Ghost The Musical, Comparison Review, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 29/5/2012 / Leeds Grand Theatre, 21/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific dates including understudies*
Cast, Piccadilly Theatre, London
Sam Wheat - Mark Evans
Molly Jensen - Siobhan Dillon
Oda Mae Brown - Sharon D Clarke
Carl Bruner - Andrew Langtree
Willie Lopez - Ivan De Freitas
Subway Ghost - Scott Maurice
Hospital Ghost - Ashley Knight
Clara - Lisa Davina Phillip
Louise - Jennifer Saayeng

Ensemble
Paul Ayres
Samuel Edwards
Francesca Hoffman
Callum Francis
Spencer O'Brien
Olivia Phillip
Rebecca Trehearn
Jez Unwin
Amy Webb
Sally Whitehead

Cast, Leeds Grand Theatre
Sam Wheat - Stewart Clarke
Molly Jensen - Rebecca Trehearn
Oda Mae Brown - Wendy Mae Brown
Carl Bruner - David Roberts
Willie Lopez - Ivan De Freitas
Subway Ghost - Michael Cortez
Clara - Karlene Wray
Louise - Keisha Atwell

Ensemble
Mrs Santiago - Maeve Byrne
Kimmy Edwards
Gabriela Garcia
Lewis Griffiths
Bradley Jaden
Gregor Stewart
Michael Stewart
Amy Webb
Amy West
Luke Wilson

Okay so a couple of first observations....Rebecca Trehearn ensemble in London, Molly on tour a year later! Ivan De Freitas is the guy I saw as Willie Lopez twice. I didn't even realise. Paul Ayres, well, there is that name again....see my 'Rent In Concert' review...

Songs. This is the first part where I say I'm not happy. (I'll take this moment to remind you all that this is mainly a comparison review...) The soundtrack, upon release when the musical first opened in March 2011 (June 2011 in London) was incredible, and I really really mean that. It had amazing harmonies and the overture was absolute perfection. But wait, the overture has gone?! That's right, the amazingly heartbreaking overture has disappeared. Instead we got this rather upbeat and jazzy piece of music as a projection flew us through New York at night. I'm not cool with that. Also, with not too much complaint from myself, one of the other songs changed fairly soon after. This made the role of Hospital Ghost (played by Ashley Knight in London) redundant as they got rid of his song. Now, don't get me wrong, Ball Of Wax was never my favourite and was pretty dull but I did enjoy the ghost doing a tap dance. Instead it was replaced by a song called You Gotta Let Go sung by three ghosts. But hey, whatever, it was a better song anyway. Anyone remember I Can't Breathe? Where Sam had this nervous breakdown and sang a little song with projections of his screaming face all around? Well, it's gone. I mean, okay, again it wasn't the best song. But it did make sense. On tour we got Sam screaming some Unchained Melody lyrics with a screaming face and that was it. Weird. Bring back I Can't Breathe. Now for my biggest issue with the songs. WHAT HAPPENED TO LIFE TURNS ON A DIME?! That song was perfect using lines from the film in the lyrics it really worked! Well the song was still called that. However what he sang was more a Here Right Now reprise and it was very strange. I didn't like that at all. May have just been me but I'm sure the arrangement of More was changed too but at least it was still there.

Projections. At the Piccadilly Theatre I loved these. I was a little unsure to start with as I thought maybe they might be trying too hard but once Here Right Now was over I was already in love. The ones at Leeds Grand I was not as keen on. For some bits I still completely agreed but I felt almost as if they were trying too hard with them and there was maybe too many projections? Especially the sex one being repeated over and over. I don't remember that happening in London. Also the moment of Sam walking through the door was not handled as well. This time it was obvious how he did it where in London I was completely baffled. On this small note of set, let me just mention how much I missed the conveyor belts. I understand you can't keep installing them in theatres but they just added something extra before. Especially to the dance routines.

