Non-Warlow Show Reviews

[unwinding_fantasy]

^ It doesn't start until 8:00 so they'll be fine.

[sanderella59]

^ And it's really not that much different to doing two shows on Saturday. And the participants are nearly all ensemble members of POTO.

But in breaking news!!!!!!

Mission accomplished. Front row seat for The Light In The Piazza. AA35. Yay for me! I can't wait. I remember seeing the movie as a kid. I loved it. And I wandered around the Piazza della Signoria in Florence a couple of years ago imagining the statues were singing to me and a handsome young Italian would catch my eye!! Tragic, I know. My life is basically a series of recreated scenes from musicals!

[killerbananas]

I had an absolutely fantastic day today, as I got to attend a preview performance of Wicked!

It was total surprise- my aunt, mum and grandmother were attending, but I had opted out as I also have tickets for the 24th (?) of July. However, my mother was sufficiently happy with my semester report, and had rung on Saturday to get me a ticket, springing it on me while I about to go shopping and everyone else head off to the show- I could have dropped dead!

There are some slight spoilers ahead- be warned!

The Regent is such a huge theatre- lots of leg room! The set comes right out, with the Time Dragon the centre of lots of "oohs" and "ahhhs". It's great going to a show you know well with people who don't- you get excited just watching them ;D

The opening was a little different to Broadway, but with an incredibly strong emsemble- they really carried the show well.

On to the principal cast:

We got the alternate Elphaba, Jemma Stevenson, and Amanda Harrison is going to have to let everything lose to top this one- she has an incredible voice. Slightly lower than I would have thought for an Elphaba, she quickly put all my doubts aside by the end of 'The Wizard and I'. A little too fond of arm acting, but she pulled 'Defying Gravity' off without a hitch, even the notoriously difficult end notes- my aunt and nan were in tears, plus there were many gasps and her voice hit every new height! It will be interesting to compare Amanda to her next time I go.

Glinda, Lucy Durack, has great comedic timing, which is essential in a Glinda ("The 'Ga' is silent!") as well as sweet soprano which is nasally or whispy whenever it is required- if your not familiar with the original Glinda's (Kristin Chenoweth) nasal tones Lucy's voice may put you off a little, but will grow on you! She wears some beautiful outfits- as do the entire the cast, the costumes were incredible!

The 'Idol' boys: Anthony Callea and Rob Mills. I was pleasantly surprised, as I'd passed them off in advance as being 'watery pop singers who couldn't sing through a show'. I was wronged! Callea's voice really has some moments to shine, and he actually can act! Rob Mills was a good laugh as Fiyero, as was quite believable in 'As Long As You're Mine'. The only qualm I had is that at times your instant recognition of them ruined the suspension of belief which the show relies heavily on.

And another one I'd passed off- Rob Guest. Aside from one little "oh that was a little Phantom-esque" moment, its easy to leave that behind (unless you saw him in Phantom!). He's getting on a bit and was a tad wheezy at times- it will be interesting to see how he goes in a long season. He also didn't move around as much as most of the Wizard's do, another sign he may not be able to pull off a full run.

Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible really had me divided. She had the haughty attitude and comedic moments to make the character work, but it seems they've followed the pattern of most overseas companies in hiring an actress over a singer- I know Morrible isn't much of a sing, but a stronger voice would have improved the performance.

All the technology went off without a hitch- and be warned, if you have trouble going from a dark stage to sudden brightness, Wicked could shock you. Also if you're not a fan of dry ice smoke- they use a tonne a week!

As a preview I was very impressed, and the cast looked like they were having a blast, with a very laid-back curtain call!

My only gripe was the merchandise- as it was preview, I could only order my hoodie, and pick it up in a week. But I still have it, and a mug. I'll have to buy a new program next time also, as this one feature only the headshots of the cast, and all the performance shots were from the Broadway and LA productions.

An amazing show all round, I recommend it!

[Marie-Cris]

Glad to hear you had a good time Becs! I should probably do some links in the first post with all the different reviews.

---

I think I'm developing a complex.

Firstly, before we go on, at the beginning of the night I overheard this from the woman who was talking to my dad:

"We have to wait for Sandy, she's forgotten the tickets."

