Week in Review - Les Mis vs Phantom!

With Les Miserables celebrating its 25^th anniversary last year and The Phantom of the Opera celebrating the same this year, these two shows are undoubtedly the powerhouses of the West End. The ‘mum and dad of musical theatre’ (I’ll leave you to decide which is which!) are leading the way, after all; there’s a reason they have been around for a quarter of a century with no sign of their popularity waning…

So it was a good week for me as I had a little taste of both!

This past Tuesday, I finally got myself along to the Queens theatre to see the now not-so-new cast of Les Miserables. En-route however, we heard that Alfie Boe would be off that night due to illness. It’s become somewhat of a running joke that every time I go to the theatre with The Mother, the lead isn’t on; it happened the same way the first time we went along to Love Never Dies as well.

Of course, the rumblings of discourse could be heard as soon as we got to the theatre. I enjoy Boe’s voice, but having already seen his performance in the Les Mis 25^th concert and heard him sing Bring Him Home a dozen-odd times since then, I confess to not being overly disappointed at his absence – although I’m sure he would have been wonderful. Having heard many positive things about the alternate JVJ, Jonathan Williams, I was actually rather pleased to have the chance to see him for myself.

Many of you will recall the furore of a few months back, concerning the letters sent into the stage by theatre-goers who were unhappy at ‘settling’ for an understudy/alternate instead of the lead they were expecting. If you were one of those who complained, then I would suggest you take a little trip down to the Queens theatre one Monday night to see Williams’ performance; perfect example to dispel such nonsensical thinking!

Sat in the second row of the stalls, I had an up-close and personal experience of Williams’ Valjean and he quite simply blew me away. Williams possesses a powerfully emotive voice and makes for a very strong Valjean, perfectly capturing his growth from convict to man of redemption. His Bring Him Home was just outstanding… Within moments of him appearing on the stage, the inevitable comparisons to Boe were forgotten by the audience as Williams swept them up in the character and the story and if the volume and length of the standing ovation he received at the end is anything to go by, not one person in that theatre went home harbouring the intention to write off to The Stage…

This is a personal theatre blog, not a review site, so I’m not inclined to do a full blow-by-blow stripping down of the production and cast. It made a nice change to just go along and watch purely for my own enjoyment. It says something about the quality of the show and its cast actually, that I didn’t feel the usual itch to have a pen and pad in my hands. I will say though, that this is a very strong cast full of ridiculously talented people! Caroline Sheen, Lisa Anne Wood, Liam Tamne, Alexia Khadime and, of course, Matt Lucas are all brilliant additions to this iconic show and I was particularly impressed by Craig Mathers; especially with this being his first job out of MTA. I’m sure he has big things ahead of him.

For me though, the other person who stole the show along with Jonathan Williams was the ever-charismatic Hadley Fraser. He brings a menacing intensity to the character of Javert, to the point where The Mother whispered how he seemed ‘almost evil’. Fraser is a truly committed actor and absolutely commands the stage; he has perfectly tapped into the conflict that rages within Javert, between his unflinching conviction in the power of the law and his encounters with Jean Valjean. Of course, he also has an outstanding voice to back it all up - those who may only know him from his Sheytoons gigs with Ramin Karimloo will be taken aback by it. His rendition of Stars was one of the best I’ve ever heard, just stunning. Fraser has been somewhat of an underrated talent in the past, and I for one hope that now people will start to realise just how good he really is.

Don’t overlook the supporting cast either! There are some names in there that really stood out for me and I can guarantee that you’ll be seeing some of them in leading roles one day very soon…

It’s a sign of a good musical that as soon as it’s over, you want to see it again! Les Miserables is of course, a big melodramatic production – which I just love. You don’t make it 25 years without having something very special and Les Mis certainly does, but with a cast as strong as this, it just got that little bit extra special…

Two days later, it was all about The Phantom of the Opera however. No, not the production (although I am long overdue for a visit to Her Majesty’s), but A COMPLICATED LOVE: The West End Cast of The Phantom of the Opera in Cabaret. If you follow me on Twitter (@MissJulie25) then you can’t have failed to miss my endless promo tweets for this over the last month or so. The cast of Phantom came together in their 25^th year to help out the MADTrust charity, now in their 21^st year! All profits from the night went to the MADTrust Hardship Fund, helping those within the entertainment industry who are suffering from a long-term illness. If you were there, then you’ll already know just what a fantastic night it was.