Another small note about script changes. Now these were very little things that I just didn't understand...first was the transition into Here Right Now had changed. I know that in London I did find it funny as Molly did a kind of "Wait.....here right now, here right now..." which was kind of strange but this time she just started singing whilst they were talking. Plus the mic levels weren't quite right to start with so you could still hear Sam and Carl talking over her quite loudly! The other is the address of Willie Lopez. Again this is a very small thing. In the London version (and on the soundtrack) his address is at Prospect Place but on the current tour it is Lennox Avenue. Why? We'll never know.

A good weep and a shock. In London I received both these things. Perhaps it was simply because it was the first time I had seen it (apart from the film) but I feel effects wise it was done better in London. First issue is Carl's death. In London, Oda Mae lay over the body for a little while so when Carl's ghost gets up and runs you think Oda Mae has died yet on tour she fell straight off the body so it wasn't much of a shock. The 'weep' moment (won't go into too much detail for those who haven't seen it yet) of Sam dancing with Molly caused a gasp at the theatre in London as it was so unexpected yet on tour it was easy to see it coming (this wasn't just from my perspective, I took my mum and she worked it out was going to happen).

Casting. Ooooh, my favourite bit of all. The first thing for me to admit is that in Here Right Now on tour I was a little unimpressed by the three leads. For me, I think this is just because I was lucky enough to see Mark Evans, Siobhan Dillon and Andrew Langtree who were absolutely phenomenal. Once I got over this, I really enjoyed them! Especially David Roberts who was playing Carl. I found he was very connected with the character and the moments Carl was battling with himself were really readable and believable. Both Wendy Mae Brown and Sharon D Clarke were exceptional as Oda Mae and I couldn't have wished for better cast members there! Playing a role originally portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg is never going to be an easy task for anyone but they were great. I also really enjoyed Karlene Wray and Keisha Atwell as the assistants much more than the two in London. I felt these two put a lot more effort in.

I tried not to make this too long! Now don't see this all as criticism as the majority of the audience came out crying and my mum, having also seen it for the first time, was really impressed. Overall it is an incredible show and it is well worth seeing especially over and over again!

Ditto x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES

The Bodyguard, Adelphi Theatre, London, 20/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific date including understudies*
Cast
Rachel Marron - Heather Headley
Frank Farmer - Lloyd Owen
Nicki Marron - Janet Kumah
The Stalker - James Wooldridge
Tony Scibelli - Nicolas Colicos
Sy Spector - Sean Chapman
Bill Devaney - Ray Shell
Herb Farmer - Mark McKerracher
Ray Court - Oliver Le Sueur
Rory - Gareth Andrews
Fletcher - (Not Specified) Michael Matias/Malaki Paul/Joshua-James Thomas

Ensemble
Jordan Darrell
Shanay Holmes
Holly James
Robert Jezek
Gil Kolirin
Nicholas Maude
Ashley-Jordan Packer
Dharmesh Patel
Lucinda Shaw

You'll all be pleased to know that this will be a rather short review as....I really really enjoyed it. There, I said it! So let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

I very nearly wet myself. Okay, so this sounds rather strange out of context, I know. But it is simply because the show has no overture or dimming of the lights to prepare you for the opening. Instead, the show started so abruptly making all the audience jump around a foot in the air and then laugh through the opening of the show. Not cool, guys. However, it worked at getting our attention. And, no, I won't tell you how the show started, you'll have to see it yourself.

The humour was spot on. I laughed as hard as I did the first time I saw 'Avenue Q' (obviously not all the way through) as all the comedy was so well timed and so well placed. The comic timing of Sean Chapman as Sy was particularly brilliant so that when he walked on stage you automatically knew the spirit of the scene just by his stance. The amount of innuendo was fantastic as well used in a way the entire audience would crack up including phrases like, "What's got into her?" - Nicki: "Her bodyguard" with the timing of the response absolutely perfect.

