Gone with the Wind Review 4.10.08- Page 2

[singingbackup]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:21pm

"Jill Paice "our Broadway Darling"????
WTF?"


I wrote that to ward off the "this does not belong on the Broadway board" comments.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:52pm

urgh the original 70s production of Gone With The Wind is dreadful, the music is dire and forgettable

I have tickets for the new GWTW this week, cant wait...i LOVE flops

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 9:26pm

In the '72 version, the overture is pressed at the wrong speed. The string section sounds like Kazoos.

Oh boy, this smells like a great big turkey feast, complete with all the fixin's.

Y'know, in retrospect, it would have been better to musicalize "The Wind's Done Gone."

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 10:14pm

I would like to see Anthony Newley's "The Good Old Bad Old Days" get a CD release.

Other London Shows that deserve a CD

Isabels A Jezebel - Score By Galt Mc Dermott
The Four Muskateers

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 1:10am

Cherchez la femme, Mr. Roxy

[Little-Lotte]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 1:25am

I hope this transfers because I'm really curious about it. Though unless they change things that's rather unlikely to happen. It sounds like another Lord of the Rings issue; too much story and not enough time to really cover it all!

I have to say what I've seen of the costumes in the promotional pictures, particularly Scarlett's iconic green dress, they look gorgeous!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:10am

allofmylife im so glad you noticed that about the overture, it makes me giggle

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:15am

Is it still 4 hours long?

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:07am

3 hours and 30 minutes (not including the 15 interval).

[tgrabon]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:23am

Fascinating review. Thank you.

"They never SHOWED us these things. They told us" I had the same feeling when I saw Little Women on Broadway. It irritated me to no end.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:39am

Yeah... It reminded me a lot of "Little Women." Especially when the big "Oh my God! Our daughter just died!" duet was titled... "Alone."

Really generic, sappy music with forced, obvious lyrics.

Don't get me wrong. There were moments they got right. They just were buried and forgotten with the other 2 hours and 30 minutes of the show.

For instance, there's a scene all of the ensemble members are standing over Scarlett, on the roof of Tara (narrating... I know I know). They're telling the audience "She ran until she couldn't run anymore! She ran! She didn't know where she was going! The wind howled! The rains screamed!" and you saw Jill Paice scurrying across the stage, with the lighting and the sounds giving the most spooky effects. Think of Kelli O'Hara in "Hysteria" of "Light in the Piazza." And finally, there's just a light on Mrs. O'Hara and she tells us that Scarlett found herself back at Tara and that's when she knew her heart belonged to one man the entire time. Rhett.

It was a good moment, theatrically.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:48am

they've just cancelled tomorrow's (Tuesday) preview to try and shorten the running time.. I was goin to watch it that day

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 11:12am

here's another take:

http://westendwhingers.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/review-gone-with-the-wind-the-musical-act-1-at-the-new-london-theatre/

pretty clever ...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 11:15am

The music was blaze.

Did the burning of Atlanta scene catch the conductor's score on fire?

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 1:12am

Bill, I totally agree. I love that you mentioned her climbing over all the dead soldiers. The most ludicrous moment for me was when (one of the) narrators said, "Scarlett crawled over the bodies of the dead soldiers." Then they changed positions, and she repeated. I was saying in my head "Then Scarlett crawled over the bodies of the dead soldiers, AGAIN."

It was endless.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:19am

Two articles about Darius Danesh:



Frankly, Darius Danesh does give a damn

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 09/04/2008

Darius Danesh has come a long way since losing in 'Popstars'. Now playing Rhett Butler on stage, he talks to Bernadette McNulty

Darius Danesh is like a cat with nine lives. In 2000, appearing on the first ever ITV Popstars talent show, before even Simon Cowell was involved, the Scottish university student became notorious for his self-belief, pony tail and histrionic rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/09/btdarius109.xml


Fatherhood a priority for Gone with the Wind star Darius Danesh

Apr 14 2008 Exclusive by John Dingwall

DARIUS Danesh has a new ambition in life - he wants to be the perfect role model to Canadian girlfriend Natasha Henstridge's two kids.

The singer - who once correctly boasted that he would have a No.1 single and platinum-selling album by the time he was 25 - has shifted his priorities after seeing his dad, Dr. Booth Danesh, successfully battle cancer.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/2008/04/14/fatherhood-a-priority-for-gone-with-the-wind-star-darius-danesh-86908-20382429/

[Den]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:34am

BillFinn... On the numbers where the audience didn't clap, was there a pause in the show as if applause was expected? Since you say it was awkward, it sounds like that's the case.

I thought, given the length of the show, that they might have had the show continue without pauses to speed things up. The first time I saw Mamma Mia it was at a matinee on a 2-performance day and there were almost no opportunities to applaud except at the ends of the acts.

[karen24]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:41am

Thanks for the review; this was one of the most entertaining and informative reviews I have read here in some time!
I don't know if everyone caught the article in the Sunday NYT about this production. I'll try to link it below.
I wonder if the problem with "too much narration" stems from the author's relative inexperience with musical theater writing? It seems like a typical mistake for a novice to make.

"A First-Timer Makes Rhett and Scarlett Sing"

Updated On: 4/16/08 at 10:41 AM

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:43am

I wonder then if they just left the KING LEAR ceilling in.

[singingbackup]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 2:04pm

The narration stuff seems a big tedious.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 2:13pm

Aw, I'm glad people like my review. At my university, they hate my reviews. Haha. Iroooooonic.

Yeah, when the audience didn't clap for the other 90% of the musical numbers? That was awkward. There were LOTS of awkward pauses. For instance, after the big production numbers (if you can call them that?), "Reconstruction Planning" and "Come Join the Troops," the ensemble expected us to clap for their cliche' cheerleading/baton-throwing skills and snaps. But we didn't. And the scenes progressed accordingly.

We clapped and hollered when Mammy belted "Every Child Wants to be Loved" and Prissy yanked her heart out for, "I'm Gonna Find My Own." Seriously, their performances stole Act II for me. No choreography or flashy lighting was involved either. The most underused actresses and they OWNED IT!

"The Wings of A Dove" should be shot though. It was a great spiritual, sure. But we saw it coming and it was like they were tryyyyyying to be "The Gods Love Nubia." The lyrics were so generic and obvious. Earlier, they had already sung "Born to Be Free." Enough was enough. We already connected to Mammy and Prissy, when they sung from the HEART. It wasn't even worth Walmart Bran-flakes.

Updated On: 4/16/08 at 02:13 PM

[karen24]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 4:49pm

I'm still thinking about Prissy getting her own song. That seems...a little weird to me. She isn't much of a character in the book, and in the movie, while she has more to do, she is horribly obnoxious and irritating (at least IMO.) I can't understand giving her a song when Melanie (whom I think is a much more important character) only gets one?

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 5:00pm

In the musical, Prissy isn't annoying at all. She represents the youngest generation of the slaves. Therefore, she's the character who always talks about CHANGE! and FREEDOM! Mammy and Polk shrug their shoulders and they say stuff like "Maybe I don't want to stop being a slave! I been workin' for Miss O'Hara all my life! They treat me nice! They take care of us!" Prissy says, "No. No! You have your own land now! You can work on your OWN homes! Be your own boss!"

That's when Prissy comes out, "I'm Gonna Find My Own." She's an inspiration to her people. Very different from the book and movie's interpretation. Much like Emmie in "Caroline, or Change" with 'I Hate the Bus'

Updated On: 4/16/08 at 05:00 PM