The Phantom of the Opera (Cast Change, August 30th, 2014)

The Phantom of the Opera

Cast Change Saturday

On August 30th, the final performances of the 2013/14 cast, I was lucky enough to be able to see both shows. I honestly don't remember a whole lot of them (especially the second one as I was sobbing through most of it), but I'll note down some details that I remember. The casts for the Matinee and evening were the same, aside from Harriet Jones being on as Christine at the Matinee and Olivia Brereton for the evening.

Matinee Cast

The Matinee was what I'm told is known as a 'Muck up', where the performers added and changed all sorts of funny little details. I'm laughed more than cried this show, thanks to all the silly additions. My favourite by far was Ashleigh Fleming. She became a blonde Hannibal Princess, a mask-less Mirror Bride (don't know how she pulled this off. I swear she never blinked or moved a face muscle), a blue-haired Triangle Girl, and completely overdid her part in the Don Juan rehearsal (which I thought was hysterical and awesome). Anna Shircliff was another funny one; she wore a dark BG wig but a blonde fringe (how they did that, I've no idea), what looked like a Passarino wig for her Triton Girl in Masquerade, and I'm 99% sure she had her dressing gown on backwards for Bridge Christine. Charise Renouf (who's awesome parents I sat next to during the show) wore a BG wig for Masquerade. I'm not sure who (swing Fiona?), but one of the BGs left her Degas hair bow in for floor-Christine. Cat Lane wore a Mme Giry wig for Masquerade. Jeremy Secomb drew out the longest "haaaaaaas come home" I think is humanly possible. It was so long, clear, and impressive that the entire cast started clapping on stage, and the audience was cheering by the time he was halfway through. Jeremy also hung out in Box 5 with Raoul during Il Muto. At Curtain Call, Geronimo had a sign taped to his tailcoat. I've no idea what it said, but Harriet was laughing quite hard so it must've been funny. 

Cat Lane's Mme. Giry Wig
for Masquerade
(Cat's Instagram)

About the performances themselves, Harriet's first act is very strong. Her "Think of Me" is full of joy, it's infectious. But her second act seemed to fall flat with very wooden and 'rehearsed' acting (Wishing was the main culprit for this. I don't think crying can get much faker-looking than that). Antony was on fire this show; I thought he was going to murder the Phantom during the Final Lair (I've seen him go pretty insane, but he actually spit at the Phantom! Never seen that before). I really loved how much he struggled against the noose (on his absolute tippy-toes the entire time), and when the Phantom kissed Christine, he struggled harder, then on the second kiss turned the entire noose around to look away. Antony actually makes you feel for Raoul, which is awesome considering I mostly consider Raoul to be a stuck-up, arrogant jerk. Geronimo was fine during the show; he held back a bit at the matinee, but overall everything was good enough. No complaints, but nothing particularly stuck out.

Evening Cast

The second show was incredibly emotional before I even sat down. However, I had the good fortune of  sitting next to some incredibly friendly people, and that helped with the worst of my emotions. Regardless, I still sobbed my way through most of the show. There were so many incredible performers, principles and ensemble alike, who left that night. It was impossible to watch each of the leaving people's performances as much as I would have wanted to, so I picked my battles. Obviously Olivia was the priority, but I also tried to focus on Antony, Jeremy, Cat, and Ashleigh. If I'm being totally honest, I don't remember a whole lot about the show. It sort of rushed by in a flurry of tears (I started crying as soon as I saw Olivia had tears in her eyes during Hannibal. And I'm not usually a crier. RG kind of whips that out of you). So I'll write about what I remember, but you can find detailed thoughts on Olivia's Christine, compiled from this show and the August 29th show, at the bottom of this post.

It was a relatively smooth show; no issues that I could pick out. The part of the show I enjoyed the most  was probably the Il Muto ballet, because it was the one time I wasn't thinking "This is the last time I'll see _____!" Beautifully danced as usual; I love how much energy the BGs put into that piece. It's so intricate and yet delicate at the same time - I love it! Cat has improved over the summer (as has the styling of her wig) and now I'm quite sad to be seeing her go. She was a cute Meg with a solid voice and nice dancing and acting, and she will certainly be missed. Jeremy was a funny, personable Piangi. He made Piangi stand out in a good way, making it so much sadder when the character meets his untimely end. His big voice, brilliant comedic timing, and adorable relationship with his Carlotta (Lara Martins) has always been a highlight of this cast. Ashleigh had the most wonderful facial expressions during Hannibal and Don Juan (she's such a joy to watch), and her Mirror Bride has always been spot on (and a beautiful and well-acted Christine as well).

