Ball to star in ALW’s new reimagined ASPECTS OF LOVE- Page 5

[Piparoo]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 7:50pm

muscle23ftl said: "I basically agree with everything you say, well, they need to be 18yo now, because we're living in "woke" times and it can be a scandal if they are under 18yo now.

Was the theater full?

Wasn't Anything But Lonely the worst version ever of this song? The acting was atrocious?

Regarding the actor playing the role of Alex, he just can't act, not sure if it was a "choice" but maybe you're being extremely diplomatic. In any case, the actress paying the role of Rose was also absolutely terrible in this show."

The theatre was definitely not full and the audience was as hesitant to applaud after any number (other than Ball’s) as I’ve seen in 40 years of theatre going. Even so, everyone was standing by the time Ball came out for bows. Weird.
Laura’s Anything but Lonely was nicely sung, terrified and brittle. I didn’t like it at all, but I’m assuming it was on purpose. I’m gonna give Jamie the benefit of the doubt. RADA is a good acting school and Yale is pretty good too. Jamie doesn’t have the look I would go with for Alex nor did I like his choices, but I really think it can’t be helped with the book changes that feature Ball more prominently.

I was in the front row and I could sense from the expressions on the lead’s faces (other than Ball’s) during bows that they know they’re in a crummy production. They looked unhappy/guilty up there. I may be projecting…Laura snuck out of the stage door without looking at anyone. Which is a shame, I wanted to tell her congratulations. I know she’s working hard and she’s not getting any help from the book changes nor much love from the audience.

[Piparoo]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 8:57pm

Also, in case it hasn’t already been mentioned. The only substantive new music (not new lyrics, there are lots of those) I noted was new material for Rose and Alex halfway through Chanson d’Enfance. There was a duet sung in French in there that I’ve never heard, followed by a brief paired dance, before returning to the familiar refrain of the Chanson d’Enfance. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 10:28pm

I think Laura was running away just in case Sarah Brightman, Jennifer Hope Wills or the spirit of Ann Crumb is there to tell her that she ruined Anything But Lonely. Haha. That rendition felt like a joke. But I blame the director, not her to be honest...but she should be ashamed of what she is doing on stage. I went to see it opening night because it was the only chance I had to see it, I was in the balcony and the theater was full so I couldn't move to a better seat. I still have to see something I love in the West End, I saw Will We Rock You, & Juliet and now this one. Still, Aspects was the best so far I believe.

[chernjam]

Posted: 6/22/23 at 5:17pm

Happy to finally get some footage and clips... 

(41) Aspects of Love - Brand New Trailer - YouTube

[morosco]

Posted: 6/23/23 at 4:11pm

Michael Ball is channeling Orson Welles.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/24/23 at 4:56am

Saw the show last night, here are my thoughts.

★★☆☆☆

You would think that it would be really cool to see an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in London’s West End. I’m sure that’s true, but certainly not with this musical, Aspects of Love. I haven’t really heard of this musical before and now I can clearly see why. From the moment the curtain goes up, we are transported to a setting of a dull and confusing storyline. I swear, whoever wrote this story should not be writing for musical theatre. There was little to no "spoken" dialogue. Almost every scene was sung through. For some shows, that tends to work, but not necessarily for this musical. Now, the music was alright, but the only song that really stands out is “Love Changes Everything”. Originally sung by the character Alex (Jamie Bogyo), but in this version, it is sung by the character George (Michael Ball). Ball played the role of Alex in the shows original productions. To be honest, I really do not understand the need to reassign a great song to a different character, just so its original star could sing it once more. Totally not necessary. However, we do get to hear Alex sing a small clip of Love Changes Everything at the end of the first act. Don’t get me wrong, Jamie sounded magnificent for those final moments of Act I. During the interval, someone said that the second act would be “juicier”. I was like, it could not be any worse than the first act. Boy was I proven wrong! We have a 12 year time jump, and by that point, I had lost all interest in this show. There was no describing of the past 12 years and it became more confusing. Now listen, I am not criticizing the actors whatsoever! They did an outstanding job! It’s the material that is the problem with this show. The original versions of this were flops and it makes me wonder why would they revive a show like this? Frankly, the revisions just made it worse. Now I can see why half of the theatre was empty, because this show is still not good. I would not be surprised if this closes much earlier than their planned November closing. I don't know. Maybe I would have been better off seeing the scaled-down production of Phantom. Some people liked it, but I sadly did not.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 6/24/23 at 12:45pm

