Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds Alive on Stage! at the Dominion Theatre, London

Yesterday (29^th April 2016) myself and Nanny Cora popped to the West End to see Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds - Alive on Stage! at the wonderful Dominion Theatre. Despite some sad and unwanted news earlier this week we made a grand day of it. Nanny Cora made good time getting us to Newbury Park and we had some giggles on the journey down, sorry for nearly breaking your hand Nanny before we left. Nanny Cora does so much better with two sticks than one and she was on the platform in no time. We got to Oxford Street and had a quick look in Primark for some bargains and thank you very much for my new shorts Nanny. We then went to Garfunkel’s right next door to the Dominion Theatre for tea. The Dominion is a lovely theatre which I have been to on a few occasions. After a Pinot Grigio and a double vodka we were well on our way to merriment. Nanny Cora was also introduced to snapchat for the first time which resulted in some very funny outcomes; actual tears of laughter fell to the table, especially when Nanny Cora turned into a basset hound – too funny! So we had a wonderful meal, starter and pudding and totted off to the Dominion. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the courteous and compassionate front of house staff for their support to Nanny Cora, finding our tickets, showing us to our seats and checking in with us as we left the theatre, very warm and empathic staff which was lovely. Despite a long journey home due to two diversions and a road closure we were finally back safe and sound.

For those of you that have not heard of The War of the Worlds it is a sci-fi novel by H G Wells. Published at the end of the 1800’s it is one of the first fictional written accounts of humans meeting extra-terrestrial intelligence. I have never read this seminal novel of invasion literature however some dominant changes have of course been adapted from book to musical album to stage. The musical version tells the story of how four men deal with the Martian invasion, told in the style of narration by one of the key protagonists future self. The show also features their wives and other locals. The plot focuses on war, microbiological contamination and religion which Jeff Wayne’s describes as important factors in the current world climate. Wayne’s musical version is not the only adaptation of H G Wells original book. Orson Welles narrated and directed a 1938 radio version, the first film produced by George Pal in 1953 and a Stephen Spielberg re-make was released in 2005 starring Tom Cruise as well as many other adaptations. In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced a musical album conceptual version of the War of the Worlds re-telling the story with music, lyrics and the spoken word. The concept album has been a great success, selling millions of records worldwide. In 2009 it was the 40^th best-selling album in the UK (I am unaware of the current rankings). With an intense, spooky and typical sci-fi orchestration and rock elements it has the ability to send you to outer space just by listening to it.

Jeff Wayne’s album is split into two parts (discs) which have since formed two Acts of the stage production. Act 1: The Coming of the Martians and Act 2: The Earth under the Martians; I am still not sure how I feel about this production. It is definitely not like anything I have ever seen before with some jaw-dropping and amazing moments. If you want to see something very very different from usual theatre productions then Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds is one hundred percent for you. For me the star of the show had to be Jeff Wayne himself who composed the concept album back in the 1970’s and was on stage conducting the massive orchestra who are on a moving platform on the stage; Yes! An orchestra on stage, right up my street. Wayne conducts The Black Smoke Band and the ULLAdubULLA Strings on stage and this is really wonderful. Wayne’s talent received him a standing ovation on the night. His musicality is awesome, the strings resonate through your body and it is so intense. I love a strings orchestra and this makes your body tingle, and the rock element of the Black Smoke Band just adds that cheery on top of the cake. Songs and compositions such as ‘Forever Autumn’, ‘The Red Weed’ and ‘Life Begins Again’ were my favourite – lyrics by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass. It really is an amazing album and I think I may have to purchase this.

Jeff Wayne’s the War of the Worlds is the most serious thing I have ever seen on stage. Even productions such as The Mousetrap, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables that are known for their seriousness have at least one funny character or one comedic scene, the War of the Worlds is not like this at all. I did not laugh once, although I was smiling a lot due to the musical genius that is Jeff Wayne, it is so serious and intense. The special effects were the second most pertinent thing about the show that resonated for. It was a total 4D multi-sensory experience, with the sights and sounds of usual musicals the War of the Worlds features leaf shaped paper confetti falling from the gods (I obviously got a few to keep within my programme) as well as the heat from the fire that erupts from the stage throughout the production. A few words cannot capture how amazing the special effects were. The fire was awesome, it gradually crept in at the very front of the stage and me and Nanny Cora, being in row F, felt the instant heat from this. Initially it was just like a wall of fire and communicates the attack from the Martians on the town folk. However as the music builds, the Martians erupt with power and there is literally a fire display shooting up from the stage floor at least ten feet into the air – it was epic. Tim Oliver is lighting designer and although this was amazing too it really is not the best if you have issues with strobe lighting; I was honestly squinting at some point of the show.