Of course, it wouldn't've been an Olivia-Christine show without a wardrobe malfunction. Minor ones this time, though. Her scarf got caught on either the Elissa skirt or Hannibal bodice during Think of Me (it actually looked kind of cool because the scarf was catching the air when she moved - she managed to shake it loose by the end of the song though). And one of my favourite mishaps, just because of the way she makes it work, the Aminta dress coming too far off her shoulders. It's happened a couple of times, and I love that she waits to fix it until the Phantom is done manhandling her, and then while looking absolutely terrified tries to pull it back over her shoulder in a very protective way as opposed to just yanking it back into place (that would feel out of character).

Olivia and Antony
(Olivia's Twitter)

One very poignant moment of this show was All I Ask of You. Olivia and Antony are a beautiful pairing; they just click so perfectly and it makes Christine and Raoul's relationship much more tolerable (and, dare I say it, romantic). Well, Olivia was clearly crying during AIAOY, and Antony was giving her longer hugs and wiping away her real tears. It was so, so adorable. Antony and Olivia are a truly special pairing. In a way, I'm glad they're both leaving at the same time; it'd be hard to see one without the other. I seriously lost it during the AIAOY reprise at the very end, because it sounded as if they were both choking up. Both made these roles their own; Antony's Superhero, likeable Raoul and Olivia's interesting and multidimensional Christine.

Geronimo Rauch, Olivia Brereton, and
Antony Hansen
(the best trio)(Antony's Twitter)

Another favourite moment was, of course, Wishing. Olivia's song; many people can sing it. Some can act it too. But no one captures the emotion the same way Olivia does. She does the exact same hands, arms, and head movements every time, but each time I see it, it feels like the first time. Every word she sings is absolutely full of emotion, and I was sobbing into my hands by the time she sang "and speaks my name" with her signature way of singing that last word. It rips your heart out every single time. She's also the only one who can pull off the crying at the beginning without making it look fake and ridiculous. Everything just feels so real, and that's why her Christine is so easy to sympathise with. The way she does the Journey to the Graveyard bit is almost haunting, which I think helps it to seem less contrived/rehearsed.

Unfortunately, I don't remember a whole lot else about the show. I do know that it was incredibly emotional for both the audience and performers, and despite crying through it, I enjoyed it immensely. Everyone put their heart and soul into this performance, and it was absolutely breathtaking.

It was very, very sad (I was crying into a friends shoulder after the show - thank you Sabine!) saying goodbye to all of these incredible performers. Each and every one of them has given brilliant performances during their time in Phantom, and I'm so glad I've written about nearly every performance so I and others can remember how amazing they all were in their respective roles. Wishing every departing member of this cast all the best as they continue their careers. I know we'll be seeing much more of them all in the future.

With Olivia Brereton after
her final performance
(myself)

Links
The Best of Olivia Brereton
The 2014/15 Cast Debut

The Phantom of the Opera (Debut of the new cast, September 1st, 2014)

The Phantom of the Opera

New Cast Debut

September 1st, 2014, marked the debut of the new cast of The Phantom of the Opera in London, including new a new Christine, Raoul, Piangi, and Meg, as well as two new Ballet Girls and a mostly new ensemble. After having such an incredible cast finish on Saturday, I was wary of the new group, especially since few of them had a good track record - or a track record of any kind! I had a rough idea of what I was walking into, and I was mostly unsurprised, and disappointed, with the new cast. But there were a few pleasant surprises, and a few parts that I enjoyed about the new bunch. I should also say that I'm not giving any leeway for nerves (i.e. you won't hear me say, "I'll put that down to nerves, it'll be better next time." Nope, don't do that. There are ways to combat nerves, and regardless, it's not good to let nerves affect a performance to the point that the audience can notice it). 

Emmi Christensson
(Phantom Official Site)