All the soloists in that trailer are flat. Yikes. 

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 6:12am

They just shaved three months off the run. It's now closing on August 19th

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 8:28am

imeldasturn said: "They just shaved three months off the run. It's now closing on August 19th"

Yeah, I’m not surprised by this whatsoever. The story has no structure and is VERY CONFUSING! After seeing it last week and noticing that the house was not even half-full, I knew this was not gonna make it to November! I feel very bad for the cast and crew who’ll be out of a job sooner rather than later. 

[mememe]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:03am

Dylan Smith4 said: "Saw the show last night, here are my thoughts.

★★☆☆☆

You would think that it would be really cool to see an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in London’s West End. I’m sure that’s true, but certainly not with this musical, Aspects of Love. I haven’t really heard of this musical before and now I can clearly see why. From the moment the curtain goes up, we are transported to a setting of a dull and confusing storyline. I swear, whoever wrote this story should not be writing for musical theatre. There was little to no "spoken" dialogue. Almost every scene was sung through. For some shows, that tends to work, but not necessarily for this musical. Now, the music was alright, but the only song that really stands out is “Love Changes Everything”. Originally sung by the character Alex (Jamie Bogyo), but in this version, it is sung by the character George (Michael Ball). Ball played the role of Alex in the shows original productions. To be honest, I really do not understand the need to reassign a great song to a different character, just so its original star could sing it once more. Totally not necessary. However, we do get to hear Alex sing a small clip of Love Changes Everything at the end of the first act. Don’t get me wrong, Jamie sounded magnificent for those final moments of Act I. During the interval, someone said that the second act would be “juicier”. I was like, it could not be any worse than the first act. Boy was I proven wrong! We have a 12 year time jump, and by that point, I had lost all interest in this show. There was no describing of the past 12 years and it became more confusing. Now listen, I am not criticizing the actors whatsoever! They did an outstanding job! It’s the material that is the problem with this show. The original versions of this were flops and it makes me wonder why would they revive a show like this? Frankly, the revisions just made it worse. Now I can see why half of the theatre was empty, because this show is still not good. I would not be surprised if this closes much earlier than their planned November closing. I don't know. Maybe I would have been better off seeing the scaled-down production of Phantom. Some people liked it, but I sadly did not."

You really don’t understand why the assigned that song to the original star and thought it was unnecessary? Really? 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:20am

It was a great idea to have Michael Ball sing his trademark song, also it doesn't really make a difference who sings that song in the show, the song is not really associated to a certain character in the show, so any of the 4 leads could sing it.

The show has great songs, it's just a bad production of it. I saw a fabulous production of the show in Philadelphia with Jennifer Hope Wills and Danielle Herbert and they were truly fantastic, but the production was darker, the entire cast was excellent without so many weak links. The rendition of Anything But Lonely was thrilling when Wills sang it. The show isn't the best show ever, but if it's well executed, it is a great evening at the theater.

That wasn't achieved because Michael Ball is carrying the show by himself, with a very weak cast and too many terrible decisions when it comes to execution, direction and casting.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:38am

mememe said: "You really don’t understand why the assigned that song to the original star and thought it was unnecessary? Really?"