I actually headed to the Delfont Rooms in the afternoon for the dress rehearsal – which is to say, I sat eating M&Ms with fellow MADTrusters, Christian and Jane, as a makeshift audience while the Phantom cast did all the work! We did do some actual work back in the MADtrust office afterwards though. J

The whole team for the night arrived back at the Delfont Rooms during the second act of Mamma Mia to set everything up for cabaret. We had a branding board, a table chock-full of MADTrust flyers, pins and programmes (and a donation bucket of course) and a whole book of raffle tickets to sell, which I and my friend Anna mercilessly proceeded to do. Perhaps it was my impressive selling technique that persuaded people to dip into their pockets, but more likely it was the chance to win themselves either two tickets to West End Bares (3^rd), two tickets to the Garden Party (2^nd) or a framed Phantom poster, signed by the whole cast (1^st). I did enjoy being the ‘promo-girl’ during the draw though, smiling winsomely and gesturing towards the prizes displayed in my hands… everyone’s done that at some point right?

On a serious note, it was wonderful to see so many people turning up to support the cast and the charity, including the soon-to-be alternate Phantom, Simon Shorten and a couple of Les Misers (Matt Lucas, Scott Garnham, Carl Mullaney, Craig Mathers) – although I’m sure they were just there to check out the cabaret competition, right guys?

Having already had my sneak peek at the dress rehearsal, I already knew that this was going to be a brilliant night for all involved. There was a great mix of material in there, from hilarious ‘character’ songs to beautiful ballads, all taken from an array of musicals. It was nice to see they weren’t all the usual obvious choices too. Us MADTrusters were laughing our heads off at We’re Just Friends (I Love You Because), What Am I Doing (Closer Than Ever) and Runaround Sue, but the funniest one of the night had to be Wendy Ferguson with To Keep My Love Alive (A Connecticut Yankee). Just brilliant… The heart-rending duet Touch My Soul (Bare) was another highlight of the night, as was the HOT El Tango De Roxanne (Moulin Rouge), which of course included some very steamy moves from some of the ballet chorus of Phantom. The all-female first half closer, You’re My World/All I See Is You and the all-male second half opener, And So It Goes were simply sumptuous;  truly music to the ears.  We also had an original number, written by two of the Phantom cast, Will Barratt and Nadim Naaman: Complicated Love, featuring all the cast members was wonderfully written; both beautiful and wittily amusing. A fabulous effort.

The whole night was a huge success. Everyone there went home with a smile on their faces, including us MADTrusters. The MADTrust cause is a deeply important and meaningful one, but when we can raise much-needed funds for our cause in such a fun and enjoyable manner, it’s a great thing. And really, it’s just what The Make A Difference Trust is all about. Some give to charity because they feel obliged, some do it out of guilt (of course, some do it because they genuinely want to help, I’m not altogether cynical!) – how nice it is to give to a charity, knowing that not only are you supporting them, but getting a great day/night in return for it… J

So a huge thank you to all of the cast members of The Phantom of the Opera who gave so much of their time to us and did such a phantastic job with it. I genuinely love being a part of MADTrust and I feel so lucky to be able to involve myself in nights such as these. A lot goes on behind the scenes with every MADTrust event, and it’s always lovely to see the fruits of your labour pay off so abundantly.  

With Les Miserables and the Phantom cabaret, it really has been a pretty good week for me; for both those reasons and more. In August, there’s only more good things ahead too! There is of course, the MADTrust Garden Party on the 21^st and who could forget the SimG Productions SUMMER WITH…. cabaret season? Kicking off with Annalene Beechey and Rebecca Lock on the 14^th, it moves onto ‘The Composers’ night, with Dougal Irvine, Lawrence Mark Wythe, Tim Sutton and Grant Olding and featuring guests Samantha Barks, George Ure and Stephen Ashfield on the 21^st and wrapping up with Jack Shalloo and Friends, of whom he has gathered Beth Morrissey, Jonathan Eio, Spesh Maloney and Gina Beck on the 28^th.

I will be at all of these and I sincerely hope some of you will be too! So get your tickets and join me for a wonderful Summer of Fun!

Remember…create, love, inspire!

Miss Julie

Take a look at the MADTrust website for details of the Garden Party and our other events coming up this year.