Just thought I'd share that.

As famished as I was, I couldn't get through the whole two pieces of fish as well as the chips; ate the chips and one and a half fish. They were huge. And from the Nile, my dad reckons. Nile Pike he said. I wasn't so much full, my mouth just started to feel strange after a while.

After dinner I noticed someone get up on the stage ((being that this was in the club it was just a little wooden platform)). A white-haired man in grey and white camoflage pants, a grey top, a silver-studded belt and a watch with a turquoise band. He checked the mic, fiddled around with the equipment and then put on a CD for us to listen to before the start of the show.

Gawd was that painful.

The voice was so incredibly nasal, enough to melt the brain. We listened to that for a few tracks, one of them being an electric guitar instrumental of Cavatina / She Was Beautiful, then the lights went down ((bar the bar lights; and those of the pool room next door)), and a red light lit up the stage.

And he stepped on.

We soon discovered that the man from before - now dressed in a dark blue suit ((and with a red light you can imagine what that did)) - was the travesty on the CD. We also discovered that Al James - the Neil Diamond impersonator - would not be on stage until "the second act".

Needless to say, not many were impressed.

Oh yes, he made a jokes, he got a few good notes, but it was obvious that he knew he was performing to a stale performance. Not entirely his fault, the people in this town usually only get riled up when they're drunk, so the alcohol helped him a lot. He was nasal. He had too much reverb. In fact the only time he sounded even passable was when I went to the bathroom. And he didn't even touch the acoustic guitar that was on stage; instead he just used the pink electric one; yes, even Cavatina.

During the break I bought a flashing guitar pin off him out of sympathy.

After the break we finally got to see what we thought we were there to see in the first place; faux Neil Diamond. I had been watching him for a lot of the night, actually, after the woman who took the tickets ((who sat at our table)) pointed him out; he had sat at the back to have his dinner, which meant I had to pass him every time I went to the bathroom ((did I forget to mention that I managed to finish an entire bottle of water before Act II?)). And apparently father had been talking to him out the front for the whole of Act I and said he was a top bloke. When I first saw him at the bar I noticed his hair.

Gawd he has gorgeous hair!

When he walked onto the stage he was dressed in black pants, a black belt with a big silver ((or gold)) buckle ((red light didn't change)) and a glittering gold jacket. He started off with Coming to America and eventually that gold jacket was peeled away to reveal the gold chain around his neck ... and a black sparkley shirt. The man oozed with sex appeal and he truly does sound like Neil Diamond. I noticed that every time he sang "today" he did the same side-ways swing with the arms unfurling as if he was stretching something.

Actually, I might as well upload it; I recorded it on my MP3 although I missed the first bit of Coming to America because my MP3 decided not to turn on completely ((it does that from time to time and I have to restart it each time)). The woman that says "he's already pissed" sonmewhere in the beginning ... say hello, mum.

He covered some of the classics and some of the later stuff so well you would think you really were listening to Diamond. Although, every time he talked between songs his UK accent shone through; he did his best to get the crowd involved and though they responded more to him than the other guy they weren't quite as riled as a crowd can get, even with the amount of alcohol that crossed the bar. I suppose you'll find that when you listen to it.

Oh, the little squeal I give during Sweet Caroline ... he went around shaking hands and he held onto mine for a while, then gave it a squeeze before letting go.

So yes, despite the odd beginning I had a good time. Surprisingly, there was a raffle from the ticket numbers and 5 people won a bottle of wine. I was one of them.

The one time I ever win ANYTHING and it's a bottle of red shiraz. -)_-

At the end of the night, as mum went to fetch the car and dad had a smoke outside I went back inside to thank him for coming, thank you for the performance, that sort of thing. I became a nervous wreck. It didn't help that he had my hand. All I could do was giggle. Say something you git! "I hope I get to see you next time." Oh well done, brava.

"And I hope I get to see you next time; we'll see each other." And then he kissed my left cheek. Even when I was walking away he held onto my hand, gave it a squeeze then let go.

...

