Tell Me on a Sunday 2003 West End revival

[philly03]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 9:44pm

Just curious if anyone saw this or knew anything about it -- did Don Black come back to write the new songs? How was Denise van Outen?

I'm surprised Lloyd Webber hasn't schemed up this to come back to the West End/Broadway starring Nicole Scherzinger or someone else with some marquee value. Seems cheap to produce, has some great songs, etc. Seems like it could be a Hedwig type of show for female actresses.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 8:18am

It was reworked with Don Black "With additional material by Jackie Clune."

This version actually begins in the UK and she travels to New York. The plot was updated and modernized (she sends e-mails instead of writing letters, goes speed dating, etc) and you hear a few brief answering machine messages from her mother. The first man she falls in love with (Sheldon Bloom) is re-named Tyler King, and there's a completely new song about him.

The piece was awkwardly split into two uneven acts (intermission was after the title song, resulting in a rather short second act). Probably would have been better as a straight-through 90-minute performance.

It was staged on a small turntable with different set pieces on it (couch, table/chair, coat rack, airplane seat), with a sort of disguised quick-change booth in the middle so she could change costumes, and there was a large projection screen with animations as a background.

There's a cast recording of Denise Van Outen available on Amazon, so you can hear what she's like for yourself.

Marti Webb (who originated the role) succeeded Denise and the piece was slightly reworked again. References to Tyler King were removed and the song Sheldon Bloom was re-inserted. There was also a reprise of "Take That Look Off Your Face" inserted after "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime."

It has been reworked and revived several times since then.

The Wikipedia page has more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_Me_on_a_Sunday#Productions

Updated On: 3/17/15 at 08:18 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 10:02am

While not providing a detailed and helpful response as sbflyfan, I will say that I was very taken by the show. So much so that I ended up seeing it twice on one trip to London (the only other time I did that was when I saw, funny enough "Sunday in the Park with George" twice on one trip in 2006). Van Outen in particular was a real delight. It's a shame, I've not seen her since "Sunday." I would definitely recommend the cast album.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 10:24am

Yeah I really like the new finale "Somewhere, Someplace, Somehow" .. its interesting to hear Lloyd Webber write more "contemporary" tune. The only downside to the cast recording is a few of the orchestrations, and I hate the non-belting end of "Unexpected Song."

Thanks for the info!