I did research on the show and the song was originally written for the character Alex, a role that Michael Ball created originally. Obviously, he’s far too old for that role and instead plays the older character of George. Yes, it was nice to see Michael Ball sing that iconic song, but I felt it was unnecessary to reassign it to his character just so he could sing it. When I heard Jamie Bogyo sing the last couple lines of the song in the Act 1 finale, I wanted to hear him sing the song more than Ball. Again, reassigning a song to a different character, just so the show’s original star can sing it once more,  in my opinion, is unnecessary!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:40am

I love this score so much and actually really enjoyed this production so it’s a shame to see it close early. I’ll have to go back again earlier than I had planned, to catch it once more. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 12:11pm

Really wanted this to do well. Would have loved a cast album.

[Piparoo]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 12:26pm

Me too. It was the show I was most excited to see last month and the one that I enjoyed the least. The revisions added nothing dramaturgically and the actors playing the main three (Rose, Alex and George) were not a great fit. Its early close saddens but doesn’t surprise me. I was there a week or two after it opened and the auditorium was only two thirds full.

[mememe]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 12:29pm

Dylan Smith4 said: "mememe said: "You really don’t understand why the assigned that song to the original star and thought it was unnecessary? Really?"

I did research on the show and the song was originally written for the character Alex, a role that Michael Ball created originally. Obviously, he’s far too old for that role and instead plays the older character of George. Yes, it was nice to see Michael Ball sing that iconic song, but I felt it was unnecessary to reassign it to his character just so he could sing it. When I heard Jamie Bogyo sing the last couple lines of the song in the Act 1 finale, I wanted to hear him sing the song more than Ball. Again, reassigning a song to a different character, just so the show’s original star can sing it once more, in my opinion, is unnecessary!"

It was entirely necessary in getting the show on. They needed Ball, he wasn’t going to sign on without a big song. He has a sizeable fan base and making his singing the number again part of the initial marketing and PR, absolutely appeals to his audience. It was originally the opening number and had no context.  

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 1:16pm

mememe said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "mememe said: "You really don’t understand why the assigned that song to the original star and thought it was unnecessary? Really?"

I did research on the show and the song was originally written for the character Alex, a role that Michael Ball created originally. Obviously, he’s far too old for that role and instead plays the older character of George. Yes, it was nice to see Michael Ball sing that iconic song, but I felt it was unnecessary to reassign it to his character just so he could sing it. When I heard Jamie Bogyo sing the last couple lines of the song in the Act 1 finale, I wanted to hear him sing the song more than Ball. Again, reassigning a song to a different character, just so the show’s original star can sing it once more, in my opinion, is unnecessary!"

It was entirely necessary in getting the show on. They needed Ball, he wasn’t going to sign on without a big song. He has a sizeable fan base and making his singing the number again part of the initial marketing and PR, absolutely appeals to his audience. It was originally the opening number and had no context."

Worked like magic didn't it

[mememe]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 1:47pm

imeldasturn said: "mememe said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "mememe said: "You really don’t understand why the assigned that song to the original star and thought it was unnecessary? Really?"

I did research on the show and the song was originally written for the character Alex, a role that Michael Ball created originally. Obviously, he’s far too old for that role and instead plays the older character of George. Yes, it was nice to see Michael Ball sing that iconic song, but I felt it was unnecessary to reassign it to his character just so he could sing it. When I heard Jamie Bogyo sing the last couple lines of the song in the Act 1 finale, I wanted to hear him sing the song more than Ball. Again, reassigning a song to a different character, just so the show’s original star can sing it once more, in my opinion, is unnecessary!"

It was entirely necessary in getting the show on. They needed Ball, he wasn’t going to sign on without a big song. He has a sizeable fan base and making his singing the number again part of the initial marketing and PR, absolutely appeals to his audience. It was originally the opening number and had no context."

Worked like magic didn't it"

Ha! It got the show on. If the production didn’t get the dismal reviews (which it deserved) it might have had a chance. But it was still the right move to begin with 

It is truly dire though.