Scratch "developing a complex". It's the "older men are attracted to me and I to some of them" dilemma. I barely slept at all last night, mainly for the fact that I was ing over the fact that I always make myself look like a complete twit in front of other people.

And ... well, yes, a little because of THAT, too.

[killerbananas]

You're certainly one to get kissed, aren't you?

Good to see you enjoyed the show, despite the shocking first act!

[Marie-Cris]

All kiss and no relationship; my life's rather a mess in that aspect.

Oh, and I'll upload the clip as soon as I cu it down into a few tracks; the whole thing is an hour' and 20 minutes or so.

[sanderella59]

How was his "Sweet Caroline"?

[Marie-Cris]

...

The problem is I no longer know whether that would be a trick question or not, coming from you.

[sanderella59]

I'm serious. I've seen the real Neil Diamond. Have Hot August Night.

[Marie-Cris]

I've got Hot August Night too. Also The Essential. There's a "Gold" album selling in the Post Office for about $20 that I'm thinking of picking up some time.

And it was all right; if I can cut this track properly ((won't be done tonight)) you'll get to hear it.

[scuffa]

Gotta agree with Becs. If you get a chance to see Wicked, take it.

I really enjoyed the show, the costumes and set are amazing. But I was really impressed by Amanda Harrison absolutely fantastic. Her rendition of Defying Gravity did just that.

I was also surprised with the performance the idol boys. Maybe it was because I never watched the show I quite enjoyed Rob Mills performance as the handsome lover, though everyone kept laughing when it was mentioned Anthony Callea's character was a Munchkin.

Some good laughs especially from Lucy Durack. Her Glinda was very funny, especially in Popular.

I thought Rob Guest struggled with some of the notes in his pieces but he looked the part, though I alway thought the wizard would be somehow more manic.

Anyway great show and again we should be proud of our Australian cast and production.

[sanderella59]

Oh no! I sense another addiction coming on. I was looking for something to fill my life after September 14. This may be it!

[neh]

*only having just read Piazza news*
OH MY FUDGIN' GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But they didn't pick anyone from my dream cast... sniff. But SO totally going. Oh my fudgin' god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sandy, look out for me, coz nothing's gonna stop me!!!!!

And Bec; great review. Me is very jealous. Cinta invited me to join her and the fam to see it in September, but knew i wouldn't be able to cough up the funds for the plane etc. with LSS and whatnot going on. Will wait til Sydney. Good to hear the Idol lads didn't kill it. Question: how did Lucy do on the I'm Not That Girl Reprise?? I always judge a Glinda by her low notes!

And oh my - Kathleen Moore is playing Clara; Kathleen was the lovely gal Cinta and mistook for Nadia in Melbourne! She was so sweet and cute! Hurrah!

[Marie-Cris]

Happy to hear you had fun, but double posting neh!

[sanderella59]

Should be a great show neh. I'm really looking forward to it.

[neh]

Yes, me sorry Mar. Excitement just completely clouded my vision, and my forum-logic.

[killerbananas]

Neh, Lucy was very impressive- in both high and low ranges.

I had the opportunity of attending the Green Carpet on Saturday night, and did a bit of celeb spotting. Lots of channel 7 actors, personalities, etc. I shook hands with both Jason from So You Think You Can Dance, as well as Marc Platt, the major producer of Wicked worldwide. *squee* I was hoping to see more theatre faces, but it was quite an occasion!

[poppy]

Hi all,I saw Wicked last night and it was really good and quite funny.

I had really high expectations of the show because all i ever heard from my friend was how awesome it was and it was the best ever blah,blah,blah(she obviously hasn't seen Phantom).Anyway i think the people who came in late with their green drinks in hand really peed me off as its quite distracting having 10 people + 3 friggin ushers to help find their seats,walk in front of you 20mins in.

WHY O WHY DON"T THEY HAVE LOCK OUT.

The theatre had the air con on and i was freeeeeeezing.(another distraction ..my teeth chattering)

Any way apart from that Lucy Durack as Glinda "with a Ga" was amazing and she suited the character she was just gorgeous, so was Anthony Callea i just wanted to put him in my pocket he's soooo tiny,i just wish he sang a bit more though.
I was impressed with Millsy as the lead male role (flashes to balcony pics of him & Paris Hilton)
Amanda Harrison was green i mean great ,I loved her singing Defying Gravity.Great voice.
The costumes are just beautiful and the sets/lighting are great.Well worth the money too!