The auction scene started out as normal. Liam Tamne as Raoul had a bit of weird speaking/singing going on - he was emphasising strange words and taking rather bizarre pauses here and there. The one thing I'll say for him in this scene is that he's got a very clear voice; it's very easy to hear and understand. Chandelier went up without a hitch, though for obvious reasons I wasn't feeling the usual excitement I do when it begins to rise. In Hannibal, the new ensemble looks great. Some costumes looked a bit ill-fitting (Lisa-Anne Wood's Hannibal Princess doesn't look to fit her very well and some of the BGs have bizarrely cut/fitted bodices). There are a whole host of new wigs. I didn't notice that there were new wild-women wigs, but apparently there were. Most of the BGs appear to have gotten new wigs. Some changed shade (i.e. Layla appears to have a darker wig, and there are more blondes), others kept their normal shade. Meg (Alicia Beck) was a brunette, though I didn't mind that as much as I thought I would. It's a nice colour, but it's a shame the wig was very, very flat. Christine (Emmi Christensson) also had a nearly straight wig, and it was a rather unflattering shade of blonde. I know she's a natural blonde, but the shade they chose for her wig suits neither her nor the costumes. But more on that later. Emmi also has a very weirdly cut Hannibal Bodice (and I think all the girls got new tiaras? But maybe I just wasn't paying attention before). The new Piangi (John Ellis) hasn't got a very big voice; I found it lacking in volume as well as being able to hold the notes. No sense of humour either; Piangi's supposed to be a funny character. All of the clever lines were so poorly delivered. Also, they need to get rid of his blue eyeshadow. Lara did a beautiful Think of Me as usual; I looked over at Hannibal Princess when Lara was singing and she's doing that Olivia-Christine thing where she mouths along - I think I'm going to like her Christine. when the set came down, there was the usual screaming from the BGs…. but nothing from Meg. She opened her mouth and said the line, but I only caught "….Phantom of…..Opera!" The BGs were much quieter than usual in general (I found out later that the BG who usually carries the volume in it wasn't mic'd today, so that explains that). Alicia clearly does not have a strong voice (nor do I actually find her dancing very interesting - she sort of smirked through the whole thing, and I don't even think she was standing up particularly straight - something about it just looked bizarre), so her "Christine Daae could sing it, sir!" was sort of an inaudible squeak. As soon as Emmi spoke her first line, I could tell her accent was going to be a problem. It's very, very audible in her spoken voice, and a bit in her singing voice. Her Think of Me was fine, nothing extraordinary. She was shaking (I assume nerves) and did this weird little hip jiggle on the cadenza. By this point I could tell there wasn't going to be a whole lot of acting go on (I didn't expect an established character, but I expected something), nor did I find her voice pleasant (rather shrill in some places, raspy in others, some words sounded bizarre or the notes were held in the wrong places). 

The Raoul/Christine scene and Angel of Music were nice enough; nothing special (though I did like Liam's early character development. He's made Raoul more of a self-centred jerk than I prefer, but it's not badly done). Emmi's accent was a bit off here as well (as it was for pretty much every song, unless I say otherwise). Side note: I think the BGs have new Degas costumes; those things were puffy! The Phantom of the Opera was ok. This was probably the only song where I didn't hear her accent (probably because it's prerecorded and she had a few tries to get it right). Her lip synching isn't great, but I've seen worse. I honestly only watched Geronimo during MOTN, and he was fluffing awesome as he always is (the perfect balance of creepy and charming). I Remember/Stranger were fine. I mostly watched the Mirror Bride, to be honest. Lisa-Anne Wood's picked a different position than Ashleigh and she seemed to have some trouble holding it, but I'm equating that to a lack of practice. Buquet was fine as normal, Notes was lacklustre without Cat's spunkiness and Jeremy's humour. Alicia has some cute moments (i.e. when Mme Giry dismisses her from Christine's dressing room, she stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes; it was funny), but aside from a carbon copy of Jeremy and Lara's interaction during Prima Donna, John has no merits. I didn't enjoy Emmi in Il Muto; there was just nothing to it. Alicia's costume for that scene is a bizarre colour - I probably would've gone with something more purple and a different shape of dress. Enough said about that. Loved the Il Muto Ballet as usual; the BGs seem to be a good bunch, though I would've preferred if Georgia had taken the solo part instead of Alicia. AIAOY was nothing special. Again, Liam's done quite well. Arrogant portrayal and very overacted at points, but overall it was good, and opposite Emmi's very flat portrayal, it was nice to have something more well-developed. Emmi's dropping the ends of letters off of words, and again struggling to hit the notes (well, that's what it sounds like to me. There was something off about her voice; it just didn't sound right). The chandelier coming down was sort of "I'm going to stand here with my mouth open until something happens." Not the most convincing acting. 

Liam Tamne
(Phantom official site)

Onto act 2 (yes, this is going to be a long review). Started nicely enough with Masquerade. The new Masquerade dress is pretty hideous, but it's the only colour that the new Christine wig looked nice with. I just wish they'd stop it with those horrible Elizabethan ruffs on the bodice and sleeves. They're not flattering on either Harriet or Emmi, and the costume itself looks very plastic-y. The new Triton Girl's wig is very blue. Too blue, it clashes with the costume. Despite being made 2nd cover Meg, Georgia is still the Butterfly (thankfully - I love that particular costume to bits). Danielle (goldfish) disappeared so the bane of my existence (hula girl) made an appearance. The monkey costume didn't look any different. I didn't get a good look at most of the ensemble costumes, so I can't say anything about Triangle girl et. al. Meg's costume is very unflattering on her. The skirt is far too puffy; it looks ridiculous. Cat could pull it off because she was little and cute, but on Alicia's longer, slimmer frame, it just looks stupid (there's no other word for it). It looked like Liam got in the way of two of the BGs as they nearly missed their kicks (if they'd kicked at the normal time, he would've gotten a boot up his nose). Notes II/Twisted Every Way aren't really worth commenting on. Aside from Liam, all the new people in it were mediocre at best. Don Juan Rehearsal was fine. New Passarino's laughter isn't as funny. I sort of ignored Emmi and Alicia and watched Lisa-Anne (I was pining for Olivia and she's as close as I'm going to get with the new cast). Loved her facial expressions; not overdone, but still big and funny. At least as good, possibly better than Ashleigh's. Wishing wasn't as painful as I thought it'd be. The fake crying was pretty bad, but she did a nice "Little Lotte" and there were a few other moments that were quite nicely done. Still lacked emotion, but it wasn't painful to watch/listen to (still a weird voice, but oh well). Wandering Child was well done on Liam's part. I've already said it all, but he's doing a good job. I think he forgot a line as it was a bit slow coming out, but he got there in the end.

