Last night ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hjdoom & I went to see The Musical of Musicals: The Musical at the Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall, and both really enjoyed it - it's only on for another week, but if you're a musicals fan then see it if you can.
It's a very clever piece, poking gentle fun at some of the most well known writers of musicals. It's in five parts, with the same character archetypes playing out slight variations on the same plot each time, so not a show to go to for the storytelling, but the music is brilliant and the layers upon layers of references are tremendous fun. It's clearly a very demanding show - with only four performers (four singers and one pianist) and some difficult singing, especially in the Sondheim-esque section, any weak link would be very stark - but this cast absolutely nailed it. The acting was hammy, but that fit the script well, and the singing was excellent. The choreography was kept relatively simple, but delivered well, and the small space and fairly limited budget were used wisely and well. Highly recommended.
I've seen quite a few other bits theatre over the last couple of months, and having failed to write about it immediately I probably can't manage any in depth reviews, but in brief:
cuddlyviking and I saw Measure for Measure at the Donmar, and thought it was an excellent production. The first act was a heavily cut version of the entire play set around the time it was written. The second act rewound and played it again, even more heavily cut, but with Angelo and Isabella's roles swapped, and set in the modern day. I found this a really interesting way of looking at the play, although the fact that we saw it the week after the Kavanaugh nomination made it even more uncomfortable than it might otherwise have been.
Withobandsoller I saw:
Heathers: The musical, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket which was disappointing. It felt as if whoever did the adaptation didn't really understand the film; Veronica was too timid and JD wasn't sexy. With the exception of Heather Duke, the singing was only okay, and the changes they made to the plot (which let's face it, already stretches credulity) much harder to suspend disbelief over. Still most of the rest of the audience seemed to have a whale of a time, so I might just not have been their target demographic.
Maurice, also at Above the Stag, which was pretty good. It was a fairly straightforward adaptation of the novel, with a fairly small cast who all acted well. It was in turns poignant and sexy, Clive was suitably ghastly and Scudder appropriately hot.
The Inheritance at the Young Vic, was the best theatre I've seen all year, up there amongst the best I've ever seen in my life. We saw both parts in one day, which is a lot of time to spend in a theatre seat, but I was enraptured for every minute of it. I wept, and I laughed, and I felt shivers go up and down my spine. It's an incredibly powerful piece of theatre - by queer people, for (but not just for) queer people. Telling an important story and asking important questions about how we learn from our history without letting it define us.
hjdoom & I went to see The Musical of Musicals: The Musical at the Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall, and both really enjoyed it - it's only on for another week, but if you're a musicals fan then see it if you can.It's a very clever piece, poking gentle fun at some of the most well known writers of musicals. It's in five parts, with the same character archetypes playing out slight variations on the same plot each time, so not a show to go to for the storytelling, but the music is brilliant and the layers upon layers of references are tremendous fun. It's clearly a very demanding show - with only four performers (four singers and one pianist) and some difficult singing, especially in the Sondheim-esque section, any weak link would be very stark - but this cast absolutely nailed it. The acting was hammy, but that fit the script well, and the singing was excellent. The choreography was kept relatively simple, but delivered well, and the small space and fairly limited budget were used wisely and well. Highly recommended.
I've seen quite a few other bits theatre over the last couple of months, and having failed to write about it immediately I probably can't manage any in depth reviews, but in brief:
cuddlyviking and I saw Measure for Measure at the Donmar, and thought it was an excellent production. The first act was a heavily cut version of the entire play set around the time it was written. The second act rewound and played it again, even more heavily cut, but with Angelo and Isabella's roles swapped, and set in the modern day. I found this a really interesting way of looking at the play, although the fact that we saw it the week after the Kavanaugh nomination made it even more uncomfortable than it might otherwise have been.With
obandsoller I saw:Heathers: The musical, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket which was disappointing. It felt as if whoever did the adaptation didn't really understand the film; Veronica was too timid and JD wasn't sexy. With the exception of Heather Duke, the singing was only okay, and the changes they made to the plot (which let's face it, already stretches credulity) much harder to suspend disbelief over. Still most of the rest of the audience seemed to have a whale of a time, so I might just not have been their target demographic.
Maurice, also at Above the Stag, which was pretty good. It was a fairly straightforward adaptation of the novel, with a fairly small cast who all acted well. It was in turns poignant and sexy, Clive was suitably ghastly and Scudder appropriately hot.
The Inheritance at the Young Vic, was the best theatre I've seen all year, up there amongst the best I've ever seen in my life. We saw both parts in one day, which is a lot of time to spend in a theatre seat, but I was enraptured for every minute of it. I wept, and I laughed, and I felt shivers go up and down my spine. It's an incredibly powerful piece of theatre - by queer people, for (but not just for) queer people. Telling an important story and asking important questions about how we learn from our history without letting it define us.
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Date: 2018-12-15 01:03 pm (UTC)From:no subject
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