To book tickets for one or all of the SimG Production’s SUMMER WITH… cabarets, click HERE – you can book all three for £30, saving yourself £7.50 (which you could put towards a ticket for a MADTrust event?) J

The Ups and Downs of Theatre-Life

Editor John Roberts started The Public Reviews in 2006: the theatre review site ‘for you, by you’.  Using a team of dedicated volunteer reviewers, John has built the site into a trusted and significant player in the reviewing-game - the growth of TPR in just four years is an admirable feat; one which has been achieved through hard-work, unwavering commitment and a love of theatre.

The site receives nearly half a million hits per month and is regularly invited to review all manners of theatre, both on and off-West End, with many of our reviews having been quoted on show posters and websites. We’ve also run interviews with a number of big-name actors/actresses, such as Rebecca Caine, and are always being contacted by theatre companies/individuals who contact our site looking for promotional interviews or articles. The name of The Public Reviews is a well-known one now and is gaining more and more recognition every day – so the news last week that TPR has not been given Press accreditation for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival is astounding!

John Roberts wrote a blog post detailing his disappointment at the decision of the Ed Fringe Media Accreditation Team (MAT). I highly recommend you take a look at it - HERE – and if you wanted to leave a message of support for TPR, we would very much appreciate it. Theatre companies whom we have reviewed/interviewed have shown their support, as have a great number of TPR’s followers too.

Personally, I feel it is extremely short-sighted of MAT to not offer TPR accreditation. We were also denied it in 2010 and to this day, have still not received a clear answer as to just why that is. Taking into account everything I have mentioned already about TPR, what is it that makes it so ‘inappropriate’ to offer us accreditation?

For those who are not aware, I have been writing for The Public Reviews for six months now as one of the Features Writers, covering articles, reviews and interviews – so I know first-hand just how well thought-of the site is. John regularly forwards me e-mails he has received, asking for an interview, a feature article or a review of their show and, I personally, am constantly inundated with similar requests. People come to us because they accept and welcome us as a valued theatre site, which is why it saddens me that the MAT still does not: after all, isn’t Ed Fringe all about being accepting and welcoming? ‘Open to everyone’! Well, clearly, not everyone it seems…

I would urge you to read some of the messages of supports we have received on John’s blog, it is overwhelming how much positive feedback TPR has received regarding this issue. From people whose first stop for reviews is our site, to theatre companies who find our reviews so important to their work, everyone has echoed the incredulity at our situation and is behind us all the way, for which I would like to take the opportunity to now thank each and every one of them. It’s truly heart-warming to see and just reaffirms our determination to go to Ed Fringe, accreditation or not.

There was one comment there however I’d like to address here:

“I’m not saying the contribution of TPR isn’t valuable. Just that it seems inconsistent for a site – the very premise of which is the participation of amateur reviewers and “the public” – to get upset because it is being denied VIP treatment.”

First off – we are hardly asking for VIP treatment. A review site which is regularly invited to review all the major West End shows – as well as hundreds of Fringe theatre productions – alongside the other accredited critics should surely be extended the same courtesy, wouldn’t you agree? Why are we being singled out here – that is our issue…

It seems ‘Sans Taste’ believes it is our amateur reviewers which may be the reason. As part of the TPR writing team, it does rile me when our efforts are looked upon in a negative and dismissive manner and to be honest, I find it insulting. Every person who writes for TPR has had to submit examples of work (to a high enough standard) to be accepted. We all share a love of theatre; we know theatre and how to write about it and just because we are giving our time voluntarily, it doesn’t mean we are incapable of critical reviewing that stands up there with that of The Guardian, The Independent, The Stage and so forth.

Two of my biggest passions in life are theatre and writing, and being able to combine the two by writing for TPR is something I am very grateful and thankful for. I am not someone who cares to blow my own trumpet and you will never find anyone more critical of my work than me, but you know what; I am good at what I do – if I didn’t believe that then I’d have no business writing in the first place. People approach me to write for them, so I must be doing something right! J The point is; having voluntary reviewers write for TPR does not make it any less entitled to the same treatment other review publications receive.

So, with my self-righteous indignation dissipated, I’ll lay the subject to rest for now by asking once again for any help you can give in supporting The Public Reviews. We are here to stay and are only going to get bigger and better with every coming year, so come along for the journey and help us prove to Ed Fringe MAT that their decision was wrong!

On a happier note, I was at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane this Wednesday for the showcase of a new musical, PLAYBACK. Having already heard the premise and the demo recording, I must admit I was rather keen to take a look and see how it was coming along.