In PONR, Emmi made a lyric mistake. Instead of "To that moment where words run dry," she sand "to that moment where dreams come true." I'm not sure where those particular words came from, but I'll give her this: she didn't flinch, and if you didn't know the lyrics, you wouldn't recognise the mistake, so well done to her on that. In ending to PONR, she did a very good job trying to resist the Phantom, such that he had to grab her hand because she wouldn't hold it herself. She also did a convincing job pulling the Phantom's cloak and mask/hair off. I could believe that the Phantom wouldn't have seen it coming. I almost wonder if she forgot the choreography a few times though, as sometimes she'd get half way through a move, stop, and then rush the rest of it (the apple on the skirt… I nearly cried it was so badly done. She'll wear a hole in the dress if she keeps that up). The Final Lair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either. Liam was fabulous (he wiggled around too much in the noose, but that might be a personal preference, and he didn't do some of the things I've loved that Antony did, but again, personal preference). Emmi was ok in this, surprisingly. She does angry better than any other emotion. Bit of an awkward moment when Geronimo grabbed her and she didn't respond the way he or I expected, so he had to throw her down a bit early. Not a fan of Emmi's wedding dress; the skirt was very limp and the bodice seems to be missing something. Too much emphasis on the shellfish bra thing. I don't mind the current style of west end wedding dresses, but I hate that shellfish bra. My main complaint about her and Liam in the Final Lair was when they were waiting for the Phantom to chase after them, that's just it - they were waiting. Standing there, arms around each other, just waiting. Emmi did do a great face when he came after them though. Total lack of emotion when giving back the ring. 

Well, that was that! It definitely wasn't a very enjoyable show. Unlike Harriet, who was just oozing potential in her early shows, I don't see anything in Emmi. Liam's definitely got a lot in him and I'm hoping he continues to give passionate performances and doesn't settle into it too much. There's nothing worse than a bored Raoul. I see potential for improvement in Alicia as well; she just need to work on her voice more; both hitting the notes and getting her volume up. No comment on the Piangi. All the new BGs seem good, though I wasn't paying too close attention to the new girls. Very good ensemble; they've got some big voices, great acting, and interesting details in their parts; most of them (especially Lisa-Anne Wood and Lyndsey Gardiner) managed to give their very short-lived ensemble characters a personality, which I appreciate. Some interesting new costumes, both nice and not-so-nice. 

I'm not going to hurry back, nor am I going to recommend this particular cast to anyone (definitely aim for a Harriet show, then you're almost guaranteed a pretty strong trio). Though it wasn't as awful as I had predicted, I didn't enjoy it very much.

The Best of Olivia Brereton

I guess the title is a bit grand, but really, this is just my list of favourite nuances and details that Olivia puts into her portrayal of Christine. It's these little details that I'm going to miss the most about her Christine, so I thought it'd be nice to put them all together so I can remember them (and perhaps so other people can see what they missed ;) ). Even after 14 shows, I'm sure there are things that I've missed, but here are my top ten (you've no idea how hard it was to narrow down just 10) favourite moments of Olivia Brereton's Christine (in no particular order, though my absolute favourites are grouped towards the end). A lot of it you really need to know the show to know the moments I'm talking about, so… good luck!

1. The way she uses her voice
This one's pretty general, but Olivia really acts with her voice. You can hear Christine's emotions without having to see what's going on onstage. But it's not overdone at all; every aspect of her portrayal - voice, look, acting, etc. comes together perfectly such that no one thing overwhelms the others. But anyway, it's the acting with her voice that I think is really incredible, because it's not something everyone can or does do, and it really makes the character.

2. Stranger Than You Dreamt It (and some other things related to it)
When she's handing back the mask to the Phantom, she sort of nods, as if telling the Phantom that it's ok, he can trust her. Even though a few seconds before she was scared out of her mind, Christine realises how hurt the Phantom is. In a way, it's like she understands him as a person, which makes sense as you see how she interacts with him through the show. Then of course you get to the part where she snaps in Final Lair, but even after that you can still see her feeling pity for him. I've no idea what Olivia's take on this is, but the way I see this is that Christine does care about the Phantom, and she doesn't want to hurt him. It's a nice touch and I love the consistency.

