Post by marion on Jun 2, 2022 8:29:53 GMT
Yeee Haaa! This was fantastic! I wanted to sing along and at times did I fear, but very quietly.
This is an off-Broadway production which strips the whole thing back. No full orchestra, just a band with slide guitar, accordion, banjo etc. There is no stage but the theatre resembles a community hall with trestle tables, mainly there for the box social, with Bud Light, chilli and corn. Just for the cast sadly. The whole thing is played with the house lights up except for certain night scenes and the Jud scenes. In the latter they play in pitch black with just a dim torch effect and the faces projected onto the wall. This didn’t work for me, why bother? The torch was effective enough. I also had enough of the dream/ballet sequence which, given the show ran (over) to 3 hours 15minutes, could have been cut imho, although the girl who danced it (not actual Laurie) executed it well, and quite athletically.
But on the whole this was a fantastic show. My friend had gone off the prospect by the time our tickets arrived (Monday!) but said it was 10 times better than expected. With the exception of Aunt Eller, who was a bit quiet and a lot flat, the young cast were superb. Arthur Darvill (yes really!) was an excellent Curly, great voice and he played it a bit like a young Elvis (well not Elvis perhaps but I can’t place exactly who he reminded me of!) and played guitar throughout. He was a revelation to me. I didn’t know anyone else but they were all very, very good and Ado Annie (Marisha Wallace) had a real belting voice, as did the woman who played Laurie’s rival. Ado Annie was also extremely funny, so she should go far.
The crowd went wild, big standing ovation, loved it. It has sold out but if it tours it’s well worth a visit.
This is an off-Broadway production which strips the whole thing back. No full orchestra, just a band with slide guitar, accordion, banjo etc. There is no stage but the theatre resembles a community hall with trestle tables, mainly there for the box social, with Bud Light, chilli and corn. Just for the cast sadly. The whole thing is played with the house lights up except for certain night scenes and the Jud scenes. In the latter they play in pitch black with just a dim torch effect and the faces projected onto the wall. This didn’t work for me, why bother? The torch was effective enough. I also had enough of the dream/ballet sequence which, given the show ran (over) to 3 hours 15minutes, could have been cut imho, although the girl who danced it (not actual Laurie) executed it well, and quite athletically.
But on the whole this was a fantastic show. My friend had gone off the prospect by the time our tickets arrived (Monday!) but said it was 10 times better than expected. With the exception of Aunt Eller, who was a bit quiet and a lot flat, the young cast were superb. Arthur Darvill (yes really!) was an excellent Curly, great voice and he played it a bit like a young Elvis (well not Elvis perhaps but I can’t place exactly who he reminded me of!) and played guitar throughout. He was a revelation to me. I didn’t know anyone else but they were all very, very good and Ado Annie (Marisha Wallace) had a real belting voice, as did the woman who played Laurie’s rival. Ado Annie was also extremely funny, so she should go far.
The crowd went wild, big standing ovation, loved it. It has sold out but if it tours it’s well worth a visit.
Anymore to come?