The third brilliant aspect of the show was an amalgamation of choreography and costume design. Liam Steel’s choreography is fantastic, the dance moves and catching of the company when the Martians start attacking the human race are flawless. I think it must be quite difficult to dance and move around the stage as though you are being blown up by these fire blasting aliens. The other part of the War of the Worlds which I absolutely loved is the Red Weed parts one and two. The costume designing (by Gary McCann) is beautiful, set in the late 1800’s costumes of the humans is good however when it gets to the Red Weeds scenes the company become the weeds and roots of these trees and they look so real and scary. The choreography that accompanies this scene is artistic realism, the inter twining, wrangling and growing of the roots around the stage and the lead characters is creepy. This scene lasts at least 25 minutes and the dancing and movement does not stop throughout; it shows the stamina and talent of the whole company. Stufish creates the amazing set design for the War of the Worlds. The back drop is ok and the use of projectors (canvases) started to become annoying – see my rant in the next paragraph – however some of the props and the Martian Fighting Machine is awesome and reminded us of something out of the early Dr Who shows. It drops on stage and walks across, not sure of the size of it but in previous arena tours this massive thing has been 35-foot high and weighing 3 tonnes. The orchestra appear to be arranged as would typically be expected however in this they are layered and the platforms they are on move about, cross over and form part of the set which is brilliant.

The production, produced by Bill Kenwright, is also studded with stars; Liam Neeson is there in 3D holography and narrates War of the Worlds as the Journalist looking back (just to confirm he was not there live on stage). Although it was great to have someone of Neeson’s calibre involved with the project it leads nicely into one thing I found distracting and pointless to the War of the Worlds the constant use of white canvases and projectors. Technology I think is a great theme within the War of the Worlds and I am led to believe was something that was never not going to be used however I think it was over exaggerated throughout the whole production. Ninety percent of Neeson’s narration is him on this canvas that keeps dropping from the top of the stage and going back up; I felt it did not add anything. At some points Neeson was projected to be sitting at a desk within a wooden room on stage; this had much more of a better effect that the canvases. These canvases also featured at many other parts of the production and again I felt no benefit from their presence. David Essex OBE plays the Voice of Humanity returning to the War of the Worlds since his original involvement in the first album. Jimmy Nail plays Parson Nathaniel, Simon Shorten as the Artilleryman (understudy;  Daniel Bedingfield was not playing the evening we went), Madalena Alberto as Carrie (Journalist fiancée), Heidi Range (known for being the long standing member of the Sugababes) plays the Parson’s wife and Michael Praed plays the journalist. For me the acting was not great and was superseded by the composition, special effects and orchestra. The best singing voice I felt was Heidi Ranges, although Praed had some powerful parts although his delivery of some of his lines were overly casual.

Jeff Wayne’s musical version of the War of the Worlds finishes at the Dominion Theatre today (Saturday 30^th April 2016) and those reading are unable to see this run at the Dominion. I have no doubt or hesitation to say I reckon this adaptation of H G Wells novel will be alive on stage once again very soon and it will be a great thing to see once more. The composing talent of Wayne, intense orchestration and special effects are something any musical theatre fan needs to see. You may not be blown away with any Olivier standard stage acting however the songs are great and the album is definitely worth purchasing, no doubt us new fans will be keeping the concept album of Jeff Wayne’s a best seller for a considerable more amount of time.

I’m off back to the Norwich Theatre Royal with Nanny Cora on Tuesday (3^rd May) to see the touring production of Guys and Dolls (again haha!) so will be posting again early in the week. Please get in touch or follow me on twitter @AaronBurgess89 and share your musical theatre stories, pictures, blogs or whatever.

Sunset Boulevard at the London Coliseum

Yesterday, 23^rd April 2016, me and my Beezie went to London’s West End to see the 5-week run of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard starring Hollywood’s Glenn Close. I have to explain now that unfortunately due to Close’s indisposition (I am guessing she was ill and not totally indisposed) she was not playing the role of Norma Desmond this weekend and has been replaced by her understudy, Ria Jones. We were initially extremely gutted about not seeing Close as we had paid a lot of money and were so excited but it is one of those musical theatre things that you just have to suck up and get on with. Understudies quite often do not get the recognition they deserve; they are often playing other roles throughout the performances and have to be aware of the key roles as well as to change at the drop of a hat. I will go on to discuss Jones performance later but she was phenomenal, I cannot fault her performance. Beezie described the evening as bittersweet and this totally sums up the night, being upset about Close but being privileged to see Jones’ portrayal of Norma Desmond. I do wish Close a speedy recovery and hope she returns to the West End stage for others to enjoy.  