Casting. Just, woah. I was lucky enough (as told at the bus stop afterwards) to have Tony Award Winner Heather Headley playing the lead of Rachel Marron. Now, having seen her perform on the Olivier Awards this year it is safe to say I was less than impressed but seeing her this time round her presence filled the stage and her voice was like nothing I'd ever heard. Seriously impressive performance. We had the understudy for Nicki Marron, Janet Kumah, and if she was the understudy, God only knows what the main was like! Kumah was fantastic. The character was well understood, the voice was incredible and the chemistry between Kumah and Headley as sisters was believable. On the subject of understudies, James Wooldridge was a really convincing stalker (sounds awful, I know) and the sense of fear when he appeared on stage proves my point! Despite hardly speaking, he still managed to make an impression. Lloyd Owen, from reading his bio in the programme, should go without saying on his performance. On a comedy aspect and understanding of the character it was a job well done. Especially as before the finale, he was required to speak about Help For Heroes and he immediately said "Don't worry, I'm not going to sing again" referring to his earlier performance of I Will Always Love You. Priceless.

One negative point. Perhaps due to me never having seen the film, a lot of the plot points were never tied up including the motive of the stalker and what pulled him to Rachel Marron in particular.

Generals to conclude. The set was outstanding, the projections were well used although possibly overused at times and the soundtrack was to die for. Considering what an influential artist Whitney Houston was, it was better that this wasn't done as a standard jukebox as using 'The Bodyguard' meant it already had a plot and music to fit the story.

We will always love you, Whitney x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES

We Will Rock You - 10th Anniversary Arena Tour, Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, 1/6/2013

*Cast list correct to specific date including understudies*
Cast

Galileo - MiG Ayesa

Scaramouche - Lauren Samuels

Killer Queen - Brenda Edwards

Khashoggi - Sean Kingsley

Britney - Rolan Bell

Meat - Lucie Jones

Pop - Kevin Kennedy

Teacher - Chloë Brooks

Rebel Leader - Dean Read

Ensemble

Ashley Cooper

Michelle Crook

James Alexander Gibbs

Grace Holdstock

Matt Holland

Waylon Jacobs

Matthew Jeans

Antony Lawrence

Alice Mogg

Aaron Ashley Parker

Kane Oliver Parry

Stephanie Powell

Micha Richardson

Catriana Sandison

Danielle Steers

Sasha Wareham

Emily Whitehead

Now, before I throw myself into this review, let me hold up my hands and admit i'm not actually a big fan of juke box musicals. Having said that, I have actually seen, and really enjoyed, 'Jersey Boys' on Broadway so I decided that maybe I shouldn't judge before I see! So when my friend asked if I wanted to go to the arena tour, being a Queen fan, I thought "why ever not". So here we are. This brings me very nicely to my first point...

The songs often seem to appear at random. Now, I am not insulting all of the soundtrack placement here. For example, I Want To Break Free, Under Pressure and Seven Seas Of Rhye are among the songs that did fit into the story and supported plot points. On the other hand, Fat Bottomed Girls, Who Wants To Live Forever and No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) were not particularly necessary despite all being incredible songs. Considering that to Queen fans No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) is a very important song as an ode to Freddie Mercury, I feel it could have been placed better rather than The Bohemians saying "All the best stars died young..." then listing many late performers.

Lighting. Arena lighting really is something else. During the overture, the lighting was so incredible that I could have seen Queen themselves walking onto that stage which was clearly the desired effect so, on that front, well played. As with everything though, a couple of negatives. One being that there was absolutely no warnings for the several strobe lights that were used during the show. Lucky for us there were no accidents but some people may not have been so lucky. My second negative is actually a personal peeve...there was UV lighting on the audience throughout the show. I was wearing a white t-shirt. This meant I was rather distracted during the show and, in the end, had to put my hoodie on as my eyes were hurting. Not cool.

