The Woman in White - the musical?
Jan. 18th, 2018 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearTuesday night saw us at the Charing Cross Theatre, which I never knew was there, for a performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber version of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White (what a mouthful!). I have to admit I was only there out of curiosity, because I couldn't imagine a musical version of the book, which I have read many times.
But a musical it was! I'm not surprised it's not more well known, as it certainly wasn't the best muscial I've ever seen, or even in the top ten. However, I definitely enjoyed it more than some of the other audience members (the people in front of us left at the interval and didn't come back). Luckily, the cast were way better than the material, so I appreciated the performances, and they really committed to their parts, giving it their all. The woman playing Marion was the best singer, and almost had me in tears with a couple of her more rousing numbers, and some of the songs were cleverly put together. I was also very impressed by Laura's fake piano playing, as her fingering matched the music perfectly, and I like the see-through shell of the piano, which allowed a view of what was going on behind it.
I like the way the set worked as well. There were two panels that would sweep across the stage at various points, either to provide the backdrop for different locations or to allow characters to appear and disappear from the back of the stage. It was very effective and made several scenes quite atmospheric. They were a bit keen with their smoke machine towards the end, and the whole thing felt very rushed - it's a long book with quite a complex plot, so there was a lot to get through in only two hours.
Still, overall, it was an entertaining enough night out, but not a show I'd rush to see again.
But a musical it was! I'm not surprised it's not more well known, as it certainly wasn't the best muscial I've ever seen, or even in the top ten. However, I definitely enjoyed it more than some of the other audience members (the people in front of us left at the interval and didn't come back). Luckily, the cast were way better than the material, so I appreciated the performances, and they really committed to their parts, giving it their all. The woman playing Marion was the best singer, and almost had me in tears with a couple of her more rousing numbers, and some of the songs were cleverly put together. I was also very impressed by Laura's fake piano playing, as her fingering matched the music perfectly, and I like the see-through shell of the piano, which allowed a view of what was going on behind it.
I like the way the set worked as well. There were two panels that would sweep across the stage at various points, either to provide the backdrop for different locations or to allow characters to appear and disappear from the back of the stage. It was very effective and made several scenes quite atmospheric. They were a bit keen with their smoke machine towards the end, and the whole thing felt very rushed - it's a long book with quite a complex plot, so there was a lot to get through in only two hours.
Still, overall, it was an entertaining enough night out, but not a show I'd rush to see again.