Me and Beezie had a wonderful time as always. Although Beezie was slightly hungover following her partner’s 30^th birthday party, a drive in the car with a bag of crisps and putting the world to rights was just what the doctor ordered (although I think a pint would have helped better). Full of laughter, I can confirm that Beezie do like eggs, she really do. The most embarrassing thing of the day was sat in the Tex-Mex restaurant Chiquito’s and during pudding (I actually had a pudding, well half a pudding) for some unknown, strange reason as I was eating the whipped cream off my hot chocolate I spat all the cream over Beezie, the table, the wall and possibly the person on the next table. This was so funny, I could not swallow the rest of the cream in my mouth, I couldn’t speak and it was just a bad bad situation. Sorry Beezie for spitting cream over you, its part of the London experience I guess though.

Sunset Boulevard is based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film of the same name. It follows the story of has-been actress Norma Desmond who meets Joe Gillis, a struggling writer. Desmond guilt trips Gillis into helping her edit the 6-book script for a new film she has written, Salome, and living with Desmond and forcing a relationship on him. Desmond clearly has some mental health difficulties and set in 1949 these difficulties are not very well understood. Mental health is one of the main themes running through the whole of the Musical and the final scene really captures the psychological distress Desmond is experiencing and how this affects those around her. This was the first time I have seen Sunset Boulevard on the stage, although I know some of the famous songs from listening to my Nanny’s musical theatre album many moons ago, a selection of Lloyd Webber’s greatest hits, featuring two of Sunset Boulevard’s classics. After a successful run at the Sydmonton Festival in 1991/2 Sunset Boulevard moved to the West End at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993 running for 1,530 performances and closing in 1997.The original London production was nominated for Best New Musical and Best Actress in a Musical (for Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond) at the 1994 Olivier Awards, winning neither, losing to City of Angels. The two following two years Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige were also nominated for their portrayals of Norma Desmond, again not winning. In 1994 Sunset Boulevard transferred to Broadway with Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, winning 7 Tony’s in 1995, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book, Best Leading Actress (for Close), Best Featured Actor, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting. The 2009 London revival was also nominated for two Olivier’s winning neither again. A West End production of Sunset Boulevard has not won an Olivier Award, who knows it may be next year after seeing this short run.

This production of Sunset Boulevard was at the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera (ENO), who featured on the Coliseum stage too. The Coliseum is tucked behind Leicester Square and I have never been to the Coliseum before and don’t think I have ever walked past it. From the outside it looks nice, but just wait until you get inside. Creddida Pollock (Chief Executive of the ENO) described the London Coliseum as “the grandest of London’s musical theatres.” I cannot describe to you the inside of the Coliseum, it is so grand and I think I may have to agree with Pollock on this, but please refer to the amateur photography below. Described as ornate, the Coliseum, built in 1904, fills you with a sense of historical weariness, the faces peering down at you from the ceiling, the enormous auditorium with its four levels (seating over 2,500 people), numerous boxes and a pride of lions featuring around the walls. It is a phenomenal theatre to be sat in, the stage is gigantic and it honestly is a beautiful, historic and emotional theatre to be sat in. 

As already said Glenn Close was indisposed and unable to perform yesterday. Ria Jones is the understudy for the role of Norma Desmond and she did not disappoint. There had been issues with some audience members on the Friday evening performance when it was first announced Miss Glenn Close was unable to perform and that Miss Ria Jones would be taking on the role. People had walked out, wanted refunds, demanding to see Glenn Close and booing the Coliseum. Although I was seriously disappointed by this news on Saturday evening, it is to be expected from time to time and it is a risk you take when booking your tickets in advance. I think the audience over compensated slightly for the cheers of Ria Jones, but she was none the less amazing. Her rendition of ‘With One Look’ was phenomenal; her voice is so powerful it resonated around the whole Coliseum. Jones received a longer than usual applause at the end of the song which was deserved. Her acting as Desmond was emotional and authentic. You really feel for Desmond with Jones portrayal yet want to scream at her to not be so possessive and misguided or misinformed. Jones is no stranger to a leading role, playing iconic roles such as Fantine, Grizabella, Narrator (Joseph) and Eva Peron, however I think this is Jones’ massive big break in the West End and she also originated the role of Norma Desmond at the workshop for Sunset Boulevard at the Sydmonton Festival all those years ago.

Michael Xavier plays Joe Gillis. Xavier (what an ace name) was great, good singing voice, making the title song seem more of a part of a thriller than a musical. He really transforms the role of Gillis throughout the production; from the struggling writer we all have sympathy for to the obnoxious and selfish man by the end of Act 2. Xavier has an amazing body which helps watching him at the beginning of Act 2 as he gets out of the swimming pool. I don’t mean to sound like a pervert but he is at one point naked facing the orchestra during the second act and I am sure I saw a violinist shoot a look. The lovingly loyal butler Max is played by Fred Johanson and me and Beezie loved him. Although not the biggest singing role in the musical he is a great character, with a history too. Johanson gives the loyalty and love of Max to Norma, particularly in the finale you can see the empathy and eternal love he has for her. Siobhan Dillon plays Betty Schaefer, again a character that does not feature heavily within the show, her voice was musically beautiful and her song with Xavier, ‘Too much in love too care’, the true love song of the musical often forgotten due to Desmond’s songs, was beautiful to watch and listen. I absolutely loved the way we saw Norma seeing herself, as well as other characters reflecting back in their mind. The use of an ensemble actress to play a younger Norma was really effective, seeing how she once was and how people used to see her. This production of Sunset Boulevard has been directed by Loony Price.

