Sarah Brightman/Ann Crumb as Rose in Aspects of Love- Page 2

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 4:46pm

I saw the original London production and Ann Crumb was amazing. it is my favorite musical from the Lord (ALW), they toured the UK again this year, again this production was amazing.

The ALW musical with the deepest story of all his productions,and have picked up on new connections in the cast recording, when I listen sometimes.

The story tells every type of love;

Younger Man > Older Woman.
Older Man > Younger Woman.
Love affair.
Two women.
resisting your urge to love.
Love that a father has for his daughter.
love that a mum has for her daughter.
Borderline Pedophilia (but never happens).
finally conventional love.

All set in Pau and Paris, how no-one can be moved, 'will be the death of me'

Certainly not a superficial musical.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 5:56pm

I wouldn't disagree that Aspects is ALW's most ambitious and un-typical score. And I enjoyed the recent UK tour rather more than the 1990s tour.

The thing that niggles me about Aspects of Love is that the characters are obviously based on the Bloomsbury group of artists/novelists/critics (and even an economist) who were the high profile intelligentsia of the time. I think Dorothy Parker referred to them as having "lived in squares and loved in triangles". When you read about the lives of these people you can see who is supposed to be who in both the book and the musical.

But these characters were also complex, disturbed, exciting, intimidating, arrogant, conceited, difficult and awkward (and with whom I naturally have nothing in common). I don't feel the characters as portrayed in the musical come across in this way (apart from Guiletta, and the excuse seems to be that she's Italian). I think they are made to be more audience-friendly than Woolf/Garnett/Grant/Strachey ever would have been and that makes how they love rather less convincing.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 6:26pm

PS for those interested in nudity:

I've never seen Aspects done with a nude scene.

I have seen Follies done with a nude scene.

Michael Ball was almost certainly referring to the London production of Passion, where the audience saw a couple of brief glimpses of his dimly-lit butt. If you haven't seen Michael live you may not realise just how tall he is and, believe it or not, like most middle-aged people he went through an earlier phase where he was young and good-looking.