Album Review: Look Around (Eden Espinosa)

I not really a big fan of musical theatre performers attempting to produce cross-over “pop” songs or attempting to recording and market their own compositions or unusual musical (non-theatrical) preferences in a form of album. I strongly believe that musical theatre performers should stick to what they do best, which is musical theatre. There have been very few artists that have cross-over semi-success, namely I’m thinking of Idina Menzel’s Brave and Heather Headley’s (now on somewhat of a hold) R&B Grammy-winning albums, and Kerry Ellis’s Anthems, backed up by Brian May.

Which is why Eden Espinosa’s album, Look Around, is refreshing, simply because she knows her craft, and she executes it exceptionally well on this very focused album. Much to my pleasure, the album compromises mainly of musical theatre numbers, most of them quite well known, and some of them of shows that she has previously starred in. It has a very consistent sound to it, mainly fusing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, basic synths, drums and of course her power vocals.

Espinosa is mainly known to have been standby for Elphaba on Broadway, standing in for Idina Menzel during her original run. She eventually took over the role on and off on Broadway, on tour, in LA and in San Francisco. She also originated the role of Brooklyn in BKLYN The Musical, and was the last Maureen in the Broadway company of Rent. She draws songs from all of these three shows, arranged quite differently than their original orchestrations (“I’m Not That Girl” from Wicked, a very soft “Once Upon a Time” from BKLYN, and “One Song Glory”, typically sung by Roger in Rent). She also sings a beautiful and self-aware rendition of “I Know the Truth” from Aida, an upbeat “I Miss the Mountains” from Next to Normal, a rocked out “With You” from Ghost, and a heart breaking “Petrified” from Taboo.

The arrangements and style are simply, but exceptionally well produced. I wish other musical theatre artists would take their cue from Eden Espinosa’s extremely well thought of and beautifully arranged album and present to us simple works that best capture their capabilities and talents.

Buy it on iTunes!

Retrospective Review: Finding Neverland (Leicester, 3 October 2012)

I set out to meet my cousin in Sheffield right after catching the matinee of Finding Neverland. So I arrived early from my train to London, and much to my surprise was told that the matinee I was attending was canceled and was replaced by an early evening press performance. Although I would have normally kicked and screamed, the staff at Leicester Theatre was quite apologetic and offered to bump me up to the press night and give me a substitute mezzanine seat, and refund the difference that I have originally forked out for a very prominent seat in the stalls.

I happy obliged, called my cousin and summoned him to Leicester for a meal and coffee before the show began at 6.

Let’s just start by saying that I loved the movie version of Finding Neverland, and never failed to cry at many of its scenes.  Unfortunately, the musical adaptation fails to have the grip and emotional impact the movie achieved.

Musically, the score is very straightforward musical theatre that is now a rarity among contemporary pop or jukebox musicals. Unfortunately  the tunes aren’t melodious or memorable, save a few such as “Blink of An Eye” and “Finding Neverland”, which I think I only remotely recalled walking out the theatre because of listening to the promotional recordings in the past.

The plot focuses completely on JM Berry and his struggle as a writer and child adult. We witness scenes where he invents Tinker Bell, scenes of confrontation with his own demons (in the guise of Captain Hook), and an overly staged and never ending act one finale of his imagination of the pirate ship. While all of this makes good topics for musical numbers, unfortunately the music accompanying these scenarios lacks any sense of excitement or thrill.

Some of the movie’s most touching and inspiring scenes are when the orphans are taken to the theatre to see the opening night of Peter Pan, and how their reaction changes the entire atmosphere of the theatre, and turns it into a completely different experience. In this interpretation, that is simply mentioned in yet another ensemble song.

The only saving grace of this production is its lavish special effects and scenery. In Act 2, the family rides a car from the city to the English countryside, and the entire stage lights up with a panoramic view as if driving through the English countryside. Unfortunately the magic of that moment diminishes quickly, as you realize that it’s just one loop of trees that they keep on going through for the entire duration of the song.

I could keep on going on about the staging tricks they have worked on, including the children flying up to the  proscenium at the finale, however good staging did not substitute for the rather banal score, predictable dialogue or lack of emotional intensity one would expect in this unsatisfying piece.

