Seriously

blackoutpete, on 09 May 2013 - 07:19 AM, said:

So why did you title this thread "Questionable Ad Campaign" if it's your ad campaign (and which you evidently don't want questioned)?

blackoutpete, on 09 May 2013 - 07:19 AM, said:

Perhaps I should see it?

So you wrote a musical based on a film plot that was already in existence.... you decided to use songs which already belonged to another artist.... you got terrible reviews... so you wrote a show based on those terrible reviews and the rehearsal period.... you steal someone else's advertising campaign and call it "spoof".... and you couldn't even be bothered to come up with an original title for your show as you've just used Charles Spencer's words.  You even use Madonna's "Get into the groove" in your advert and photographs other people took of her, when you say the show isn't using her music!

It just seems a bit odd that every page of your website has "Copyright © Peter Michael Marino - 2013 All Rights Reserved" plastered on them, when you don't seem to mind using other people's work!

They also gave the audience a vote on whether they wanted to hear it.  The Viva Forever audience has asked for similar tomorrow.

For those of you who weren't there... at the end of the bows a large screen was flown on to the stage, and the cast stood at the sides.  It showed pictures one by one of every cast member who's performed at the Phoenix.... culminating in Robert Locke, Carl Wayne and Stephanie Lawrence, the three who've sadly passed away.  Then the cast came forward again and sang the end of Tell Me It's Not True... singing the last verse a capella right at the front of the stage with the house lights up.  Then the band and all the behind the scenes people came on stage to join them.

Then Bill Kenwright came up and gave a lengthy speech in which he thanked everyone and highlighted some special people... he also called up Bob Tomson his co-director.  And then Blood Brothers left the West End....

Will Jo be deaf, dumb and blind?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the critics are going to hate this.  A borrowed plot that we've seen many times before, nothing much new in the way of staging.  It just sounds "nice" with the novelty of having a young enthusiastic cast.... but that didn't save "Spring Awakening" which had so much more going for it.  As you average reviewer is certainly not in their target audience, they'll compare it to what they know: Rent and Grease.  Up against these two it just looks like a happy Italia Conti end of year show with low production values, no subtext, and no reason to see it over anything else in the west end.  I'm sure they'll applaud the passion of the young cast in delivering it, and the "catchyness" of some of the tunes (although all pretty similar), but the only real positive attribute is that there's nothing else out there like it, unless you catch Grease on tour.... or your local panto.

If you need to have a drink beforehand, and a cheap ticket, I can't see it making much of a profit.

So we had the London production.... where ALW took every decision, argued with all the creative team, refused to have a note cut from his score, tried several music supervisors, did a recording with a full orchestra, decided he didn't like it, so redid it all again.... and got a bunch of reviews that said it was pointless.

Or the Australian production, where he had no input, let them do it their way without any interference... and received universally good reviews.

Hmm....

cat123, on 29 September 2012 - 10:48 PM, said:

Cat Stevens

Essex Road

I worry that a show opening October 1st... where nobody knows what the plot is, what the songs are, or anyone in it really, and with a poster which doesn't exactly endear itself to the usual WASP theatre goer, a website that has nothing on it... and which didn't exactly set the world on fire in Leeds for one month (2/5 Daily Mail 3/5 The Guardian)... how will it fare when the theatre comes to look at how it's doing a few months in (top price tickets £70), when everyone is saving for Christmas, tax bills, or would rather see a panto

I'm left with the question... why should I see this?  I'm sure it'll be very nice, but...

Quite a bizarre few minutes on Jonathan Ross.  I suppose there's very little you can vocally do with those 3 characters together, so we had a relatively boring song, chopped about, and some "Soul Sisters" singing the end lines.

When Tim sings a non-comedy song, you're left focussing on his tone, which is, well.... "unique".  It's rather nasal, quite pinched, and I'm not sure how long I could listen to it without it becoming too distracting.  He and Mel have evidently been working hard at the Yvie Burnett school of top note belting.  Unfortunately it sounds like this is all they're really been looking at for weeks.... so there's a completely different sound when we get to anything "belty"... and all of a sudden all the characterisation goes out the window as they just focus on mechanically producing those crowd pleasing money notes.  And because they haven't done much on the easier sections, the verses sound a little indefinite.  

Having all three standing there facing each other didn't help either... there was no real acting... no eye contact... it just looked like one of ABBA was missing and they were each singing their lines on their own.  The casual viewer would probably have thought Tim was Jesus!

Mel did what she always does.  Short bursts of breathiness which only serve to chop up the line... sacrificing the acting for the sake of producing a nice tone (as she believes it).  Any time she has to hold a note on her break she defaults to pop mode and glisses the note down in an attempt to hide the different sound.  

Ben sounded good... but now all the other Jesus' have departed, he really doesn't look the part physically.  He has a good voice, but he's too Carmen Ghia for my liking.... there's not enough physical stature... and there seems nothing spiritual or "Godly" about him (based on this performance alone though).

When you revive a musical like this, everyone is hoping that the very best of this generation of performers is now given the chance to show what they can do with it.  Unfortunately ALW has his accountants hat on here, thinking "Who will people pay to come and see.... regardless of what show it is?".  Chris Moyles, is he really the best man for the job... I'd even prefer Christopher Biggins to that (and I never thought I'd say that).  Tim Minchin, a lovely funny chap, hyper talented, but really he should be revamping the book and lyrics, not tackling one of the hardest vocal parts in musical theatre.