Casting. Always my favourite bit to talk about! Firstly, I thought MiG Ayesa was absolutely fantastic. Such a perfect casting as Galileo as his energy never faltered throughout the performance and his vocal performance never suffered as a result of his stamina. I especially enjoyed his performances toward the end as his voice never sounded too far from Freddie's and his understanding of the songs was spot on. As the performance went on, I began to enjoy Lauren Samuels' portrayal of Scaramouche more and more. When she performed Somebody To Love at the start I really wasn't so sure but she stepped up and grew as the character grew and I then found myself loving her. Kevin Kennedy as Pop was brilliant. I have not seen such a perfect casting since seeing Killian Donnelly play Raoul in 'The Phantom Of The Opera'. I find the 'star' often lets the cast down so I was quite sceptical about seeing Kennedy on this tour but I was very pleasantly surprised. He really seemed to understand the character and his comic timing was faultless. This is the bit I never like so much. I really enjoyed when Lucie Jones (of 'X Factor' fame) sand No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) but aside from that, I found her character of Meat rather two dimensional and when she wasn't bouncing off Rolan Bell she was rather flat. Speaking of Bell, as Britney, my friend pointed out (he has knowledge of the musical) that his voice was actually too high for the role. He also had a Jamaican accent during his acting parts but lost that during the song. Ensemble as usual, I loved you. Arlene Phillips (of 'Strictly Come Dancing' fame) did an outstanding job with the dance routines. So simple but so effective especially in the routines set in Cyberspace. Very quickly to credit Brenda Edwards. Not much to say but wow, what a voice. Spectacular performance.

Finally, the Arena itself. Firstly, I felt this show wasn't as built for and Arena tour as I expected especially as Sheffield Motorpoint has a smaller stage than you would see in a West End theatre. Also, I was at a matinee show. Being in an arena, this didn't really pull off too well as it was possibly only half full at most. The mix levels of vocal alongside the band weren't sorted out until a fair way through the first act which meant a lot was missed near the start. Lastly, there was no "Welcome to the Motorpoint Arena, may we remind you that all mobile phones should be switched off and flash photography is not permitted". This meant many audience members were taking flash photos ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SHOW. That frove me up the wall.

So there you have it! Sorry for another lengthy post. I did find this experience extremely enjoyable and would definitely see the show again! 

We'll remember forever x

WOULD YOU WATCH THIS AGAIN: YES
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: YES

Up Coming Reviews....

So I thought I would give you all a little taster of what is coming up over the next few months!!

• We Will Rock You 10th Anniversary Tour - 1st June, Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
• The Bodyguard, 20th June, London
• Ghost The Musical Tour (with comparison to the previous West End production), 21st June, Leeds Grand Theatre
• Les Miserables (with comparison to the film), London
• Wicked Tour (with comparison to the May 2012 and February 2013 West End casts), Manchester/Leeds

So there you go! I will try my very best to keep them interesting and truthful!

So I was in the paper....

To prove that I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to theatre (or maybe I don't....) here is a recent article I was in. Enjoy! =)

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/theatre-reviews/superfans-grab-wicked-seats-for-leeds-show-1-5612126#.UXg4STU-o-s.facebook

A little promotion....

Firstly......
www.altmaguk.net

"Here at Alt:Mag, we are determined to create the best magazine possible for those whose interests may fall on what might be seen as the less conventional side of life, away from what could perhaps be considered 'normal'. 

We love to write about a huge number of things, including: internet culture, music, gaming, anime, movies, television, life issues and much much more!"

Secondly.....interested in creative writing and upcoming talent? Check out this one too =)

the-story-of-a-book.blogspot.co.uk

Enjoy =)

RENT - 20th Anniversary Concert, Manchester Opera House, 25/4/2013

*Cast list correct to specific date including understudies*
Cast
Mimi - Kerry Ellis
Roger - Rory Taylor
Mark - Paul Ayres
Maureen - Nikki Davis-Jones
Collins - Leon Lopez
Joanne - Jemma Alexander
Angel - Ian Stroughair
Benny - Kenny Thompson

Ensemble
Beth Humphries
Katie Bernstein
David Hinton-Gale
Tim Prottey Jones
Joel Harper-Jackson

Having loved the musical 'Rent' for a fair while now this sounded right up my street! Starring Kerry Ellis (of 'We Will Rock You' and 'Wicked' fame) as Mimi and Rory Taylor (ITV "Superstar") as Roger. So, it's a concert right? You automatically expect what the 'Les Miserables' concert was like where they wore the costumes but just sang the songs. I did wonder how they would do that with 'Rent' which brings me very nicely to my first observation.