Retrospective Review: Gypsy (Leicester, 21 March 2012 matinee)

I spent many nights playing fantasy casting over Caroline O’Connor playing Rose in Gypsy. So when I heard that she will finally be playing the King Lear of musical theatre, I knew that I had to see it, even if it was going to Leicester, which would be one of my regular returns to this town with a gem of a regional theatre.

My first exposure to Gypsy was not through the Ethel Merman recording, not through the Angela Lansbury recording, and not through the original movie. Much to everyone’s hatred, I was first exposed to this show when I was a teen by renting Bette Midler’s made-for-TV verison, that everone loves to shit on. I loved it back then, and I love it now. Sure, Midler plays Bette, but the music is fantastic, the singing is solid, and it is a volcano of emotions.

The years have passed, Bernadette’s revival came, and was flushed down the drain by Sam Mendes’ supposidly bad directing. Then came Patti’s version, and of course just like every other theatre queen, I loved it and played the CD repeatedly, hoping she’d take it to London. But of course that didn’t happen. So you can imagine my happiness when Caroline was announced as the UK’s upcoming Rose. I’ve enjoyed her powerhouse belting and diverse career ever since I got the Mack and Mabel CD back in the ’90s (again, wasn’t famniliar with Bernadette’s back then. London boy through and through).

Leicester Theatre resident director Paul Kerrison’s production of Gypsy isn’t succinct nor much of a pleasure to look at. It includes abstract and quite randomly placed drapes of 1920’s family advertising and images throughout the show, intensionally to give us ambiance and period references. While usually done by a bigger cast, the ensemble here is stripped down to a handful of  boys and girls who double as every single character imaginbalbe, including Rose’s troupe of singing and dancing boys, and later girls. One of the most eye brow raising changes that any Gypsy aficionado would notice is the doubling up of Tulsa and his fellow dance boys to bare chested oiled up gladiator types in Louise’s Garden of Eden sequences.

I forgave all of those shortcomings, and realized that this would not be a production comprable to Sam Mendes’s version in terms of scale, or Arthur Laurents’s in terms of impact. However, the fact that it has Caroline O’Connor leading the show makes a world of difference, especially when she belts out the tunes flawlessly, backed up by a big unapologetic brassy orchestra.

There is a lot of speculation and near confirmation that Imelda Staunton is to play Rose very soon, probably sometime in 2013-14 at The National Theatre. While a formidable actress in her own league, Staunton is probably too old to play the sassy and sexy Rose, probably considered somewhat of a MILF back then. Most frightening is that we will have to put up with her singing of very heavy duty musical theatre anthems. Everything won’t be coming up roses and daffodils, I’m afraid.

Whatsonstage.com Awards

This awards show has been reduced to a pageant of superstar popularity instead of objective judgement on show’s and performers’ merits. While I consider them very talented in their own right and completely understand their success and popularity, Michael Ball (Best Actor in a Musical), Imelda Staunton (Best Actress in a Musical), Tim Minchin (Best Supporting Actor in a Musical) and Melanie C (Best Supporting Actress in a musical), are rather unoriginal and uninspired.

The recent Chichester/Adelphi Sweeney Todd was the toast of the town for many months, and all for a good reason. It was cleverly transported into the industrial age while retaining a grandiose sound, thanks to the full orchestra and to Michael Ball’s voice and stage presence. Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Lovett was quite charming, though hamming it up many times, but vocally quite inapt and short of breath on many occasions  The fact that it is strongly rumored she will be taking on Rose in Gypsy anytime in the next two years is a frightening thought.

I haven’t seen the recent Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour, however from the clips I’ve seen, it seems that it cleverly adapted into the Occupy Wall Street era. Tim Minchin is quite impressive and can sing those ridiculously high notes, and Melanie C’s roughness works quite well with this production’s gritty approach.

This brings me back to Whatsonstage.com Awards, that offer a platform for mad fans out there to vote for their favorite performers and the shows they are in. Actors and actresses who are competing against the major stars in these productions are doomed by not having enough of a fan base that can compete with the sheer mass popularity of Michael Ball, his co-star, Melanie C and Tim Minchin.

Let’s see what the Lawrence Olivier Awards have to offer.

Retrospective Review: Book of Mormon (Chicago, 27 eve & 29 December matinee)

I would not quite put Book of Mormon on the same list of musicals with legions of notices and fans such Rent, American Idiot and Spring Awakening (or as I like to call it-SexEd set to music). However, I have to say that Book of Mormon is currently not just America’s, but the Universe’s most overrated, over-hyped musical.

