Ball to star in ALW’s new reimagined ASPECTS OF LOVE — Page 4

Ann Crumb and Jennifer Hope Wills should give this girl playing Rose Vibert a few acting and singing lessons. ALW has been very off with his casting lately, from Elena Roger, to the girl that was in Bad Cinderella, now this girl who literally murdered the song Anything But Lonely, I'm not sure what he's thinking. Thankfully the male leads saved the show.

Hello J, I sent you a PM.



Also, the girl playing Julietta at the Walnut was excellent, her name was Danielle. Forgot her last name. She also stole the show. The cast in Philly was very strong. Stronger than this West End production...Michael Ball is really carrying the show almost by himself with his star power.

I said in a previous post that Ann Crumb must be turning in her grave. I knew that already.

Updated On: 5/27/23 at 10:21 AM

muscle23ftl said: "I said in a previous post that Ann Crumb must be turning in her grave. I know that."

I really don't think the dead spend their afterlife fretting over musical revivals.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPZd3QG5j0


anyting is my fav. Sarah ❤️ Jenifer ❤️❤️❤️

Just like The Woman in White revival at Charing Cross, this comes close to a successful scaled-down revival and falls short.

If they wanted to give Michael Ball Love Changes Everything as a solo, they needed something to replace the opening and the finale. Starting the show with the Master Builder sequence takes away the flashback premise of the show; it's not a good opening, it falls flat. Having the last line of the show to be Giuletta's Hand Me the Wine and the Dice is bizarre and anti-climatic.

Also sad they bothered so much with the title number and were so fixated to make the younger characters adults as to not come across as molesters, but didn't fix the shortcomings of the book. The inconsequential scene of Alex shooting Rose is still there, and George being so bothered with the Alex and Jenny relationship but having a history of polyamory and free love, still makes no sense either.

I didn't mind Alex's awful acting as a youngster, he does come across as sex-driven and dumb. But when he matures, it is hard to watch.

Otherwise the acting is amazing and so is the singing. The score is as lush as always and the set and lighting are gorgeous. Just for this, it is worth watching.

So when does Michael Ball sing Love Changes Everything if it's not the opening number?

"Ann Crumb and Jennifer Hope Wills should give this girl playing Rose Vibert a few acting and singing lessons"



Ann Crumb cannot help her as she unfortunately passed away

Updated On: 5/29/23 at 01:31 PM

Jordan Catalano said: "CATSNYrevival said: "So when does Michael Ball sing Love Changes Everything if it's not the opening number?"

He sings it to Rose about 25 mins into act one, after Alex leaves.

"

Which stops the story and turns the moment into a Michael Ball concert, so random.

Does it make sense? No

Does it work for the play? No

Is it amazing to witness him sing the song? Absolutely

CATSNYrevival said: "I really don't think the dead spend their afterlife fretting over musical revivals."

Will someone please inform the ghost of Arthur Laurents?

sparklingtonic2 said: "Was "Anything but Lonely" part of ALW's original vision? Just asking because on the OLC recording it follows "Hand Me the Wine and the Dice," and I've always thought that worked well."

It's been a while since I read Walsh's biography, but I think he was referring to Giulietta singing just the line "hand me the wine and the dice" near the end of the show (as on the recording), not the song itself. The only thing that follows is a little piece of "Love Changes Everything" to end the show. So this would be after the song "Hand Me the Wine and the Dice" as well as "Anything But Lonely."

Just came back from seeing it tonight and, as a looong time admirer of the show, and having loved seeing it way back when, and a surprisingly good non equity production in Chicago ten years ago, I did not love this production. While I don’t think the changes to the book were necessary - i.e. making Alex eighteen and an American, having Jenny be eighteen instead of fifteen, I understand why they were made.

Hits for me were the talented cast, particularly the performers playing Giulietta, both Jennies, Marcel, Elizabeth and all of the supporting cast. Costumes and lighting were strong. Generally beautiful singing all around.

Misses - I didn’t much care for Jamie’s acting choices. He has a sweet singing voice and was serviceable, in a part that has been neutered by the book changes.

The stage turntables added little and, at least at one point, were comical. First act scene with Alex and Rose in the Villa, before George arrives, featured not one but two empty settees rotating all the way around the stage for no good reason.

The video projections and curtain work were clever but seemed cheap to me. In fact, the entire set seemed oddly small. I’d love to see some steps for Rose and later Jenny to make their grand entrances in the red dress. As it stands, there’s a six inch platform and a doorway.

Laura Pitt-Pullford is a talented singer and actress. The choices being made don’t seem right for Rose. Rose is a force, self-absorbed and a skilled manipulator. Kinda what I was hoping to get and didn’t from Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor in the motive and the cue the night before, but that’s another chat for another day. Laura’s Rose seems more open-hearted. She falls for Alex very quickly, where I’d like to see her toy with him a bit more before falling. And by the end of the show, Laura’s Rose reads more like Norma Desmond - brittle, broken. I think these are deliberate choices. I commend them but they’re less effective than other Roses I’ve seen.

Didn’t like the removal of the timpani? from the orchestrations in Hand me the Wine and the Dice. Otherwise they were fine

Now, Mr. Ball. Lovely voice, interesting, somewhat youthful take on George. His acting isn’t what is putting the grey hairs, like me in the seats. Ay, there’s the rub. Ball sells tickets, (I’m assuming) so the creative team bend, and truss and trim this show to accommodate his talent. And in doing so, strip the show of any juice it has. As has been previously mentioned, leaving out the opening and closing reprises of LCE was an extremely unwelcome cut, particularly at the end. Closing with Giulietta’s line left the audience confused, and not in any way powerful or dramatic. Alas, shoehorning LCE into act 1 completely stops the momentum of the show.
Refocusing this show on George when, in my humble opinion, it is really about Rose’s journey, doesn’t work with Mr. Ball playing the role. I’m not convinced it could work with any other actor focused on George.

Is it too much to ask for a production of this show that explores the Rose/Giulietta dynamic more? They seem like the star crossed lovers here, while all the boys do their boy things.

Updated On: 6/2/23 at 07:04 PM