#1
Posted: 1/25/09 at 7:02pm
3 weeks in London, 20.5 shows.
The complete list:
We Will Rock You, Sunset Boulevard, Twelfth Night, The Woman in Black, Piaf, Carousel, La Cage aux Folles, Complicit, Well, Edward Scissorhands, Zorro (x2), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Mousetrap, A Midsummer Night's Dream, War Horse (act 1), Oliver, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, A View from the Bridge, Hotel Paradiso (London International Mime-fest) and a Mozart concert.
One major thing I noticed: theater, well, the arts in general, are of a lot more importance to the UK than the US. Just touring the grounds of the National Theater complex makes you realize this. The fact that the show with the new largest advance ticket sale in London theater history, OLIVER, was cast via TV reality show, makes you realize this.
OLIVER, naturally, was a tremendous let down. A cold, mechanical production of a sweet, inconsequential show. Didn't see the woman cast as Nancy through the tele, but her alternate, Tamzin Caroll, was very, very good. In fact, the entire cast was good, especially the kid who played Dodger. The star, of course, is Rowan Atkinson, and if you're a fan of his, he certainly doesn't disappoint. And he was incredibly nice after the show at the stage door (how could I not wait?).
My favorite musical of all was ZORRO, with Matt Rawle in the title role and Emma Williams as Luisa. The score is by the Gipsy Kings, and their hit song Bamboleo is the Act I closer. It's very well-written, well-acted, well-danced, well-produced. And Rawle and Williams have sizzling chemistry. The score is probably one of the catchiest I've heard in a while.
LA CAGE was fabulous, a tiny, heartfelt and heartbreaking production that really mines for the darker hues of the material. Douglas Hodge as Albin (since replaced by Graham Norton) gave the best male performance I saw, chewing the scenery, going for broke, having the time of his life and creating a character that you love and for whom you feel terrible regarding the situation.
With Hodge as the best performer I saw, female this time, was Elena Rodger as Edith Piaf in PIAF. She loses herself in the role, sounds exactly like Piaf and proves that she's one of the most versatile performers around. I saw her last in BOEING-BOEING as the Italian and she was just as good.
I didn't care much for WOMAN IN BLACK (boring) or MOUSETRAP (the theater was empty and the cast slept their way through it). WE WILL ROCK YOU was fun, but a horrendous musical, like most jukebox shows. The ensemble phoned their way through that, too.
I can confirm Riedel's latest story that Richard Dreyfuss in the Old Vic's production of COMPLICIT doesn't remember his lines. In fact, at the performance I saw, he and his co-stars, Elizabeth McGovern and David Suchet, spent the entire performance stumbling and stuttering. The set looked like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" though Kevin Spacey's in-the-round staging was interesting. The play, by Joe Sutton, just didn't work.
ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE was shockingly strong at the first preview, despite a middle section that needed to be sped up. Imelda Staunton was heartbreaking as Kath. Also very strong for an early preview was Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, with Ken Stott, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Hayley Atwell. Loved it.
Didn't like CAROUSEL, though the set, an amalgamation of large pieces and IMAX-like projections, was very cool. Of the 2 Shakespeare plays, I liked TWELFTH NIGHT, featuring Derek Jacobi in a hilarious turn as Malvolio, better than the RSC's incomprehensible, though nicely designed MIDSUMMER.
SUNSET BLVD. worked a lot better than the original production with the actors accompanying themselves on the instruments and Kathryn Evans as Norma was marvelous. Another show where actors (almost) accompanied themselves was Stoppard and Previn's EVERY GOOD BOY... at the National, with Toby Jones and the Southbank Sinfonia. A stunning production of an odd little play.
I walked out of WAR HORSE, which is apparently the best show of the past few years. I stood through it for 5 pounds, well, the first act, and I felt that it was like watching paint dry. I just didn't get it. I didn't get the hype over EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, either. Nicely designed but did nothing for me.
I found that WELL worked better in London than in New York, and the woman playing Lisa Kron was stronger than Kron herself. However, the woman playing the mother was nowhere near as memorable as Jayne Houdyshell.