I first bought my tickets to the Chicago sit-down production back in August 2012 for the December 8th evening performance. Time passed, and I always thought that I bought quite a good seat, being a seat geek who almost never compromises on seats. Little did I know that the ticket I bought six months prior to the performance would be to the seat at the REAR end of the UPPER balcony. Not only do I almost never sit in the upper balcony, because it’s so high and so detached from the action, but I certainly would not list in the last row!

So I marched to the box office that same night, and much to my surprise they had two premium tickets-sixth row, smack in the centre-that just became available for the weekend matinée. So I bought them on the spot, and made multiple calls until I found someone who is willing to spend a semi-obscene amount and the show with me on a return visit.

While the show was flawlessly executed technically, vocally and in terms of comedic timing, I found myself unamuzed unlike my fellow theatre goers. Could it be because I’ve listened to the cast recording more times than I can count, which gave up many of the jokes in the songs, and also went far beyond the call of geekdom duty and also saw a video bootleg, which gave away the humor in the staging?

Another problem that I had with the show was the audience. Chicago’s cookie-cutter all Caucasian audience on both performances (seriously…I was the only minority with no exception) made the experience even more exclusive, and limited in terms of the genre of this humor.

I couldn’t help but feel that the show catered to a specific ethnic majority, and would probably be less appealing to others. But then again, since when is musical theatre really aimed and marketed to a non-upper middle class white audience, unless it blatantly tells us that it’s aimed at a different demographic?

I have much sought after tickets to the London production, which opens this month to a great hype. I bought my tickets for March back in September, and this time they are good because I will be sitting in the sixth row in the stalls. Perhaps I will change my mind on this outing.

Bank of America Theatre

I actually wore this to work underneath a cardigan.

Retrospective Review: Rebecca (Stuttgart, 6 January 2012)

Here I am again eleven months later, back to Stuttgart. I came here in March 2012 and back in January 2013 to see  Rebecca again, following my brat-like meltdown due to the absence of Ms. Pia Douwes (playing Mrs. Danvers) from the two performances that I was attending.

As commonly known, Pia Douwes is the grande dame of German musical theatre, having originated roles as Empress Elisabeth in Elisabeth, Malady de Winter in 3 Musketeers, as well as playing important capstone musical theatre characters such as Eva in Evita, Fantine in Les Miz, among many other.

So, I figured that the only guarantee to see her would be to see the final performance of Rebecca (strangely called the Derrière in these parts-which, as you fancy French speakers would know, literally means the rear).

While there have been several unsuccessful attempts to produce this megamusical on Broadway and in London, Rebecca‘s Europop musical genre is no longer in vogue. While theatre critics and audiences claim that no one is in the mood for a musical that takes itself too seriously and boasts one power ballad after the other, I think its the sheer cost of fancy flying sets, grand staircases and pyrotechnics (the stairs are set on fire and burn right before your eyes), tend to scare away theatre producers during these rough economic times.

Rebecca is far from perfect, and in fact rather dull and boring when there isn’t a sweeping ballad or a good scenic change. During the muck-up matinee that afternoon, I took a quick snooze during the courtroom scene, as I desperately awaited Mrs. Danvers to belt out the upteenth reprise of the title song. However, the score is quite grande and has some beautiful and lush melodic moments that are quite thrilling when sung by big voices and a big, proud orchestra. The sets are gorgeous, glide seamlessly and when combined with songs, are very cinematic and thrilling.

Pia Douwes is simply riveting as Danvers, paying extra attention to little details and blowing off the roof with her power singing. Jan Ammann is perfectly cast as the blue blood Maxim de Winter, oozing charisma and singing ever so handsomely. Valerie Link, who was now promoted from understudy since I saw her in March is serviceable, though her voice is no match when she is battling with Douwes’s Danvers during their confrontation title number.

There were a few notable personalities to spot in the audience. Michael Kunze (Book and Lyrics) and Sylvester Levay (Music) were in the audience, as were Femke Soetenga (alternate Mrs. Danvers, who was in a drunk but nice place), Arvid Larsen (alternate Maxim de Winter), and Mona Graw (stand-in Mrs van Hopper). I was happy to point all of them out to the lovely German lady sitting next to me, who was confused at the beginning  but eventually impressed with my knowledge and keen interest in German musical theatre.