Written by Paul Rayfield, PLAYBACK is a satirical take on the ‘trailer trash’ daytime TV shows (think Jeremy Kyle and you’re on the right track!): a callous, self-obsessed presenter, outlandish paternity claims – with the obligatory lie detector tests – and plenty of behind-the-scenes dramas… Here, the audience of the musical are also the TV audience within the show, encouraged to participate in the action.

Being a showcase, we only get a taste of PLAYBACK -it’s very easy to see just how good it will be when staged as a full-on production however. The dialogue is witty and has a great back-and-forth rhythm between the characters, while the songs are fun, upbeat numbers to get the audience going. Designed to be catchy and memorable, they certainly achieve this (Café Caipirinha – Sarah Lark – Owain Williams).

Simon Greiff of SimG Productions directs (and also produced the recording through SimG Records) while MD AnneMarie Lewis Thomas of the MTA can take credit for the arrangements. A number of her MTA students did an excellent job providing backing vocals and the main cast (Jon-Paul Hevey; Graham Bickley; Anita Louise Combe; Peter Duncan; Sarah Lark and Owain Williams) were simply brilliant.

I thoroughly enjoyed PLAYBACK and am looking forward to seeing how it progresses from here. Being in the developmental stage, there are, of course, elements that still need work, but a showcase isn’t about presenting a complete, polished production: the purpose is to, well…showcase what you do have; offer an early glimpse of the production and give the audience a chance to see the backbone of the model. The PLAYBACK showcase introduced us to the characters, the songs, and the story and provided a clear view of what it’s all about. I can easily picture how it would come across on stage, backed up with the sets and costumes and technical additions…hopefully, something we’ll all be able to see for ourselves soon enough!

The team are working towards staging an Off-West End run of PLAYBACK in 2012 and are currently looking for backers to support them in this aim. After my sneak-peek at the musical, I for one wish them all nothing but good luck in this endeavour and am confident that they can make this happen. It’s a fun, good-feel musical that entertains enormously and I would love for others to experience it.

You can check out the website www.playbackthemusical.com for all PLAYBACK news and hey, if you were a lucky Euromillions winner this week, you could always throw a little in their direction? ;)

I couldn’t end things here without mentioning MADTrust’s presence at London’s Gay Pride on Saturday. Myself, along with Trust Director Steven Inman, my lovely friends Anna and Jo and a few new volunteers, joined in the parade to highlight the charity and its support, as well as raise some awareness for our September event, West End Bares. We handed out almost five thousand flyers that day and all involved had a fabulous time! We laughed, we made some nice new friends and some of us even got hugs (not me though. Sad face)! I can’t stress enough just what a lovely bunch of people the MADTrust team are – I am so proud to be a part of it as, along with the fantastic and inspiring work we do, I have found some life-long friends through it all. I absolutely love being involved with them – the more the better!

It’s been a week of ups and downs in theatre circle, but hard work, a great product – be it a new musical or a website – and a little bit of faith can go a long way: if you have all of these things, you’re bound to get to where you want to be. The bumps in the road just make it all the more worthwhile when you finally get there. J

Remember…create, love inspire!

Miss Julie

Viva New Writing!

For a London girl who doesn’t live in London, life can be frustrating. I grew up in London, but moved away almost ten years ago yet, like most first loves, I’ve never really gotten over Her…

This is why I’ve been trying to come home to the Big Smoke. I had a place lined up and arrangements were being made – then today I found out that it’s all fallen through. Fiddlesticks. I walked out on London and I guess She still hasn’t forgiven me…but when it’s true love, you don’t take no for an answer! I’ve already found another two properties who are interested, so fingers crossed it will all go well and I’ll win Her over through the summer holidays.

My love of London aside, it really is difficult living at the other end of the M20 when everything you write about revolves around (mostly) West End theatre: I much prefer interviewing face-to-face, but often have to conduct them as phoners or through email; I have to work out reviewing gigs around when I’m in town and have had to turn down invites to various theatre-related events more than I like because travelling makes attending unfeasible. Take tonight for instance: I was invited along to Soho Theatre tonight as a guest of cabaret act, Late Night Gimp Fight - they just started a two-week run there and tonight is their Press Night – but had to turn them down as I can’t make to up to London and back tonight. Hardly ideal. So I truly cannot wait to get back to London, for reasons of both business and pleasure which, as luck would have it, often mix! J

Of course, there are some events in London which are quite simply un-missable; last Friday’s was one of them. I would hope that most theatre-fans know as to what I’m referring, but if you’ve just emerged from that rock you’ve been living under, then you may be unaware that last Friday 24^th June was the night Scott Alan and Friends came to town.