With music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, Sunset Boulevard has to be Lloyd Webber’s and Black’s greatest work together to date. The music and lyrics gave me feelings of macabre and have a mixture of humour, emotion, love and suffering. Anyone who loves a disco funk soundtrack may be disappointed with Sunset Boulevard however the score and soundtrack is wonderful. Classics include the title song, ‘With One Look’ and ‘As if we never said goodbye’; often these three songs are the most associated with the musical. ‘Let’s Have Lunch’, ‘Girl Meets Boy’, ‘New Ways to Dream’, ‘Perfect Year’, ‘A Little Suffering’ and the aforementioned ‘Too much in love too care’ are also immense additions to the score. The fantastic talent of Lloyd Webber is greatest seen with his Overture, Entr’acte and underscores. The talent of Lloyd Webber is magnified with the 48-piece ENO on stage throughout the production, with orchestrations by David Cullen and Conducted by Michael Reed. The ENO were disguised by the semi staging of Sunset Boulevard but were visible. I have been to musicals with an 8 piece orchestra which were great, however when you have forty eight pieces playing a score like Sunset Boulevard it is overwhelming. I have never had so many goose pimples in one production, it is fantastic and I sang the whole way back from leaving the Coliseum to Newbury Park, sorry Beezie.

James Noone, an American set designer, was the creator of this semi-staged version of Sunset Boulevard. I understand why they call this a semi-staged production but I think this undervalues the work of Noone and the effect his staging has. With the carefully planned positioning of the ENO, with the conductors stand transforming to a car bonnet, from the amazing and beautiful amalgamated chandeliers to represent Norma’s house, with the laddered walkways that looked like spaghetti junction and the fake Xavier gracefully gliding down from the gods. It may have been semi-staged but I guarantee you it was by no means half the effort. Noone’s set would have been nothing without the talent of 6-time Olivier award winner for lighting, Mark Henderson (lighting designer), winning this year for Gypsy. His lighting around the chandelier was to die for. His creation of a car chase and the lighting on the conductor was creative and surreptitious. The light on Norma Desmond prior to the as if song received an applause, the only time I have seen an applause of this magnitude for a lighting effect. I honestly felt like I was in front of the queen, the lighting was royal and majestic.

Costuming was fantastic, and Anthony Powell took on the task of designing the iconic costumes of Norma Desmond. There were four main costumes that made my jaw drop; I wanted one in every colour. The first time we see Norma she is in an animal printed, crazy patterned, bronze and gold, kimono thingy. The second costume we see is at the New Year’s Eve party for two. You could hear how heavy this sequined, jewelled, diamante dress was. I think Jones wasn’t walking slowly and majestically on purpose she just didn’t have a choice as it was too heavy. It was an epic dress, the lights bounced off the dress like a thousand glitter balls descended into the air. The third outfit, myself and Beezie laughed at, bearing in mind we were the only two out of over 2,500 people to laugh and we were given some disapproving looks. Although it was a fantastic costume I would not be seen dead it in. With a deformed black bird on her head, she looked like Close did in some parts of the real life 101 Dalmatians film. The final outfit we see Desmond in is also wonderfully worn; on the imaginary set of Salome, Desmond looks amazing. Honestly I want Powell to design me some costumes. Amazing!

Sunset Boulevard is currently playing at the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera, until 7^th May. Who knows who you will see in the role of Norma Desmond, lucky for those who see the wonder that is Glenn Close, but do not be disappointed if you see the understudy Ria Jones, the term understudy is not an efficient term for Jones, she is no way under anything in fact she is a wonder to see in the role of Desmond, she will have your hair standing on end throughout, especially with her ‘With One Look’. This is such a limited run and tickets are still readily available for the weekday event, limited on weekends and sold out for the last day. This is something that really cannot be missed. I would be so tempted to go back and see it all again. I am off to see War of the Worlds on Friday so will be posting again next weekend. Please get in touch until then @AaronBurgess89

Tell Me on a Sunday UK tour starring Jodie Prenger

On 13^th April 2016 my sister Fern and I went to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Don Black’s Tell Me on a Sunday starring the wonderful Jodie Prenger. I have no real funny stories to share with you as we weren’t together all that long however the woman in front of us during the Q&A section of Act 2 was quite ridiculously funny, continually nodding and going ‘mmmmmmmmm’ to each of Prenger’s responses; I was worried Fern may spring a leak she was laughing that much.