3. When Raoul drags Christine away at the end of the Final Lair
This is particularly effective when it's Antony playing opposite Olivia. I can never tell exactly what she's saying, but it's something along the lines of "I can't leave", which after all she's been through with the Phantom is bizarre but understandable (side note on Antony - that kiss on the cheek while he was trying to pull her away. I may have squeaked a bit. It was really cute). But she really fights Raoul at first, and then of course she comes back. I think this ties back to #2; she doesn't want to be cruel to the Phantom. I guess it shows him that there is still some good in the world.

4. The Ending of Point of No Return
I love the way that the Phantom has to grab her arm, and then as soon as she possibly can she tears her hands free. All of this is done with so much bravery on her face that her pleading for the off-stage people to help her when the Phantom's dragging her away is hard to bear.

5. The end-of-wishing-head-nod
This is something she's always done, and it's very small but very poignant. Right after Wishing has finished and she's walking back across the stage, she stops, looks out to the audience, does a small nod, and wipes her eyes as she continues walking. The whole song is about letting go of her father and learning how to live, and that little nod, accepting that her father's gone and she must move on, shows that Christine has really made a journey through that sound.

6. "My Protector"
During the Wandering Child trio after Wishing with Raoul, Phantom, and Christine. When she's singing "Angel of Music, my protector" the way her arms, face, and voice come out on "protector"…. I just can't describe it. It's something else entirely. But it really emphasises that through all of the horrible things Phantom has done, Christine still sees the good in him. Obviously she's sort of in a trance at that point as well, but it makes it clearer why Christine is so conflicted.

7. The Pause Before Tears of Hate (and the line itself)
This is quite something. I've always liked the way she sang it, but the timing was never exactly the way I wanted it. But now it's utterly perfect. The big long pause, the building tension in her face and body, and then it just comes out all at once. I don't want to say she spits the line out, but that's the basic way of describing it. It really is "tears of hate" in its most literal sense. It's incredibly powerful.

8. Serafimo
It's funny. She plays it up, makes it comical. All of Serafimo's little quirks are big and overdone, perfect for the character. Not a whole lot to say, but I just love her way of playing Serafimo. It shows that Christine can do more than just sing. And heck, after all Christine's gone through and will go through, it's nice to see her theoretically having some fun with it.

9. Point of No Return Twirl
The PONR dress' skirt is perfect for swishing and twirling, and only Olivia does the twirl. It's when the Phantom lets go of her arm at "let the dream descend," it's almost as if she uses the momentum from pulling her arm away to launch into the twirl… no one else does it, and it goes perfectly with the music, and I love it.

10. All of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
Olivia does pretty much everything really well (as you can tell - I legitimately cannot think of something reasonable to not like about her), but Wishing is just her song. The way she sings each and every word (especially "And speaks my name!" and "why can't the past just die!") it feels so raw and real. Every face, every gesture - it's heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

Bonus: (told you I couldn't pick just 10) Carlotta's Think of Me
This was the first thing I ever noticed about Olivia's Christine, and it's a detail that, even though she doesn't do it every time, has stuck with me. I don't know why, but I have always found it incredibly effective. While Carlotta was singing her over the top Think of Me, Olivia's Christine would be mouthing the words, head down and with little movement at first, and then a bit bolder and towards the audience at the end. It was a beautiful and poignant moment and remains one of my favourite details of Olivia's.

Bonus number 2: The Costume Mishaps
Ok, so this isn't exactly a detail, but I thought it was quite funny that of all 14 shows I saw, she had a wardrobe-malfunction-free show once, possibly twice. Personal favourites of mine include the Wishing cloak coming undone and Olivia spent Wishing with her arms wrapped around herself to keep it on,. Another time (and this happened on her last show too) the Aminta dress came way too far open during the journey to the Final Lair and was slipping pretty far down, especially over one shoulder. The reason I liked seeing these things happen is because she doesn't panic, she doesn't ignore it. She actually makes them work. For example, with the Aminta dress slipping off, she waited until the Phantom had thrown her back on the boat and then pulled the costume back up very protectively. It just made sense (I mean, there's no point ignoring costume issues. They're obviously there, so make fixing them fit the scene).

Bonus number 3: The 'naturalness' of her Christine 
A weird one to explain, but I'll give it a go. Nothing she does seems contrived or like she's acting. It's just Christine. And Christine, as a real person, plays with the loose bits of her costumes sometimes and isn't always 100% focused on what everyone else is doing. Little details like that (ignoring the big details like the sheer amount of emotion Olivia puts into her Christine) just make Christine so much more lifelike, which makes it much easier to connect with the character.

I could go on and on (heck, I'll probably come back and add to this over the next few days), but here's a last thought: Olivia brings Christine to life in a way no other person has, and I doubt anyone else ever will. She took risks, she tried new things, and the result was a character that had so many dimensions that you couldn't not believe in the character. The voice, the dancing, the acting; they all come together so beautifully that I couldn't ask for anything more or anything different.

