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 Current Reviews Return to previous page Wilke Eichler Sep/Oct 98
I have just come home from a five-day trip to London, and I’d like to share my thoughts on some shows with the readers of this site.
Let’s shortly talk about RENT. This was, for the first time, a show with rock/pop-music I liked. Usually, they turn out to be deafening, I remember seeing a touring production of "Hair" after which I didn’t sleep all night long because of the humming in my ears. Anyway, I found "Rent" quite agreeable, with a young, brilliant cast of superb voices and good acting qualities. Let me comment on it by describing the reactions of my neighbours: the Texan couple in their seventies to my left – well yes, they left after the first act. The girl on my right side almost drowned in her tears towards the end of the second act when one of the characters, Angel, dies from aids and others decide to leave the community. So, after all, a show need not have sobbing violins and threatening trombones to be touching. And finally: I have never seen gay couples kissing each other on the stage, but I think it was high time that this entered musical theatre world because it is part of our daily life. Now about he next show I saw in the evening, WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND. First of all: It’s well done, in my opinion. Or, to say it differently: Did I dislike anything? No, not really. Some of the songs reminded me of a true Jim Steinman/Meat Loaf collaboration rather than bearing the signature of Lloyd Webber, especially "Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts". But the song fits into the story, so why complain about it? An outstanding performance is given by Marcus Lovett (The Man) who sings just wonderfully. His credits say he has had the title role in Phantom, but here he has a very different role, and you can hear it in his voice. What I mean is, he does not only act and look like he is a convict on the run (is he really?), he sings like it. I usually remember the quality of actors’ voices, if they’re good or bad, but hardly ever what the voice actually sounded like. The voice of the Man still rings in my ear today. I hope I can keep these memories until the cast album is out (just as a hint to the people at Really Useful). What I especially liked about the show is its atmosphere. I would like to comment on the set. Inveterate fans of the musical theatre are used to floors moving up and down and rooms shifting in from places one doesn’t expect them to come from. Not in this show. Of course, there is this piece of concrete street that moves up and down, but apart from this the set is clearly arranged and doesn’t give the audience big surprises (except for one really terrifying effect which I so great that I won’t betray it to all those who are still going to see the show – experience it yourself). On the whole, the set creates the atmosphere of monotony in the village and in the minds of the villagers. There seems to be so much space on stage that almost half of Louisiana fits into it (to take an image), owing to a great part to the open sky in the background. This background is never fully concealed, i.e. the open space is always part of the scenery. Other scenarios are indicated with a brilliant minimalism, we only get to see some characteristic features. Conclusively, "Whistle Down The Wind" is different from other ALW shows, but it really is worth seeing it. I went to see it a second time and got a "restricted" view seat for £10.00 at the back of the stalls. Just as a warning for future audiences: These are uncomfortable spare seats fixed to the back wall (the latter acting as the seat’s back). My view ended shortly over the heads of the actors. I guess I only saw one third of the stage, even bending down I could not see to ceiling of the shed. This is of particular disadvantage when at the end of the first act the villagers gather on the upper half of the stage and sing in counterpart with Swallow downstairs. So: Quite a heavy "restriction". If you want a good view, invest some more pounds. The next day I went to see LES MISÉRABLES at the Palace. The new cast of the show is great. I could literally hear that the score is still a(n easily manageable) challenge for them, not an everyday routine. John Owen-Jones as Jean Valjean has a truly wonderful voice almost equalling those of some of the show’s major recordings. And, I may be wrong, I think he is the youngest Valjean I’ve ever seen. However, I liked the last Javert more than this one, the former (Ethan Freeman) had much more expression in his voice. And something else: The current Thenardier is able to sing, but I missed a lot of acting and re-acting. When for example at the end Marius reveals that he knows who "Baron de Thenard" is, this actor just stands there without any changing expression, even though he should know it has then been detected that he plays a trick on the wedding guests. The actor I saw the last time had much more wit in his acting, I’m afraid. Just one last word about the Palace theatre: you dear people who are responsible for the ventilation of the auditorium, could you please do something against the smell in the back of the stalls? Two different odours took turns there, one was that of roasted onions, the other one made me think the toilets had not been cleaned for at least a week. Thank you. I was lucky to obtain one of the last two tickets for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA for the evening performance. I heard the cast changed some weeks ago, and the new phantom (Glyn Kerslake) is very much different from any phantom I’ve seen. One of the most prominent features is his cruelty, especially in the end after he has caught Christine in the Passarino-scene. He sounds really angry and there is not even a bit of gentleness in his voice any more. This cruelty, however, doesn’t do any harm to the show. Another outstanding performance is (still) given by Jasna Ivir (Carlotta). Her voice reaches the highest notes seemingly without any effort, and she portrays the character of the egocentric diva like no one else, with a variety of nuances. My last show was ANNIE at the Victoria Palace. I went to see the third performance after the opening night, and it was great. When I see children in a play I always wonder if they are driven to be there or if it is their own wish to act. These children seemed to have the greatest pleasure in the world in being part of the show. Lesley Joseph is simply great in the role of Mrs. Hannigan, the "keeper of the keys" in the orphanage. You really begin to dislike the old spinster. Furthermore, considering there were a lot of children in the audience, Mrs. Joseph could have done worse and frighten them, but there wasn’t any child who cried. Kevin Colson doesn’t quite reach the high notes, he tries to cheat himself through the higher phrases of his songs, but otherwise his voice fits his character. Speaking of characteristic voices, I didn’t know David Alder was in the cast, actually I didn’t remember his looks, but when I heard Drake, the butler, speak I recognised this actor at once. His wit lies clearly in his voice which he handles perfectly. The set was elaborate without being too perfectionist. Even though there are a lot of changes in the set it doesn’t pretend to be real life places and rooms. The audience still feels they look at things on a stage, compared to other shows I’ve seen (e.g. "Sunset" and "Beauty and the Beast") the theatrical experience was more intense here. One can pay more attention to the people and their actions themselves when one doesn’t have to care for hovering chandeliers, car chases and lavish, endless "Be Our Guest"-extravaganzas. Finally, I saw seven shows in four days ("Annie" two times as well), a hard job. I saw two convicts on the run (Valjean and The Man), two characters miraculously disappearing in the end (The Man and the Phantom) and two desperate women not knowing what to think of the man they adore (Swallow and Christine); one true orphan (Annie) longing for her parents and three children longing for their mother (Whistle Down The Wind); two people terrorising the house (Mrs. Hannigan and the Phantom). Strange, but the season preferred in musicals seems to be the time around Christmas: Well, "Phantom" is partly set on New Years Eve, but "Rent" is set on Xmas Eve, so is "Whistle Down The Wind", so is "Annie".
Which makes me think ahead.
Only about eleven weeks to this year’s Christmas. Will the "Whistle Down The Wind"-recording be out by then? I doubt, but I still hope. Maybe I’ll light a bonfire then. |
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© Copyright Darren Dalglish 1995 - 2000
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