 

Tell Me on aSunday was first brought to the UK in 1979 at the Sydmonton Festival, before it moved to the West End in 1982; these productions being Song and Dance which incorporates the one-Act Tell Me on a Sunday as its Act 1. Don Black and Lord Lloyd Webber never intended Tell Me on a Sunday to become a musical yet expected something like a musical album or similar. Tell Me on a Sunday is now better known as a one-Act show and has been seen in London, over the rest of the UK, off-Broadway, Belgium and Australia. Tell Me on a Sunday has typically been a one woman show, as it was when I saw it. There have been productions and variations on the use of more actors and real life characters and the use of voice overs however the only singer on stage tonight was Prenger. The story focuses on Emma (previously unnamed until 1985), an English woman (I get the sense she is young and vulnerable) who travels to New York City to look for love and adventure and the difficulties she faces trying to keep a man and her relentless attitude to love and life. I had the sense that Emma was struggling emotionally and psychologically. I questioned whether Emma was inventing these men in her life; either to satisfy her mother or her own needs. This was my interpretation and not everyone shares this opinion. This was my first time seeing Tell Me on a Sunday and if anyone has different or similar views I would love to hear about them.

 

Lloyd Webber created a great and wonderful music composition with Tell Me on a Sunday. One of my greatest and fondest characteristics of a Lloyd Webber musical is his successful and talented attempts to provide multiple musical genres in his work. The lyrical mastermind that is Don Black provides humorous, emotional, powerful and vulnerable words in Tell Me on a Sunday (which is one of the duo’s best musicals, maybe just behind Sunset Boulevard which I am seeing this month with Glenn Close). Black has recently worked on the new musical Mrs Henderson Presents currently playing at the Noel Coward Theatre in London, can’t wait to see this next month. I particularly loved the four Letters Home to England; when Emma writes to her mother about the men she is seeing or that they have split with her (earlier productions only used to feature two letters). Set in the late 1970’s/early 80’s, Director Paul Foster shows us that Emma relies on these letters to communicate with her mother, seeing as there was no Skype or Facetime at this point. The catchy music, humorous rhymes and Prenger’s voice made this night musically charming. Classics of the show, the title song (‘Tell Me on a Sunday’) and ‘Take That Look off Your Face’ will be long-time favourites of any Lloyd Webber fan. Another mini-series was ‘It’s Not the End of the World’ which keeps you posted on the life of Emma. Francis Goodhand, musical director, originally from Suffolk, brings to life the orchestrations of Lloyd Webber. In this production, by Jamie Wilson and Gavin Kalin Productions of the Watermill Theatre Production, the 4 man/woman orchestra are surreptitiously on stage behind the miniature set of New York City. Designed by David Woodhead; I loved the set with its window long-sight view of the American skyscrapers, Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty. This little set was brought to life by Howard Hudson’s lighting design. The set lights up with different colours and brightness, which communicates so effectively the mood of Emma and the sympathy the audience show her.

Jodie Prenger stars in this one woman show, taking on the role of Emma who has been played by some iconic West End women in the past including Sarah Brightman, Marti Webb, Denise Van Outen, Claire Sweeney and even Lulu and Bernadette Peters in America. With very little spoken word Prenger sings 23 songs back to back with no break, an incredible feat for any West End and musical star. Prenger came to fame when she won the BBC show, ‘I’d Do anything’, to find a new Nancy for Cameron Mackintosh’s Oliver! in 2008. After this she has starred in multiple West End hits and has recently finished a touring production of Calamity Jane before starting her time on Tell Me on a Sunday. Prenger has a wonderful voice, clearly as she won ‘I’d Do anything’. Her acting is fantastic to watch and she brings the emotion and humour of Emma to the stage with ease. I have seen Prenger on TV and heard her on BBC Radio 2 many times, but this was the first time seeing her live and it was super! After singing a 23-song one-Act musical she deserved a break. Prenger returns to the stage for a quasi-Act 2. This saw Prenger sing two songs, one from Song and Dance and one from something I cannot remember, sorry Jodie. Prenger also brought out her understudy, Jodie Beth Meyer, and they sung the Evita wonder of ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’, Meyer’s voice was great and the duet was fabulous. Prenger also arranged a question and answer section. Prenger is so funny; she interacts so well with the audience, making them laugh with her own anecdotes and experiences on and off the stage. Prenger did not select my question to answer, however I got to meet Jodie after the show at the stage door where we had a picture, natter, cuddle and an autograph. My question was, “If you were a man, what musical character would you want to play, past or present, in the West End”. Prenger went to an all-girls school so had played well-known male roles including from Les Mis and Phantom when she was younger, however she would love to play a drag in La Cage Aux Folles – Prenger is camper than I am. She was fabulous to watch and so down to earth, a great musical missy.

