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"Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: aislestorm 03:11 pm EDT 09/03/15

Early in previews, so tough to gauge how much this will evolve down the line. Based on what I saw last night, here's what I came away with:

Pam McKinnon is the wrong director for the material. She can be hit and miss; this is a miss. Mistake.

Craig Lucas's book is all over the place. It's scattered and unfocused, much like his book for AAIP. Needs major revisions. I never saw the film and now I want to, just to make sense of what the heck was going on. The whole portion involving the garden gnome made no sense to me. But the Elton John number is hysterical.






















Samantha Barks, at this point, makes no significant impression, and Tony Sheldon is wasted in a tiny role. The star here is Adam Chandler-Berat, who is wonderful, focused, and in tune with the material. He just needs better material.










The score is lovely, however, several times during the show, I kept hearing the score for "Fun Home". Some of it is beautiful. Some is derivative.

I think the one aspect which should change is McKinnon's involvement. This is a sweet, fragile piece, one which needs a director who's successfully directed musicals before. McKinnon isn't that director.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Richard Connema 04:50 pm EDT 09/04/15
In reply to: "Amelie" Last Night - aislestorm 03:11 pm EDT 09/03/15

Actually press night is not until September 11th which gives them plenty of time to fix all of the problems. I will be there on press night and a review will follow.


Such an optimist

Posted by: dramedy 05:24 pm EDT 09/04/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - Richard Connema 04:50 pm EDT 09/04/15

"Fix all the problems" when has that ever happened in previews? Hopefully they will improve the show and fix as many problems as they can. I think half the time is the creative team have a vision and are obstinate in making changes that audiences require. I see it mid sept.


re: Such an optimist

Posted by: Richard Connema 07:00 pm EDT 09/04/15
In reply to: Such an optimist - dramedy 05:24 pm EDT 09/04/15

We saw see.


re: Such an optimist

Posted by: Richard Connema 01:53 am EDT 09/05/15
In reply to: re: Such an optimist - Richard Connema 07:00 pm EDT 09/04/15

Opps I should have said we shall see.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: earlybird 04:00 pm EDT 09/03/15
In reply to: "Amelie" Last Night - aislestorm 03:11 pm EDT 09/03/15

Sorry to hear you didn't like it. I enjoyed it more than you did, but your criticisms are valid, and I agree with some of them.

I don't feel like getting into a whole thing about it, but one thing I was say:

The thing with the gnome makes more sense in the movie. You'll see if you watch it. Hopefully they tweak the musical so that it makes the gnome more necessary, like it was in the movie.


typo

Posted by: earlybird 04:01 pm EDT 09/03/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - earlybird 04:00 pm EDT 09/03/15

one thing I *will say


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: AnyaS 03:59 pm EDT 09/03/15
In reply to: "Amelie" Last Night - aislestorm 03:11 pm EDT 09/03/15

You say that Samantha Barks makes no significant impression here. That's disappointing. I had doubts about this show the moment I heard about its development. Amelie is one of my favorite movies but Audrey Tautou is a big reason why the film works for me. I've often wondered if I'd love the film as much if a different (less magical? less charismatic?)actress had played the lead. She had my heart in the film's first moments and I was instantly swept up in her journey. Casting felt so crucial to that movie's success despite a sweet screenplay.

Have you seen Barks in any other stage role? I found her casting in the Les Miserables movie a bit confusing. I think producers thought it would be a star making performance for her but I often felt like she disappeared into the background. She was quite bland. Her big moment was just okay. I've never sought out her performance when I went to hear On My Own. Maybe she's someone who comes off better on stage because she was given an enormous opportunity with Les Miserables and didn't seem to ignite much excitement.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: MikeR 06:30 pm EDT 09/03/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - AnyaS 03:59 pm EDT 09/03/15

I haven't seen it yet (although I hope to), but my friends who have (3 or 4 people) have all raved. One was especially dubious, as he's a huge fan of the movie, but he absolutely loved it.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Ann 09:54 am EDT 09/05/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - MikeR 06:30 pm EDT 09/03/15

I'm bringing another huge fan of the film (hey, she named her cats Amélie and Nino!) out to see it later this month - we're both looking forward to it very much.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Kaoru 10:26 pm EDT 09/05/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - Ann 09:54 am EDT 09/05/15

Please do post the person's reaction. I haven't heard from anyone who is a huge movie fan yet.

Will you see any other shows while in SF?


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Ann 08:40 am EDT 09/06/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - Kaoru 10:26 pm EDT 09/05/15

I will. So far, we're also seeing Dogfight.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: MarkBearSF 08:54 pm EDT 09/08/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - Ann 08:40 am EDT 09/06/15

Looking forward to Dogfight on 10/17. We've really enjoyed their recent productions and have never seen the show. (love the OBCR).

I'll be interested to hear your opinions.


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Richard Connema 05:34 pm EDT 09/08/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - Ann 08:40 am EDT 09/06/15

I will be accompanied her and her daughter to the opening of "Dogfight" at the San Francisco Playhouse


re: "Amelie" Last Night

Posted by: Richard Connema 07:01 pm EDT 09/04/15
In reply to: re: "Amelie" Last Night - MikeR 06:30 pm EDT 09/03/15

Nice to hear Mike



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