Well, that's that! Can't believe it's been more than a year since I first saw Olivia's Christine (and I really can't believe I was upset about 'having' to see her in the first place. Thank goodness for Layla). Olivia's a truly spectacular Christine, and no one will be able to match her in the role. While she's on that stage, she just is Christine. Olivia herself is an all-around incredible performer, and I'm positive she will be very successful in all of her further endeavours.

Miss Saigon (June 4th, 2014)

It's been a long time since I've seen a show that was totally new to me, so bear with me - I can't be as detailed or analytical as usual since I haven't seen this show twenty-eight times. 

Miss Saigon is the story of Kim (Eva Noblezada), orphaned in war-torn Vietnam, who ends up working at Dreamland, a strip-club of sorts, run by "The Engineer" (Jon Jon Briones) in Saigon in April 1975. Chris (Alistair Brammer) and John (Hugh Maynard), American G.I.s, arrive at Dreamland, where John buys a room (and Kim) for Chris. What follows is a story that combines love and tragedy as we follow Kim's life after Chris leaves her behind in Saigon.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Miss Saigon. It almost felt like half the show was missing, despite its length. There was a distinct lack of character development; nothing anyone did made any sense, except perhaps Kim. In a sense, it was incredibly scripted. Everyone did what they were doing because that's what the script said to do, not because it made sense for their character. I still don't understand why Chris left and married someone else (ok, the leaving part I sort of understand, but why marry someone if you're in love with a girl you left behind, especially if you still think you could go back for her?).  Anyway, it was just missing something big, because I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting or emotional. All the performances were good, and whether it was the actors or the script that were at fault, I don't know. But it's not something I'm eager to see again.

There were three things about Miss Saigon I did like though. First, the sets. They were massive, incredibly detailed, realistic - I loved them! They really helped set the story in Saigon. That helicopter though… totally unnecessary. Way too much fuss over something that was onstage for about thirty seconds and made no difference to the atmosphere of the scene. The sound effects and lights were enough. Another favourite thing was the massive dance scene at the transition between Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City. WOW that was something. I could've watched that for the rest of the show. Beautiful choreography, great music, wonderful performers - it was quite something. And the last thing I liked was Tam! He was so fluffing adorable, I just wanted to pick him up and squish him. His interactions with The Engineer were so cute; I can't recall the exact line/action, but something made me laugh quite a bit. I wish I knew which Tam we had (I think I heard someone call him Connor at Stage Door, but I could be wrong), but he did a great job.

All in all, Miss Saigon isn't something I'd go see again. While all members of the cast gave strong performances, it was missing something that gave the story purpose and meaning. 

Romeo and Juliet at the National Ballet of Canada (June 20th, 2014)

The National Ballet of Canada's 

Romeo & Juliet

Although Romeo and Juliet has now concluded after a too-short 3-show run (though you can catch it in Los Angeles July 10-13), and I'm not adept at reviewing ballets, I had to write about it. Never have I found a ballet so emotionally moving, yet so technically beautiful. The usual trade off seems to be technique over emotion (i.e. Cinderella), but this was not the case with Romeo and Juliet.

Guillaume Cote as Romeo, Elena Lobsanova as Juliet
(National Ballet of Canada)

On Friday, June 20th, Romeo was played by Principle Dancer Guillaume Cote and Juliet by first soloist Elena Lobsanova. Other main characters include recently promoted McGee Maddox as Tybalt, Piotr Stanczyk as Mercutio, and Robert Stephen as Benvolio. 

For me, the three highlights of this ballet were the beautiful music by Prokofiev, the brilliant choreography of Alexei Ratmansky, and the charming team of Cote and Lobsanova (whom I jokingly refer to as the "feet team"; both have incredible feet) in the lead roles. It is hard to pick just three though, as the ballet didn't have a 'bad moment', so to speak. That is, nearly everything was a highlight. With the music and choreography combined, it's not that there was never a dull moment; there was never a moment you could look away. The 'group numbers' (forgive my woeful lack of ballet terminology) were so intricate and so perfectly danced, particularly the group dance in the first scene of the first act (I was in tears by the end of it), and of the masked banquet just prior to Romeo and Juliet's first meeting. Another piece of choreography that I feel deserves mention was the moment when Friar Lawrence (Peter Ottmann) was explaining to Juliet his plan to bring her and Romeo back together. Juliet and the Friar sat on the ground and turned their attention towards a piece of the stage with a sheer curtain over it. Behind this sheer curtain, "Juliet" and Romeo acted out her 'death' and their reunion. It was incredibly poignant, having a visual of how the plan was supposed to work, shortly followed by seeing how it really turned out. A genius move on Ratmansky's part, and possibly my favourite moment in the ballet. Perhaps the only thing in Romeo and Juliet that I did not like was a combination of choreography and music; I felt Mercutio's death was far too drawn out. Yes, the humour and attempt to cover up his injury was necessary, but it went on far too long. I went from very sad to "How are you not dead yet?!" There's an element of suspended reality, but that only works so far in a ballet that is otherwise incredibly realistic.

