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Posts Tagged ‘Laurence Connor’

School of Rock

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on January 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

When I discovered the master of mush was going to adapt Richard Linklater’s 2003 film I was a bit baffled. Julian Fellowes also seemed an unlikely candidate for the book, and Glen Slater only a bit more likely as lyricist. Only when I read the reviews did I decide to give it a go.

The story concerns failed rock musician Dewey Finn, who impersonates his best friend and temporary landlord Ned Schneebly to get a teaching job at a prep school. He discovers the musical talents of his pupils and decides to mould them into a rock band and enter them into the Battle of the Bands, up against his old band, No Vacancy, which dumped him. He manages to cover up the fact his class have only been studying the history and practice of rock music and rehearsing the band until the day of the contest, when both the principal and the parents find them at it. Dewey disappears, but the kids won’t give up and they find him and persuade him to take yet another risk and perform at ‘the battle’, after which all is forgiven in a sea of goodwill. It follows a similar path as last Saturday’s Strictly Ballroom – allow kids to be themselves and their true talents will emerge.

It’s even more fun on stage than on screen, largely because of the talent and infectious energy of the thirteen kids and their pied piper Dewey. There’s something delightful about seeing pre-teenage kids playing cracking guitar licks, mean bass lines, thrilling drum solos and keyboard pyrotechnics on what sometimes seem like giants instruments, and the singing and dancing (mostly jumping!) is terrific. It’s also very funny, even more so than I remember the film being. I got the alternate Dewey, Gary Trainor, who was no second best – superb – as was Rosanna Hyland, covering the role of the school Principal, with sensational vocals. The kids were ridiculously good.

I surprised myself by how much I succumbed to the infectious charm of Laurence Connor’s excellent production. The master of mush has, at least for the moment, become the master of rock. Great fun.

 

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Miss Saigon

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on January 3, 2015| 1 Comment »

I’ve been apprehensive about seeing this new production lest it tarnishes my memory of multiple visits to the much loved original in the late 80’s / early 90’s, but a January offer saw me succumb and now I’m both relieved and happy that it has scrubbed up so well, reinvented for a new generation.

Of course it isn’t an original premise, it’s Puccini’s Madam Butterfly, but moving it from Japan to Vietnam and forward a century or so to the end of the Vietnam War is inspired. It’s very effective in telling the story of those effected by war, both local people and armed forces. The relationship of GI Chris with local girl Kim isn’t unusual, and their son is one of tens of thousands of bui doi, the children of such relationships, who weren’t recognised by the US until 13 years after the war ended, just before this show was first produced. The war still seemed recent then, but I suspect many seeing it today will be saying ‘what war?’. Above all of course it’s a love story and a personal tragedy, though I felt the backdrop had more of a visceral edge this time round. It’s also racier, with much more bare flesh on show!

I liked the design concept with bamboo spilling out of the proscenium and a realistic rather than idealised contemporary oriental feel. It’s a beautiful, lush (pucciniesque!) score and here it’s beautifully played by a 16 piece orchestra. There’s not much chance of a repeat of the controversy of Cameron Mackintosh’s original white casting – particularly Welshman Jonathan Pryce playing The (Vietnamese) Engineer! as it’s packed full of East Asian actors. Philipino Jon Jon Briones really is outstanding as The Engineer, though he’s in danger of overplaying what seemed to be occasional unscripted ad libs. This is Eva Noblezada’s professional debut, so we shouldn’t expect seasoned acting, but there’s no doubting the power and beauty of her singing. Both Alistair Brammer as Chris and Hugh Maynard as John deliver in both the acting and vocal departments, though I wish the latter would dump his X-Factor moment at the end of Bui Doi. We don’t see much of Thuy in the second half, but Kwang-Ho Hong impresses in the first half.

It impressed me more than it moved me, but Laurence Connor’s revival fully justifies it’s West End presence and it was good to see it again after all these years.

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Les Miserables @ Barbican

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

Twenty-five years ago we didn’t have blogs and Twitter, so it’s even more of a miracle that this critic-panned show survived. Those like me who were captivated and fell in love with it called our friends and re-booked to see it again and the rest is history. We had people power then too, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to be back at the Barbican where it began 25 years later watching a new touring production.

It’s good to report then that it’s in fine shape and some aspects of the new production have improved upon the original, most notably the scene in the sewers of Paris and the death of Javert. I found the longish prologue a bit clunky, but from the moment the opening music of act one began, the tingling and tension of the muscles returned and by the interval we were cheering the wonderfully uplifting first act finale.

The new staging of directors Laurence Connor & James Powell, with set design by Matt Kinley, does work well – it seems much zippier without feeling rushed or without losing any narrative. I was very impressed by Earl Carpenter’s Javert, Gareth Gates (yes!) Maruis, Jon Robyns’ Enjolras the Thenadier’s of Ashley Artus and Lynne Wilmot. There was much to admire about the acting performance of Valjean’s understudy Christopher Jacobson, though his vocal’s were a bit hit-and-miss in the upper register. Rosalind James as Eponine let herself down by wandering into pop diva mode occasionally and I’m afraid I found Fantine Madalena Alberto’s voice highly unattractive. I don’t know which kids were playing little Costette and Gavroche, but whoever they were they were terrific. The chorus sounded great and the new orchestrations are so much better than the synth-heavy budget version now at the Queens Theatre.

I do wonder if Cameron Mackintosh been around at the beginning of the 20th century, whether Puccini would have had similar long runs with Madam Butterfly and La Boheme, for this is the musical territory this show occupies. When they write the history of 20th Century musical theatre, this will most certainly be in the top ten, in the top five of dramatic musicals and maybe even…..

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