The show was confused. Now, I sit down and I see what looked like proper cast members running around doing a proper performance of 'Rent'. Don't get me wrong, I was quite happy, I mean having missed it on Broadway and being too young whilst it was in London's West End , I had been absolutely dying to see it!

Nerves. Being a performer myself (and also having been in 'Rent') I do understand how difficult it can be especially on opening night. However, Paul Ayres, who was playing the narrator Mark, appeared to be so nervous he messed up many lines in the first act. My personal favourite was instead of "I'll see you at the show, I'll try and convince Roger to go" he sang, "I'll see you at the show, I'll try and convince Maureen and Roger to go". Considering the show he was referring to was Maureen's protest.....yeah, you can see my point. Having said all that, Ayres made a fantastic Mark. The voice was there and the right emotions in the songs and considering Mark has the most lines in the show he kept his energy up and really made a different in Act 2. Now, I'm not just crucifying Ayres here. Kenny Thompson, playing Benny, was supposed to sing, "Your new boyfriend doesn't know about us" and I have no idea what actually came out of his mouth. It was a noise that didn't even replicate how that sentence would sound! I think what happened is he forgot to come in at the right time and that threw him.

If you're going to have film projections, make them relevant. I am all for projections during shows. I mean I loved 'Ghost: The Musical' and we used projections in our own version of 'Rent'. But only when they were needed....the issue was I often found myself watching the projection instead of what was happening so in I'll Cover You (Reprise) I didn't get emotional (which I normally do) because I was watching what was happening on the screen. Yet, in Finale A and Finale B where sections of Mark's film are supposed to be shown, nothing happened. Hm.

Casting. Before I start here I am not personally slating ANYBODY. One issue was the cast size was only 13 rather than 16. Doesn't sound a massive issue right? But in regards to harmonies and harmonies working, there was often far too little cast members to make it really hit. Rory Taylor, playing Roger, also didn't seem like he had done character research. Considering this was a "concert" I understand that but at least do a little?? It made One Song Glory lose a fair bit of meaning. Now before I say this, I love Kerry Ellis I REALLY REALLY do but she was too old to be playing Mimi. In Light My Candle they even cut out the bit where Roger sings "You look like you're sixteen" and she replies, "I'm nineteen" because I guess she couldn't pass for either. Vocally, however, she was fantastic.

Songs. What did they do to them?! Large chunks were cut out of most numbers. In a concert senario I could understand. But anyone in there who hadn't known the story would have been so confused. Like Contact. That annoyed me. I understand it's a sex scene and the only appropriate bit is Angel's death but the dialogue because of that sex scene is then important when it gets to Goodbye Love. If I hadn't known the show I would have been like "When did they break up?!"

Ensemble. I am an ensemble girl myself. I love a great ensemble. And, the shame was, this ensemble were fantastic! I mean such drive and such talent! So why did the director cut pretty much all of the ensemble parts? All the songs important for the ensemble like Christmas Bells and even On The Street were trimmed down so much they ended up being nothing. And in the programme? They're all down under "ensemble" so I can't even praise the individuals that shone because I don't even know whose who. Sort it out.

Finally, credit where credit is due. Looks like all I've done is critisise! But, in fact, this is always my favourite part to write. First things first, Nikki Davis-Jones playing Maureen. I had already seen her playing Elphaba in 'Wicked' back in May 2012 and absolutely loved her but as Maureen? She made the rest of the cast look dead on their feet. She was PHENOMENAL. Maureen is not an easy part to play vocally or physically but wow, what a performance. Another particularly difficult role is Angel but Ian Stroughair (from my hometown of York) was a sensation. Aside from being out of breath after Today 4 U (who wouldn't be?!) such stamina and personality! The death sequence in Contact was complete perfection. Bravo! Now, unfortuantely, I don't know this guys name. He played Gordon in Life Support and was Soloist #2 in Seasons Of Love. Just, wow. That voice was something special. And you always noticed him in a group scene because he had such stage presence. (I later found out this is Tim Prottey-Jones, on Twitter as @TimProtteyJones)

Sorry for such a lengthy post.

No day but today x

WOULD YOU SEE THIS AGAIN: ONLY TO SEE IF IT IMPROVED
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND: NO