Guillaume Cote as Romeo, Elena Lobsanova as Juliet
(National Ballet of Canada)

Lobsanova and Cote are amazing, both individually and as a team. Cote first drew my eye in The Nutcracker last Christmas, where his beautiful technique (those feet!) and lovely expression (and his ability to smoothly cover a face plant early in Act Two) impressed me. I was very eager to see him play Romeo, and he did not disappoint. Again, technique combined with expression to create an unforgettable interpretation of Romeo. His humorous interactions with Mercutio and Benvolio were a highlight, as was his fiery confrontation with Tybalt. Lobsanova is someone I'd never seen dance before, but whom I am now very eager to see again. She captured Juliet's whole range of emotion, from her girlish, cheerful nature at the beginning of the ballet, to her darker, more mature self towards the end, plus everything in between. On top of that, she is a gorgeous dancer, with legs and feet to die for, and each move she makes seemingly spontaneous, as opposed to choreographed and practiced hundreds of times. Lobsanova and Cote make a marvellous pairing; two incredible dancers that complement each others' style and emotional execution. I'm eager to see them dance other parts together (though I could easily watch their performances as Romeo and Juliet over and over again). 

The supporting dancers and corps were all wonderful. Maddox was a very strong Tybalt (unexpected, as I was underwhelmed by his Prince Charming in Cinderella); he maintained Tybalt's 'angry' disposition throughout his time on stage without overdoing it. Stanczyk and Stephen were a terrifically humorous pairing as Mercutio and Benvolio. Four male dancers in black and white (not credited by name) were hugely funny, a much needed comedic reprise. One member of the corps stood out in particular; no name, unfortunately, but she was small and dark haired, and had a small featured part in the first act, where she was a member of the town who was particularly saddened by the deaths of two townspeople. It was her reaction that had me crying at the end of the first scene, so congratulations to her. 

All in all, the National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet was an incredible experience. The dancers, choreographers, and members of the orchestra outdid themselves. Although it is no longer playing in Toronto (though hopefully they will bring it back in the near future), you can see it in Los Angeles July 10-13. I highly recommend it if you're able to attend. 

Information here: http://national.ballet.ca/performances/On_Tour/Los_Angeles,_California/#/#frame0 

The Phantom of the Opera (June 5th, 2014)

The Phantom of the Opera

This show was my birthday treat from my parents (yes, for my birthday, I wanted to see the show I've seen 25 - now 26 - times. What can I say, I love it!); when I first saw the cast board I was a little disappointed, but not for long - this was one of the best shows I've seen! So here's my brief review of what I like to call "my" birthday show :) What I'm doing with this review is combining it with my June 6th review; identical casts aside from Olivia as Christine, and not too much to say about that one. So everything in (italicised brackets) is from the June 6th show. Everything written normally is from June 5th. 

Harriet Jones as Christine (Tumblr)

The auction went as normal; there was a little delay getting the chandelier up but for me, when the chandelier begins to rise is possibly the most magical moment of the show. A piece of the 'covering' got caught on the lighting and they didn't manage to pull it off until halfway through Hannibal (no problems the next night). Lara was fierce as usual, and the dancing was absolutely beautiful. I was having one of those shows where I could focus on little details without missing the big picture, so I was able to really enjoy the dancing in Hannibal. Of course, the main focus was Layla, she is such an expressive dancer - a perfect combination of Charkashyna's elegance and Maksymenko's energy that is utterly captivating. But moving on, Cat is still on her feet before the set's actually fallen. Thankfully they have sorted her wig out though. Harriet sung Think of Me beautifully - she performs the song with such confidence and elegance. It's stunning. Admittedly, I ignored Angel of Music to watch the Degas Ballet. I caught some of it, but not enough to say much about it other than I liked it (I did watch this on June 6th; my eyes were basically glued to Olivia this show because it might be the last of hers that I see. Her expressions are wonderful; very genuine, which makes the scene with Raoul look so much less awkward). The girl that does the walk-off at the end of Degas has slowed it down a great deal, which was incredibly effective. I loved it. Harriet does her Angel of Music solo absolutely amazingly. Beautiful facial expressions, not an overdone voice (more natural than operatic), and she's not doing that awkward bodice-strokey-thing at "enter at last", instead keeping her hands clasped at her chest, which I much prefer. She does the 'hypnosis' very nicely; it's believable, with a change in the movement - if that makes sense. She slows down a lot when she's under the control of the Phantom, which is effective at communicating the difference between normal Christine and 'enchanted' Christine (with Olivia, I like that she never does the exact same blocking - arms, head, etc. - for this; makes it more interesting and realistic). 

