Post by marion on May 26, 2019 12:58:28 GMT
I saw this yesterday at Wimbledon, the first stop on its UK tour after a debut at I think The Watermill. It started life in the US where it did quite badly but has been reworked.
I didn't really like Amelie the film so wouldn't normally have bothered with this but our Pearl alerted me to the presence of Danny Mac so I decided to give it a go.
Overall I did think it was very good, but I also thought the plot was a bit weak. And the character of Amelie doesn't appeal to me at all, in fact I quite want to slap her. However, if you ignore that, the performances and the production are absolutely great. I think there are 16 in the cast and 14 of them play their roles whilst wandering about playing their instruments, mainly violins and cellos but also the accordion, yay! And it is a rather intimate, folksy type of music for the most part which definitely suited the show. There are few real musical style belters, it is more ensemble than that and that gave it a small, involving feel. I saw one online review thought it was too long, but I was very involved and normally I am always checking my watch.
It started late because of technical difficulties but it all seemed to work well. The set is very clever And has a marvellous French feel. It is very much Amelie's show - Danny Mac doesn't appear as much as you might expect from the leading man. For the first act, the Wimbledon crowd (only about a third full in the dress circle) was pretty subdued, but it got loud applause at the end. The closing number of Act One is the best, an absolute hoot. And towards the end there is a quiet moment or two where you could feel the audience, also silent, no rustling about, were completely hooked.
I didn't really like Amelie the film so wouldn't normally have bothered with this but our Pearl alerted me to the presence of Danny Mac so I decided to give it a go.
Overall I did think it was very good, but I also thought the plot was a bit weak. And the character of Amelie doesn't appeal to me at all, in fact I quite want to slap her. However, if you ignore that, the performances and the production are absolutely great. I think there are 16 in the cast and 14 of them play their roles whilst wandering about playing their instruments, mainly violins and cellos but also the accordion, yay! And it is a rather intimate, folksy type of music for the most part which definitely suited the show. There are few real musical style belters, it is more ensemble than that and that gave it a small, involving feel. I saw one online review thought it was too long, but I was very involved and normally I am always checking my watch.
It started late because of technical difficulties but it all seemed to work well. The set is very clever And has a marvellous French feel. It is very much Amelie's show - Danny Mac doesn't appear as much as you might expect from the leading man. For the first act, the Wimbledon crowd (only about a third full in the dress circle) was pretty subdued, but it got loud applause at the end. The closing number of Act One is the best, an absolute hoot. And towards the end there is a quiet moment or two where you could feel the audience, also silent, no rustling about, were completely hooked.