(very old fashion big 4 or andrew lloyd webber style)... my opera fever boyfriend quite enjoyed it too...we caught the show just because of the papers extreeem reviews..
it was very operatta(the score)..and a bit cinematic movie story style or imax
perhaps the only best original score you could get in west end theaters these days...certianly much more refined than the 'phantom' or any big4...
i think it will become a smash hit soon...
4.5 stars for the score, 3.5 star for the presentation..