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| Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 02:38 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
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| Friends and I were in London for three days last week. We had purchased tickets for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" a while back (and got lucky, as the show's schedule deviated from the norm, and we could see Parts 1 and 2 on Wednesday and Thursday evening. We built the rest of the shows around a long sit each evening, selecting musicals that would be easy on the concentration for the other shows. For a Tuesday evening outing following travel to London, we picked "Young Frankenstein." I'm not sure how this production was "re-imagined," as I never saw it in New York. But, it is located at the Garrick Theatre, which has a smallish stage. And, that's probably to the show's advantage. Susan Stroman's direction and choreography looked great in the small space, and the cast seemed to be having a blast playing Mel Brooks slickly within the style of his humor. While it wasn't hard to get tickets, the house was reasonably full on a Tuesday evening. The show is booking to the end of summer and it will get there by being light on its feet, despite the cramped quarters. Wednesday afternoon, we saw "The Book of Mormon," which my friends had never seen. It was the third time for me (New York with the original cast and LA with a tour cast that was as good or better than the original). My friends liked it. I wished that I had gone to a nearby museum instead. The British cast was hitting its marks but for me neither of the leads were landing. Interestingly, the "soft-hearted" material in Act 2 was pulled off better by this cast, and my friends admitted to shedding a tear or two. Thursday afternoon, we saw "Disney's Aladdin," which none of us had seen previously. Except, I had seen the version at Disney California Adventure more than once over a period of several years. To be honest, that version was better. It was snappy, told the story, did big production numbers of "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World," from the film, and got the audience back to the street before it lost attention. I was disappointed that it took all of Act 1 to get to the story of the Genie and the lamp. I thought that the songs were pretty banal, though, speaking of banal, the character of Jafar really made evil banal, to his credit. The same two production numbers were each spectacular, but I was left with an "Is that all there is?" feeling at the end. This matinee was heavily attended by school children dressed in uniforms, and they had been coached on proper theatre behavior, so much so that there didn't seem to be much energy headed toward the stage. The two evenings devoted to "Harry Potter" also featured many young people in the audience, who listened intently and reacted to the humor (not much of it, by the way) quickly. They also followed orders (issued in a schoolmarm voice) to turn off mobile devices, though they were out in full force before the show and during intermissions. I don't consider myself to be an aficionado, though I have read all the books and seen all the films. I don't have detailed knowledge of the plots of the individual books, only a generalized overview of the story. One of my friends had never read the books nor seen the films, and while he didn't get some details, I didn't as well. In fact, I had read the play script and didn't recall key plot elements as they occurred. One could, I suppose, attribute my lack of memory to writing and dramaturgy that aren't always memorable, but I, like the others in the audience, was completely absorbed. I've found that it's best not to pay much attention to titles in the "Harry Potter" series, as they seem muddled at times. Here, there are several candidates for the title of "cursed child," and each of them has merit. The major theme is parent-child relations, and it plays out in a variety of ways. There is, I suppose, a "cursed child" that is intended by the author in the title, but any of the other candidates for the title would do. All of this goes to say that while I admired the direction, the magic, and particularly, the music and movement, the story didn't matter so much in the end. Not on the level of Nicholas Nickelby, which was one of my early long-form theatre experiences, but it was certainly worth the time, expense, and hassle to see. It was a crammed but good end to a longer trip. I flew back a happy man on Friday. Bill, in San Diego |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: Brandnuva 10:57 am EDT 05/28/18 | |
| In reply to: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - BillEadie 02:38 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
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| Great report. I am heading over the first week of July. Have tickets for Harry Potter, Lieutenant of Inishmore, and (hopefully) An Octoroon. One day is dedicated to Wimbledon, but I am hoping to add something else into the mix. I really need a good musical, but hoping for something I couldn't get to in the States. | |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Last Edit: alvy_singer 01:58 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
| Posted by: alvy_singer 01:55 pm EDT 05/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - Brandnuva 10:57 am EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| see Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner. She doesn't play Mondays or Thursday matinee, so make sure you plan accordingly. Next season she will be a serious Tony contender. Also saw The Inheritance at the Young Vic, but that doesn't move to West End until September. Spectacular. The only bad show that I saw was Everything About Jamie. Like an After school Special from the 80s. You have been warned. |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: sf 02:50 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - Brandnuva 10:57 am EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'. It's British, it's a terrific, uplifting show with a mostly wonderful score, and I doubt it'll go to Broadway. It's well worth seeing, and John McCrea is spectacular in the title role. | |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: Brandnuva 08:51 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - sf 02:50 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| I saw this advertised. I will add it to my list. Thank you! | |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: vegas 03:43 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - sf 02:50 pm EDT 05/28/18 | |
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| This is the first I've heard about "Jamie." Now that I'm reading about it, it sounds good, so I'm adding it to my short list. Thanks! | |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: andrea 10:44 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
| In reply to: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - BillEadie 02:38 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
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| I am heading over in June for a week. So far I have tickets to Killer Joe, the Rink, Witness for the Prosecution, and a concert at Royal Hospital Chelsea celebrating Andrew Lloyd-Webber's 70th birthday. Haven't read or seen any Harry Potter books/movies so probably won't try for HP. Heard good things about Young Frankenstein and Everybody's Talking About Jamie. | |
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| re: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London | |
| Posted by: vegas 05:25 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
| In reply to: Three Musicals and Harry Potter in London - BillEadie 02:38 pm EDT 05/27/18 | |
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| Thank you for the thumbnail reviews. I'll be in London in mid-June, and have tickets to Harry Potter, but I've been on the fence whether to use them or return them. I know nothing about the Harry Potter series, but from what I've heard the stagecraft is worth seeing. Whether I use the tickets or not will probably come down to whether I find something more compelling to see on those evenings. | |
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