The German audience are quite serious about their shows, and I gave the show a rather special send off. During intermission, the hyper-organized Jan Ammann fan club wearing clearly labeled t-shirts (“Rebecca DerrièreTeam”) passed sachets with glow sticks and an instructional leaflet attached to it, giving directions on when to break and wave the sticks in the air. As suspected, the result was quite corny, but equally special in a touching way when you see the entire theatre waving these silly little sticks to “Ich hab geträumt von Manderley” (“Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley”) and seeing how surprised and teary the cast was.

The famous sachet

Me looking like a psychopath in between shows at the Palladium Theatre

Headley vs Hudson vs Burke

So..Here we are. Premium seats for Heather Headley’s farewell performance in my current favourite musical, The Bodyguard. We will be there, laughing, crying, giving an ovation during the key change of “I Will Always Love You” and shaking our booty at “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”.

But the question that is making me lose some serious sleep, night after night, nap after nap, is…What brave blacktress is best to replace La Headley?

There are rumors that Alexandra Burke (X-Factor) is stepping in. I’m not against her at all, I think she has a pretty good voice and a suitable career to come across as a believable pop princess, but I’m not sure about her acting capabilities.

I think if anyone has a background comparable to Headley’s-both theatrically, acting and a success in a crossover pop career, it’s Jennifer Hudson. She is currently guest starring regularly in season 2 of Smash, and has done Dreamgirls, won the Oscar for best supporting actress, and has done a Hair benefit concert some years ago. She sang  “I Will Always Love You” at various occassions, and also sang “I’m Here” and dedicated it to Oprah Winfrey. So we know she’s into musicals. We also know she can act, and she can certainly sang.

I think she’d be a fantastic replacement, and would be able to make the character and songs her own. Thoughts?

My ticket to Heather’s farewell performance.

SMASH! Season 2

Oh, boy.

Listen, I loved Season 1 of Smash. It was all about Broadway, with some drama in the middle. You really got to see a very simplistic  be it maybe not very realistic way, of how a Broadway musical gets to be. A lot of the music was so-so, but some of the original compositions were really fun. “Let Me Be Your Star” was sung in every possible incarnation possible in every show, and the cameos were really good. It’s fluff, and at times wasn’t the best, but for theatre fans it’s pretty cool.

I used to say that when I saw the first season. Until the second season came, which is unbelievably hard to watch, and trust me, I have low and very forgiving standards.

I’ll discuss the 2nd season briefly without giving any spoilers. It’s more contrived, the songs in the premiere was shoe-horned in and just dragged on. Only positive so far is Ivy’s new song called “They Just Keep Moving The Line”. It is basically “Maybe This Time” (Cabaret) meets “You Can Always Count on Me” (City of Angels) meets “I’m Still Here” (Follies). Very unoriginal, but an extreme belt-fest and a pleaser.

Jeremy Jordan looks weird. While he’s usually hyped up to be the new hunk of Broadway (sure he’s attractive but not THAT hot), I feel that his head is much bigger than his body on TV. Jennifer Hudson screams rather than sings her way through a very generic watch-out-I’m-going-to-sass-you-to-death number. And..Is Julia pregnant or did she just gain weight? What the heck, there’s no mention of what happened during the finale.

Dear Betty Buckley

I first heard of Betty Buckley in 1994 in Sunset Boulevard. That was also one of my first memories of a true theatrical orgasm. I nearly died of joy when that spotlight hit her on Norma’s return to Paramount, and the music soars into “With One Look” as Norma soaks in the light and walks center stage to segue into her aria.

Looking at my souvenir program back in ’94 (which I still own and treasure), I saw that the my Norma that night was Betty Buckley. I had no idea who she was. Back then my only Cats cast recording was the London (Elaine Paige! Eventually replacing Buckley). The years passed, and my obsession with Sunset grew, and luckily I was introduced to Betty Buckley’s rich and exciting career in musical theatre, fiercely chastising her daughter in Carrie, her Tony award winning portrayal of Grizabella in Cats, and Drood.

I’m ever so exciting that almost two decades later, I get to see her again in London, playing yet another eccentric character in a musical. The notices about her acting and singing Dear World have been fantastic so far. Can’t wait to see it and report back.