THE WOMAN IN WHITE...

Hey everyone! I'm really hoping everyone interested will post their thoughts and opinions on this topic with the hope that members of the creative team for the Broadway-bound production may be reading this...

THE WOMAN IN WHITE

I admit to being a great fan and admirer of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work. This may be a rare opinion on this board, but his music moves me more consistently than most other composers (Sondheim and LaChiusa excluded). I have listened to THE WOMAN IN WHITE cast recording many times now, trying desperately to fall in love with it like I have for THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, EVITA, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and (dare I say it) WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND. Admittedly, my affection for the later stems for absolute adoration (and nearly obsession) for Jim Steinman. (Say what you will, I honestly feel DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES has one of the best scores of the last twenty years... the German recording evidences the lush, romantic,dramatic intricacies of the score and the sweeping melodic nature of Steinman's masterpiece). THE BEAUTIFUL GAME showed a lot of promise, at least to me, that Webber had not lost that youthful energy so vital to JCS, and the ability to create gorgeous melodies as well as exploring many new sounds and music very abstract compared to his lush scores for POTO and ASPECTS. Also, the subject matter was very uncommon and almost shocking given Webber's usual choices. Before I actually heard the recording, THE WOMAN IN WHITE immidiately seemed to me like an attempt to cash in on THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA film- i.e. give the audience a similarly romantic, lush score in the typrical poperetta style. I tried to love it on the first listen, and it didn't happen. I tried again and again and in all this searching for the heart and soul of THE WOMAN IN WHITE, I have come up completely short.
True, the show may rely more upon a full theatrical experience to be truly felt, but that has rarely been a problem with any score I have encountered in the past.

For some reason, THE WOMAN IN WHITE simply doesn't grip me at all. (Pun, semi-intended) It just seems like some sort of drawn-out semi-operetta. It seems almost wholly comprised of verse and bridge with no chorus. True, "I Believe My Heart" is standard, expected ALW fare... but I just find myself left cold by the majority of the music, something I can rarely say about ALW. I think sections are quite good, and the lyrics are very befitting and more scholarly than any lyrics ALW has had in years. I just think the show needs some big, beautiful melodies that ALW's fans expect from him. He seems to be attempting a Sondheim-like, PASSION-lite without the subtlety, brilliance or rewards of that score that the listener derives upon repeated listenings. I just don't GET this score. I really, honestly hope that a lot of work is done to the show... and some more memorable passages replace the ASPECTS and WHISTLE rehases (if I hear the "No one's ever looked at me..." section from WHISTLE one more time in WIW I will simply scream). Also, the ending left me completely cold.

In closing, I think there are sections that show definite promise and reveal skill and texture previously lacking in many ALW scores, especially the Prologue, "All For Laura", the Lammastide, "Evermore Without You" and "You Can Get Away With Anything". BUT, the show needs work, and I fear they will bring it to Chicago as a carbon copy of the London version and hurriedly make SUNSET-type changes (i.e. a few lyrical changes and the addition of a negligible number or two like "Every Movie's A Circus"). I wanted to love this show, I really did. But something MAJOR is missing from the score to me.


A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre

I actually think THE WOMAN IN WHITE is one of Webber's best scores, definitely in the league of EVITA and SUPERSTAR. But then, my first experience of it was watching the show in performance in London. I think the show itself is extremely well done. Perhaps your opinion will change once you are able to put a visual to what you are hearing.

Webber's scores often are repetitive. However, in some I find that quite charming and don't mind it at all.

Love Webber and his use of repetition of musical themes. I saw the Woman In White in London and it was not the typical ALW type of score. Unlike Phantom, WIW only had one memorable song (I Believe My Heart which reached #1 in the UK as a pop version). The show has cutting edge technology used as scenery (I wont give it away). The music is interesting but you dont go out singing anything other than the one song I have mentioned. The story is based on a great classic and is filled with interesting twists and turns. The audience reaction was VERY enthusiastic and this was with Michael Crawford being out and an understudy playing his role -not Michael Ball. Woman In White will probably receive mixed reviews but should still do well here in the USA.

I, too, have seen the stage show and enjoyed it very much. I wasn't familiar with the story on which it was based, so I was quickly caught up in the mystery surrounding the "woman in white," and her secret.

Yes, the music is repetitive, but I didn't find it to be much of a problem. There are two stand out songs for me -- "I Believe My Heart," and "You Can Get Away with Anything," sung by Count Fosco. Both songs have stuck in my mind after I play the OCR. I saw the show with Michael Ball, who simply floored me with his performance as the Count. The audience in attendence the three times I saw the show were all very enthusiastic and appreciative.

LOVE!!!!

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