London Theater Update
Some of our most recent theater outings have included these shows:
“Embers” starred Jeremy Irons in a tour-de-force performance. There were only three characters in the play and the other two, no doubt, had no problem learning their parts as Irons spoke at least 95% of the time he was on stage – and he was on stage for the entire show. While he was excellent and is certainly a very able actor, the near-monologue became a bit dense and somewhat hard to stay involved with. Yet one had to admire the star’s performance.
“Night of the Iquana” starred Woody Harrelson, not a family favorite with either of us – but he gave a very fine performance. Overall, the show was definitely in our “very good” category. The newest musical put on at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Palace Theater is a revival of “Whistle Down the Wind”. It was a riveting and intellectually stimulating show that we liked much more than we expected to. (The popular song “No Matter What” was a major hit a few years ago for “Boyzone”.)
Two shows we found disappointing were “Fame”, a musical based on the movie and which has been playing for years in London; and “Movin’ Out”, the new review-style musical with songs by Billy Joel and choreography by Twyla Tharp. “Fame” was extremely loud and, we thought, unnecessarily raunchy; “Movin’ Out”, as a review, just became repetitious. Though the dancing was fantastic and we both like Billy Joel’s music, a steady stream of production numbers, with absolutely no dialogue or story, can actually begin to get boring.
By far the best of our recent theater events was “Sinatra Live at the Palladium”. Of course Frank has been dead for a number of years now, but this highly inventive, very hi-tech show, made him seem to be right there. It made major use of computer technology, digital editing of films and photos and very inventive staging to make the whole experience feel like “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was really with us. A live orchestra (on stage) and a great chorus of dancers were very effectively combined with multiple, ever-changing screens depicting Frank in live performances on film. The video was edited to remove the bands that were originally in the background, allowing the live band to substitute for them. There were some spectacular visual effects where a film of Frank singing was combined with a still photo of, for instance, Ava Gardner, reclining on a chaise lounge. As Frank moved in the film, his apparent shadow moved, receded and came closer, just as it really would, on the backdrop of Ava’s photo. You could have sworn they were actually in the same room. The pinnacle of the computer video effects came when he appeared to walk off the stage, walking behind Ava, while still remaining in front of the room’s back wall – even though the room was part of a 2-D still photo. Computer magic, show business pizzaz and great songs -- all-in-all a fantastic, “fantasy-intense” show.
Our enchantment with London theater continues. Stay tuned for future updates.
“Embers” starred Jeremy Irons in a tour-de-force performance. There were only three characters in the play and the other two, no doubt, had no problem learning their parts as Irons spoke at least 95% of the time he was on stage – and he was on stage for the entire show. While he was excellent and is certainly a very able actor, the near-monologue became a bit dense and somewhat hard to stay involved with. Yet one had to admire the star’s performance.
“Night of the Iquana” starred Woody Harrelson, not a family favorite with either of us – but he gave a very fine performance. Overall, the show was definitely in our “very good” category. The newest musical put on at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Palace Theater is a revival of “Whistle Down the Wind”. It was a riveting and intellectually stimulating show that we liked much more than we expected to. (The popular song “No Matter What” was a major hit a few years ago for “Boyzone”.)
Two shows we found disappointing were “Fame”, a musical based on the movie and which has been playing for years in London; and “Movin’ Out”, the new review-style musical with songs by Billy Joel and choreography by Twyla Tharp. “Fame” was extremely loud and, we thought, unnecessarily raunchy; “Movin’ Out”, as a review, just became repetitious. Though the dancing was fantastic and we both like Billy Joel’s music, a steady stream of production numbers, with absolutely no dialogue or story, can actually begin to get boring.
By far the best of our recent theater events was “Sinatra Live at the Palladium”. Of course Frank has been dead for a number of years now, but this highly inventive, very hi-tech show, made him seem to be right there. It made major use of computer technology, digital editing of films and photos and very inventive staging to make the whole experience feel like “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was really with us. A live orchestra (on stage) and a great chorus of dancers were very effectively combined with multiple, ever-changing screens depicting Frank in live performances on film. The video was edited to remove the bands that were originally in the background, allowing the live band to substitute for them. There were some spectacular visual effects where a film of Frank singing was combined with a still photo of, for instance, Ava Gardner, reclining on a chaise lounge. As Frank moved in the film, his apparent shadow moved, receded and came closer, just as it really would, on the backdrop of Ava’s photo. You could have sworn they were actually in the same room. The pinnacle of the computer video effects came when he appeared to walk off the stage, walking behind Ava, while still remaining in front of the room’s back wall – even though the room was part of a 2-D still photo. Computer magic, show business pizzaz and great songs -- all-in-all a fantastic, “fantasy-intense” show.
Our enchantment with London theater continues. Stay tuned for future updates.
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 5:43 PM
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