Tell Me on aSunday finishes on the 8^th of June 2016 in Bromley. Starting in January Prenger and all the creative and orchestra have and continue to work so hard each night to bring this beautiful wonder to the stage again and this time for the whole of the UK. Tell Me on a Sunday can be seen at Southampton, New Wimbledon Theatre (London), Nottingham, York, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Dublin, Wakefield, Edinburgh, Ipswich, Liverpool, Plymouth, Leicester and so many more places. I would urge anyone who likes Jodie Prenger, is a fan of Don Black or Andrew Lloyd Webber, loves the famous musical songs of ‘Take That Look Off Your Face’ or the title song or for anyone who wants a different musical experience as it is aesthetically strange from most productions with a 15/20 strong cast; then you can let me know your interpretation of Emma and what’s going on.

It is a very busy April and May for musical shows so no doubt I will be pestering you to read some more of my posts sooner rather than later. Get in touch until then,

@AaronBurgess89

Miss Atomic Bomb in the West End

On Saturday (9^th April 2016) I had some well needed sibling time with my little sis Fern. For my birthday (which was last month, thanks for the cards and pressies) she bought me tickets to go and see Miss Atomic Bomb at the St James Theatre in London. We had a lovely day out although I do think Fern preferred the Nando’s meal and interval ice-cream as opposed to the show and time with her big bro. Full of laughs, the two things that stick in my mind are Fern’s pronunciation of the word ‘consumption’ while completing her practice driving theory questions (omg these questions were hard, half of them about being a paramedic and I would certainly fail if I had to take this again). The second being on the way home getting confused about who our mother is; “Your mother? My mother? Our mother? Whose mother” - little private joke but if anyone is that interested drop me a message and I will give you the full version. One thing that pissed us both off was the posh ‘see you next Tuesday’ sat next to us in the restaurant talking to her children as if she was the queen, love get over it and take that blooming plum out from the back of your annoying mouth. Anyhow away with the negativity and back to Miss Atomic Bomb.

 

 

Most of my posts and reviews include a paragraph about the history of the musical or play, previous productions, who starred in them, the basis of the play/musical, the film or stage adaptation or the book it came from. This is not the case with MissAtomic Bomb, it is a completely new musical comedy with an original score, no basis really apart from the time period it was set, no previous productions or stars or awards. Miss Atomic Bomb arrived at the St James Theatre in Victoria, London and I first heard about it on the wonderful Elaine Paige on Sunday (BBC Radio 2). A wonderful area of London for musicals which currently sees Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and closing on Saturday night was Billy Elliott at the Victoria Palace; so it is a musical theatre fan’s dream to live in Victoria (apart from all the f*****g road and building works). St James Theatre is very different to any other theatre in London I have visited. It is a considerably small theatre seating just 312 audience members, we guessed 300 so pretty good work sis! We also were permitted to move closer to the stage which was much better, mainly as Fern had forgotten her glasses and also being closer to the stage; the front row were practically sitting on the stage and I’m sure were accidentally spat on. The theatre, built in 2012, after the fire that caused the demolition of the Westminster Theatre in 2002. It is clearly a more modern theatre than the others. The theatre is known for its short runs of shows, usually running between 2 and 10 weeks (Miss Atomic Bomb running for five). I find this very exciting as many of the productions that play at the St James I hope would go on to be bigger and better than they are at the time of production.

 

 

Miss Atomic Bomb centres on a recently promoted hotel manager who is “up shit creek” to put it in his bosses words to make the hotel a success. Set in the 1950’s in the American city of Las Vegas, Nevada, a time when atom bombs were tested, he comes up with an idea to link the atom bomb with a beauty pageant. The musical also sees two friends who are dying to leave the countryside and sheep farms of Nevada and move to California where they can live their dreams (of course this doesn’t go quite to plan). Miss Atomic Bomb tackles important issues that were definitely a problem in the 1950’s and still cause tensions today. Mainly beauty being in the eye of the beholder, war deserters and sexuality and the importance of appearing “normal” (:-S). I felt Miss Atomic Bomb was quite slow to start and doesn’t really heat up and get my musical feet tapping and swinging until ‘That Girl (is Miss Atomic Bomb)’ which is nearly half way into Act One. However, after this I was really enjoying the show. I think it is great going to a musical with no preconceptions or basis of what to expect. I think with a bigger budget and bigger auditorium Miss Atomic Bomb could be a true success. What the future is for Miss Atomic Bomb I have no idea; it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page yet.