If you haven’t heard of Scott Alan, the truly brilliant American composer/lyricist, then you’re reading the wrong blog my friends. My readers (hopefully) know by now that I am a big advocate for the support of new writing and it is because of people like Scott Alan that I am so. I really hope you own, or have heard, at least one of his albums because Scott is an extremely talented song-writer.

You may have read my previous blog on creativity. If you have, you may also recall what I wrote about creativity and expression. If you haven’t read it, or just found what I write to be unmemorable [ ;) ], then let me enlighten you as to what it said:

“Creativity is a gift we are given, the key to escaping the prison of our minds. It allows us to express those thoughts and feelings which we cannot always voice: an artist uses a brush; a writer uses the pen; a musician uses an instrument; a dancer uses their body…

Whatever the tool, it works as a release. We put a piece of ourselves into every creation and in doing so, free ourselves.”

Scott Alan is one of those creative people who would understand just what I was trying to say here. He pours himself into his music - every note he plays, and every lyric he sings, comes straight from the heart. Scott completely bares his soul, sharing intimate thoughts and feelings that offer his listeners a glimpse into moments of his life; sometimes beautiful and sometimes heart-breaking, but always honest. It’s this honesty which allows you to connect with his songs so deeply. Scott has said himself that music is like therapy for him and, although it sounds rather trite, you really do go on a journey with every song.

The Scott Alan concert was a rather last-minute affair, taking advantage of his last night in London before returning to New York. It was held at the Jermyn Street Theatre which is…cosy, to say the least! It was the perfect venue for Scott’s ‘Living Room concert’ however. The night was put together by Simon Greiff of SimG Productions; a very close friend of Scott who, as he said himself, has been instrumental in getting him known here in the UK. It was a wonderful night full of laughter, friends some special moments…and talking. Lots of talking. Lots and lots of talking. To anyone who knows him, this will come as no surprise; Scott Alan is an incredibly warm and funny man and possesses that extraordinary quality (I refuse to call it an X-factor!) which makes you like him instantaneously.

It wasn’t called Scott Alan and Friends for nothing, by the way. Some of Scott’s dearest friends joined him to sing a selection of his songs: Annalene Beechey, Mark Evans, Ashleigh Gray, Stuart Matthew Price, Cassie McIvor and Bradley Whitedale. I’m not writing this to review, so I’ll just say that it was a wonderful night, with stunning songs and gorgeous voices and that I’m very glad I was there to be a part of it – which I very nearly wasn’t actually. I was too slow on the uptake when tickets went on sale it managed to sell out in a number of hours, before I’d had a chance to get mine. Luckily for me, a friend of mine helped me out at last minute (thanks again for that lovely! x). It was lovely to finally meet Scott after admiring his work for so long and when he next returns to our shores, I’ll look forward to seeing him again.

I must say, this seems to have been the week for new writing. Along with Scott Alan’s appearance, London also held host to another new writing event this week: The 2011 Tim Williams Awards. This is the fourth year the Awards - created in memory of the late Musical Director, Tim Williams - have taken place, being held this year at The Cochrane Theatre. It celebrates the art of composing British theatrical song - specifically those using lyrics from established sources that were not originally intended to be sung. The Sunday event saw twenty two British composers submitting original work, and was won by our very own Stuart Matthew Price! His song, Stories of Heroes, features on the SimG Records’ produced album, Beyond The Gate and, in case you were wondering, this is the only place you can hear it so; if you wanted to own it, why not click on this handy link to the SimG Productions website  and get yourself a copy?! ;)

I really am very pleased for Stuart – he is a talented writer in possession of a delectable voice and I look forward to hearing more from him in the future. Events like the TWA are so important to new writers such as Stuart. There are not always a lot of opportunities or support out there for them, so having the chance for a wide audience to hear their work is a fantastic thing. There needs to be more platforms like this for new writing to be heard so that these originally creative people are not passed-by.

Next week, the theme of new writing continues for me. Next Wednesday, I’ve been invited along to an Investors Showcase of a new musical that is currently in development by the show’s director, who is a friend of mine. It is an ‘interesting’ premise and, from what I’ve heard of some of the songs on the demo recording, it’s going to be a very entertaining 70 minutes. I shall of course, fill you all in more next week, but this is one I am rather excited about: I was very pleased to be asked along and I’m very keen to see how it’s all coming together. Viva new writing!

Remember…create, love, inspire!

Miss Julie