Imagine This - Reviews — Page 2

NO NO NO!
'Zorro' is great. I've seen it twice now. If you haven't seen it it is worth your time. OK, its not perfect but its a fun evening that has some great music, great performances and its just different to what's recently been seen in town. 99% great reviews too! If i was you and had already seen 'Imagine This' i probably wouldn't waste a night now seeing it again.
Then again there's always the Abbey Players and 'Oliver!' at the Grand! lol

LOL
I was in the Abbey Players many, many years ago!
Enjoy!

Updated On: 11/20/08 at 01:04 PM

Thank you all for posting the reviews.

I'm sorry and disappointed but not really surprised. I shall try and get to see it after my matinee of A Little Nunn Chocolate.

I wasn't going to post this before the reviews were in but, although I'm enjoying listening to the score, it doesn't half put me in mind of Metropolis.

Oh the Sundays- didn't see any today as I've slaving over a hot stove cooking for 6! Imagine That!
***** out ***** for me!

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 01:36 PM

Oh dear where do i begin. Well the dress circle had about three people in it tonight. well the set looks pretty amazing. leila benn harris can belt out a number and peter polycarpou did his best with what he was given, but the show is surprisingly missing any heart. mixed with one of the dullest scores around and lazy choreography i would have left if i didnt have my mum with me.

At the end a few people gave it a standing ovation and woman near me was in tears, although i couldnt tell if it was over finale scene of the show or whether she had paid £60 for her ticket.

hasn't this closed yet lol

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Walked past the new london earlier, at least GWTW had some beautiful publicity pics, not thats its a passing trade place but surely they could make the theatre look a little bit enticing.

The Rowan Atkinson pics at tube stations have me almost excited for oliver.

woah...bye bye Imagine This.
thats my saturday 3rd January matinee slot free again.

This was a more ambitious and original musical than many that have come into the West End for a long time and there was much that was good about it. The cast were superb. The choreography was integrated into the story in a bold and imaginative way, rather than the usual now-it’s-time-to-smile-and-dance type of thing. The set was impressive, and in echoing Sweeney Todd it reminded us that no subject matter need be considered off-limits for musicals. But Sweeney Todd was able to handle difficult subject matter and Imagine This, regrettably, was not.

There’s no two ways around it: the book, particularly in Act I was poor. Although the concept and structure seemed to work, the dialogue that came out of the characters mouths did not sound to come from the hearts, minds and souls of individual characters but from a childrens’ history book. It was ponderous and preachy when it need not and should not have been. The beautiful and appropriate period costumes added more humanity to the characters than the script. The score, which sounds so good on the concept recording seemed to get lost in the theatre. Leila Benn Harris delivered her big number superbly and was greeted with total silence. Why? Because the audience had no idea where the song had taken us or what it’s purpose was. Similarly the end of Act I was greeted with total silence from an audience not in touch with what was going on on-stage, when we should have been terrified. And the theatre was full although it wasn’t your standard West End audience.

Yet in Act II, particularly the last fifteen minutes, the passion, violence and anger that was so missing in Act I was there and the show packed a powerful emotional punch. I personally thought the Masada suicide was staged very sensitively as was the horror of the inevitable final slaughter. By now the audience reaction had changed and it got a 70% standing ovation. Another interesting audience reaction I noted was, alongside the life-size photograph of the musical’s Warchowski family at the top of the stairs in the foyer, several people having their photographs taken stood alongside them, clearly wanting to identify themselves with these fictional characters.

Team West End board have made a lot of intelligent and perceptive comments about this show. The one that echoes most in my head was Exedore’s suggestion of a second out-of-town tryout: Manchester – with its large intelligent and discerning theatre going audience (of West End sensibilities) and a large Jewish community. If they’d got the problems ironed out there it could have been a respectful and distinguished hit.

So near and yet so far.

But I still applaud them for trying.

I heard it's closing, and it's a real pity.

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