The beautifully hilarious Catherine Tate leads the cast of Miss Atomic Bomb as Myrna Ranapapadophilou (try saying and typing that after a couple of Pinot Grigios). I had heard on the radio that a reviewer said that Tate doesn’t meet her comedic potential. Who this fool was I cannot remember; I tend to ignore useless and false information. Tate was fantastic; despite the accent that shifted deep-south USA to an Aussie cooking her shrimps on the Bar-B, Tate was definitely funny and I can guarantee you the audience were in total agreement with me. What I loved most was the fact she sneakily brought some of her well known characters into some of her lines. This was not obvious at all and maybe not even intentional however it worked a treat. I even loved the fact that she mucked up a bit of her choreography, dancing too early and dealt with it like a complete comedic professional that she is, having a giggle on stage. Well done Tate and a full five stars for your performance in Miss Atomic Bomb. Tate can also hold a tune, I think we always think of her as Nan or Lauren and forget she is a well-crafted actress with a good singing voice.

 

The other star of the show was Simon Lipkin who has been on many a stage of musical and played some significant characters in some of my favourites including Joseph and his colourful coat, Footloose, Avenue Q and in lots of TV/film. I thought his comedic role as Lou Lubowitz was comedy gold, making me laugh and smile throughout. His on stage presence with the aforementioned Catherine Tate was funny to watch. He sings, dances and acts well with a bullet-wounded foot (feet). Dean John-Wilson, handsomely, plays Joey Lubowitz and Florence Andrews plays Candy Johnson, her love of sheep is portrayed wonderfully and she has an amazing voice too. Her masculine demeanour and tom-boy approach to life is portrayed great especially when in her feathery corset –I mean that as a complete compliment. We all know I love a man in a dress and Charles Brunton provides me with this fix playing the quite rightly hideous Carol who sounds like Marge Simpson; although you would if you smoked for the whole of Act Two. The rest of the cast are great, although my sister was not a fan of Boo Boo or Mr Rosenhut, they all put so much effort into the show.

Already mentioned is one song that I really enjoyed ‘That Girl (is Miss Atomic Bomb)’. Looking back I was not totally blown away with the original score, although a couple of songs do stick in my mind, particularly ‘Myrna’s Song’, ‘Sheep Lament’ and ‘Sugar Daddy’; if I recall rightly Tate features in all three of these songs. Also enjoyable were both finales and the song ‘How Beautiful You Are’. Miss Atomic Bomb is written by Adam Long and Gabriel Vick (extensive West End credits and appeared in the Les Misėrables film adaptation). The lyrics are much better than the compositions and being a comedy musical some of the songs do leave you chuckling. Long and Olivier-Award winning (2013 Top Hat) Choreographer Bill Deamer co-direct this musical comedy. Ti Green designed the set and costumes; the glamourous and exotic costumes were great and I love a bit of sparkle and white feather, who doesn’t. The set was basic and I am not sure if this was constraints of the small theatre or whether it was due to budgeting or intentionality however not mush was going on. There was an arched stair case and I loved the Rocky Horror-esque curtain in Act 2. The use of videos as a background to the staging was mediocre. I have to give it up for Gareth Owen (Sound Designer) and Tim Deiling (Lighting Designer) as to make me jump out of my skin in such a small theatre was a great success; Spoiler Alert there is a simulated atom bomb that goes off and gun shots which scared the living day lights out of me.

 

I liked that Miss Atomic Bomb paid accolades to some well-known musicals, the aforementioned Rocky Horror, Wicked and I think Gypsy. I may have miss-interpreted this, either being unintentional or I may have missed other tributes. I feel it celebrates the success of previous amazing shows which is honorary. Miss Atomic Bomb has now finished its run at St James Theatre and I am not sure where the musical goes from here. I do hope there is another run of Miss Atomic Bomb. Although I sound harsh in some of my comments above I really enjoyed the show and it deserved the standing ovation it received. I would imagine tweaks would be made to the original production (currently produced by Tanya Link Productions) but I see Miss Atomic Bomb playing again soon somewhere. I leave you with a crazy face swap of me and my sister as she discovered how to do this on our day out. Please get in touch and share with me your experiences of Miss Atomic Bomb. Take care! @AaronBurgess89

Breakfast at Tiffany's UK Tour starring Pixie Lott

I have been to see another play, this time at the beautiful Leeds Grand Theatre, last night (6^th April 2016). Breakfast at Tiffany’s which I actually thought was going to be a musical, until about five minutes before it started then I realised it was a play. My companion for the evening was my housemate and very close friend Emma (Notta); she was aware Breakfast at Tiffany’s was a play and confused as to why we were going; we are primarily musical fans of course. A great evening apart from the 40-minute endeavour to find an affordable car park in Leeds; so expensive, however we found one, £6 for 24 hours, bargain! Following a bottle of wine while getting the glad rags on we arrive at The Grand only to be faced with a coughing pandemic and a dog in the seat in front. I think these are personal jokes between me and Emma and if I explain them it will be a waste of my fingers typing and your time reading them as I imagine you won’t find them funny. Basically half of the auditorium were coughing or potentially dying during the play and the woman in front of me appeared to have a stuffed dog as a coat and I thought it was hilarious to pretend to stroke it. Now back to what we are here for a professional and comprehensive review of the touring production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (don’t laugh).