BUT.....

I've been PhANTomised nothing can or will ever come close to Phantom(especially with Ant in it).

[klh44]

I just saw this on the Les Mis website, random trivia, but still cool:

LES MISÉRABLES is the third longest-running show in Broadway history and will, on October 8, pass the 21 year old record of Cats in London to become the longest-running musical ever on the West End or Broadway with 8,372 performances; a run nearly three years longer than Broadway’s record-holder The Phantom of the Opera

[davidp]

Had the pleasure of seeing Wicked last night.

Had heard all about it, heard "For Good" from the soundtrack, but apart from that had no real idea of the plot of the show. When it first started I was a bit unsure about the whole use of video effects etc, but as the show went on I enjoyed it more and more.

The Wicked Witch was just quite simply awesome. The good witch, as someone mentioned previously, had perfect timing with some of her lines. You'll all be perhaps pleased to know that Rob Guest (I thought) was well past his best.

Millsy actually wasn't bad at all to be honest either. Really enjoyed the show, but it was long (granted it started a little late but it was 11pm easily by the time we go out [start time 8pm]), yet well worth it.

Oooh and I love the Regent. Heaps of leg room on the lower level and we had perfect seats, halfway back in the middle. Such a beautiful old place.

[sanderella59]

Not an auspicious start for the Light In The Piazza concert! This article was in today's Sydney Morning Herald, at the bottom of Page 1 and the top of Page 2 under the heading Costume Drama
I guess things can only look up from here!

[Marie-Cris]

Good grief! All those costumes! >)_<

[klh44]

you've got to admit. that is kinda funny. it's along the same sort of ironic lines as Otto and the PoM score XD

[Marie-Cris]

If you're going to go around beating up performers after the show, we're taking away your flight tickets!

Now I'm actually intrigued; I'm not one to sit through many ballets ((I do appreciate the art form but a voice holds more power over me than a dance)) and I've been unsure what to think of Edward Scissorhands as a ballet, but if it ever swings this way ((fat chance)) I'll see if I can make it.

((I just remembered The Wedding Singer is being performed at the Chaffey Theate in Renmark tonight; wanted to go see it but forgot to book tickets, and it's only here for a one day matinee. Dammit! Apparently it continues beyond the final scene on the plane in the movie and sees them landing in Las Vagus and faced with the dilemma of finding a priest))

[Marie-Cris]

Awe damme >}_<

EDIT AFTER WATCHING THE ICE DANCE: Okay, that's something else I want on DVD.

[sanderella59]

And now for something completely different................

I went to see The Thirty Nine Steps at The Playhouse Theatre at the Opera House yesterday afternoon. This has been adapted from the original novel by John Buchan (later made into the famous Hitchcock movie in 1939) for stage by Englishman Patrick Barlow (who played Bridget Jones' mother's love interest in the movie). He has turned it into a rollicking "Boys Own Annual" melodramatic farce. It is a four handed play, with one actor playing the role of the hero, Richard Hannay, and the other three actors playing all the other roles (I lost count at 20). It is quite simply the funniest theatre I have ever seen. It was like theatre-sports meets Hitchcock. A sort of Who's Line Is It Anyway spy thriller/romance. The set is fairly minimalist, just a painted black brick wall really. The actors bring on their own props and adapt them for various uses depending on where the script is taking them, and quite often change characters mid-scene by donning a different hat or accent.

It has had an incredibly successful run in both the West End and Broadway, winning countless awards, and has just moved to Sydney after a run in Melbourne earlier in the year, where a friend saw it and raved about it, so whetted my appetite. The good news is it is planning an Australian wide tour visiting all (yes ALL!) capital cities and many provincial ones according to the blurb in the programme. So if you want an evening of side-splitting fun, my advice is, catch it if it comes to a city near you!

[sanderella59]

No idea of dates Nik. I'll see if the production company has contact details.