So that's that, really. Thanks for reading and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Some photos are still to come.
The complete list:
We Will Rock You, Sunset Boulevard, Twelfth Night, The Woman in Black, Piaf, Carousel, La Cage aux Folles, Complicit, Well, Edward Scissorhands, Zorro (x2), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Mousetrap, A Midsummer Night's Dream, War Horse (act 1), Oliver, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, A View from the Bridge, Hotel Paradiso (London International Mime-fest) and a Mozart concert.
One major thing I noticed: theater, well, the arts in general, are of a lot more importance to the UK than the US. Just touring the grounds of the National Theater complex makes you realize this. The fact that the show with the new largest advance ticket sale in London theater history, OLIVER, was cast via TV reality show, makes you realize this.
OLIVER, naturally, was a tremendous let down. A cold, mechanical production of a sweet, inconsequential show. Didn't see the woman cast as Nancy through the tele, but her alternate, Tamzin Caroll, was very, very good. In fact, the entire cast was good, especially the kid who played Dodger. The star, of course, is Rowan Atkinson, and if you're a fan of his, he certainly doesn't disappoint. And he was incredibly nice after the show at the stage door (how could I not wait?).
My favorite musical of all was ZORRO, with Matt Rawle in the title role and Emma Williams as Luisa. The score is by the Gipsy Kings, and their hit song Bamboleo is the Act I closer. It's very well-written, well-acted, well-danced, well-produced. And Rawle and Williams have sizzling chemistry. The score is probably one of the catchiest I've heard in a while.
LA CAGE was fabulous, a tiny, heartfelt and heartbreaking production that really mines for the darker hues of the material. Douglas Hodge as Albin (since replaced by Graham Norton) gave the best male performance I saw, chewing the scenery, going for broke, having the time of his life and creating a character that you love and for whom you feel terrible regarding the situation.
With Hodge as the best performer I saw, female this time, was Elena Rodger as Edith Piaf in PIAF. She loses herself in the role, sounds exactly like Piaf and proves that she's one of the most versatile performers around. I saw her last in BOEING-BOEING as the Italian and she was just as good.
I didn't care much for WOMAN IN BLACK (boring) or MOUSETRAP (the theater was empty and the cast slept their way through it). WE WILL ROCK YOU was fun, but a horrendous musical, like most jukebox shows. The ensemble phoned their way through that, too.
I can confirm Riedel's latest story that Richard Dreyfuss in the Old Vic's production of COMPLICIT doesn't remember his lines. In fact, at the performance I saw, he and his co-stars, Elizabeth McGovern and David Suchet, spent the entire performance stumbling and stuttering. The set looked like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" though Kevin Spacey's in-the-round staging was interesting. The play, by Joe Sutton, just didn't work.
ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE was shockingly strong at the first preview, despite a middle section that needed to be sped up. Imelda Staunton was heartbreaking as Kath. Also very strong for an early preview was Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, with Ken Stott, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Hayley Atwell. Loved it.
Didn't like CAROUSEL, though the set, an amalgamation of large pieces and IMAX-like projections, was very cool. Of the 2 Shakespeare plays, I liked TWELFTH NIGHT, featuring Derek Jacobi in a hilarious turn as Malvolio, better than the RSC's incomprehensible, though nicely designed MIDSUMMER.
SUNSET BLVD. worked a lot better than the original production with the actors accompanying themselves on the instruments and Kathryn Evans as Norma was marvelous. Another show where actors (almost) accompanied themselves was Stoppard and Previn's EVERY GOOD BOY... at the National, with Toby Jones and the Southbank Sinfonia. A stunning production of an odd little play.
I walked out of WAR HORSE, which is apparently the best show of the past few years. I stood through it for 5 pounds, well, the first act, and I felt that it was like watching paint dry. I just didn't get it. I didn't get the hype over EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, either. Nicely designed but did nothing for me.
I found that WELL worked better in London than in New York, and the woman playing Lisa Kron was stronger than Kron herself. However, the woman playing the mother was nowhere near as memorable as Jayne Houdyshell.
So that's that, really. Thanks for reading and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Some photos are still to come.