The play is obviously based on the 1961 film of the same name which in turn is loosely based on Truman Capote’s novella of the same name. Breakfast at Tiffany’s follows the accolades of Holly Golightly, an extroverted young lady in the buzzing place that is New York and gazes over her relationships with men and her partying lifestyle. I felt that Golightly is portrayed more of an uncouth young lady then she is in the film (so others’ tell me). The classic film starring Audrey Hepburn has become such an iconic film for many, myself and Emma not included in this population. Both ashamed of the fact we have not seen the film I cannot really comment on comparisons and differences. However we are rectifying this situation and now have the film on DVD thanks to Emma’s sister. The film won the academy award for Best Score and Best Original Song for Moon River which features in the play (I think this is why I was confused it was going to be a musical). Hepburn also received a nomination for her role as Holly Golightly.

Holly Golightly is played by Pixie Lott in the current touring production and she sings in the play which is great. Her voice, rusty and raw, provides a modern yet respectful take of Moon River and Pixie plays the guitar on stage and we all know how much I love a musical instrument on the stage. Lott’s voice is great as most of us know from her number one singles; ‘Mama Do’, ‘Boys and Girls’ and ‘All about Tonight’. Lott also ain’t such a bad actress, playing Holly as the fun-hungry, life-loving girl that certainly is Golightly. I love the voice of Golightly which Hepburn borned and Lott has taken on. The New Yorker posh lisp as I like to call it is fab and I have tried to copy, darlin’. A further 12 members of the cast join Lott on stage during the night. Nick-named Fred (George Peppard) is played by Matt Barber, well-known for his role as Atticus Aldridge in Downton Abbey. Barber has a great stage presence and played the role of Fred finely, with his longing for Golightly so real and is inability to say how he really feels for her frustrating for us in the audience. His monologues portray this so well.  Two fantastic comedic roles are played by Naomi Cranston as Mag and Andrew Joshi as the famous comedy role of Yunioshi; both giving great performances. The cast work hard each night to bring alive Breakfast at Tiffany’s before your eyes and I always wonder whether they miss any lines or not as there is so much to remember. One final cast member who deserves a mention is Bob the Cat; playing the cat (obviously) – he is quite a famous cat too!

I very much enjoyed Breakfast at Tiffany’s, adapted for the stage by Richard Greenberg, however I would describe it as a good play with not a lot going on, if that makes any sense at all. I wonder if the film will also be like this, a great classic everyone has heard of but not a lot actually happens; I can think of a few films like this which I absolutely love. I really do feel Breakfast at Tiffany’s could easily be produced into a musical; with some of the basic song and music already in the play; a Moon River and its reprise – I can hear it on a soundtrack already. I would undoubtedly imagine this concept has been thrown around countless times. Nikolai Foster directs the play and I love Matthew Wright’s set and costume design. Most men are wearing their suits and ties (fair do) and Holly’s wardrobe is great, with beautiful maxi dresses and colours galore. What I particularly enjoyed of Wright’s work was his set design. I absolutely loved how Fred and Holly’s rooms were portrayed as being on different floors and the American scaffolding, as I call it, used in the background and then coming into the lime light as the scene of the bedroom flats disappears into the gods and characters pondering over their thoughts on this scaffolding. Ben Cracknell’s lighting design is also well executed; my favourite part being the illusion that it is raining on stage, which I thought was crafted brilliantly. Many characters talk directly to the audience through their numerous monologues, although other characters appear on stage the lighting also allows focus to one character and multiple characters explaining the same story works really well. Other songs to feature in the play are ‘Hold up My Dying Day’ and the Rodgers and Hammerstein wonder that is ‘People Will Say We’re in Love’ from the amazing Oklahoma! (sound designer Mic Pool).

 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s continues on a UK tour until mid-November 2016, where it finishes at Norwich Theatre Royal, where I will be seeing it again. Pixie Lott tours until 30^th June where she then takes up the role as Holly Golightly at the Theatre Royal Haymarket where Breakfast at Tiffany’s arrives in the West End.  Cities you can see Pixie include Birmingham, Dublin, Plymouth and Southampton. Emily Atack and Georgia Foote take on the classic role at remaining cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, Aberdeen, Sheffield, Belfast and Cardiff. As I have said Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a grand play but not a lot happens but still worth a watch. Pixie Lott is definitely worth seeing in something different to what we usually see and expect of her and I look forward to seeing Georgia Foote playing the role in Norwich

 

 

Thanks everyone and please get in touch, it would be great to hear from you @AaronBurgess89