Harriet Jones as Christine (Tumblr)

Phantom of the Opera was normal; not a lot to say other than the 'singing' was well done. Scott's not my favourite Phantom (I often find his voice weak and his portrayal very overdone), but Music of the Night was the beginning of a very good show for him. There was so much power in his voice and conviction in his portrayal; it was wonderful. Harriet aced Stranger Than You Dreamt; fabulous range of emotion from curiosity to complete terror. I know I'll say this a lot in this review but she has come so far. I never would've guessed in November that she would become as incredible as she has (I mean, I knew she had potential. Anyone that beautiful with that voice had to have potential to be good, but I didn't think this good, at least not by now). Every time I manage to think of something I'd like to see her do or change, she goes and does it. She's really, really incredible. But back to the show, Notes/Prima Donna was pretty uneventful. I watched Lara and Jeremy mostly; they're a great pairing with the perfect combination of comedy and drama (as well as huge voices). 

Onto Il Muto; here's where my only issue with Harriet is (and seriously, any complaints at this point are down to personal preference, not anything she's doing wrong, per say). In both Il Muto and PONR, I'd like to see her decide whether she's Christine playing the part full out, or if she's Christine attempting to play the parts but not feeling confident/knowing something's about to go wrong. She went back and forth a bit between these two approaches (at least from my perspective) and I'd like to see her settle on one. I think she's leaning towards the latter though, which is the more challenging approach, so if she can completely commit to that one I think it'd be very impressive. It's fine to take different approaches for Aminta and Serafimo, but picking one approach or the other for each character would be easier to watch and would help with the consistency of Christine's character. 

Anyway, Lara is hilarious in Il Muto. There was a slight issue getting the chairs off the stage in time; the backstage people were whisper-screaming "Chairs! Chairs!" until someone ran on and whipped them off as the ballet was going on (Andre's introduction to the ballet was hysterical. The audience was really responding to comedy that night, so he played it up, drawing out the introduction, using longer pauses to make it funnier. He then proceeded to run into two BGs instead of the usual one, and then hurriedly say "The Ballet!!" before sprinting off. I've never laughed so hard at Phantom. Also, Olivia in Il Muto is so funny. She really overdoes Serafimo at the beginning, which I love. That was probably the funniest Il Muto sequence I've ever sat through). Ballet was lovely as usual (gorgeous pirouettes both nights from Danielle and Layla). Rooftop/All I Ask of You was fine; Harriet's toned down the panic a lot, which I didn't think she needed to. Again, personal preference. I Gave You My Music was haunting as usual, and the chandelier went down without a hitch.

Scott Davies as The Phantom (Tumblr)

Onto Act Two! Masquerade is consistently one of my favourite songs (used to be my second least-favourite until Layla decided to be awesome. Now it's one of my favourites). The two cover Managers (Duncan Smith and Tim Laurenti) are so humorous in this. They lack a bit of connection to each other, but that's to be expected. Individually though, incredibly funny. Tim's really good at playing up Andre's comedic moments. The Raoul/Mme Giry scene has gotten louder, so it covers up the sound of the stairs being pulled back better. Notes/Twisted was good. Again, Harriet's toned down the panic a bit, which I still don't think she needed to do. But I'm still so impressed by her though; she's got a solid grasp of the character now and plays her really well and consistently (at least if she's going to understate the panic, she does it that way all the way through). The Don Juan rehearsal had a slight glitch; I don't know what happened because I was watching Harriet, but for some reason Lara didn't get over to Reyer to hit him with the score and nearly missed "Those who tangle with Don Juan!" (no problems the next night). Loved Harriet's face while everyone was creepily singing; perfect combination of confusion and terror.

I think Wishing is Harriet's weak song, vocally (surprising) and acting-wise (it's a challenging song; you've got no one else to work off of so everything really has to come from her). It's still come so far even since May, and I figure it'll come together for her eventually, especially if she continues her current rate of progress. Anyway, I'm not worried about it. She still does it beautifully, I just don't find it quite as emotional as it could be. Both Olivia and Harriet do Wandering Child perfectly; nothing much to say there. 

The beginning of Don Juan was fine as normal (side note: you know you've seen the show too many times when you start being able to tell swings apart to the point that you actually have a favourite Swing. Had a different one filling Ashleigh's role each night; my preferred one was on on June 6th). PONR was probably my favourite song of the night; I think it's Harriet's best, most natural song (along with Think of Me). Basically, she does the song and the blocking exactly the way I want it (though I still have a soft spot for Olivia's twirl after "Let the dream descend"); from the start of Christine's part in PONR Harriet is basically flawless; it's natural and believable. Nothing really seems planned; it comes off as much more instinctive/immediate, which I love (I've noted that Olivia seems to lose energy during PONR in the past - not the case this time. Solid, energetic performance all the way through. She's pulling her arms away on "stand" now, as opposed to just letting them fall away, which Harriet's always done and which I much prefer).

Incredibly emotional Final Lair. Shame about Sean and his emotional range of a teaspoon, but oh well. No issues with the noose either night. Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot about either Final Lair because I was crying a lot (June 5th because it was really emotionally performed - Harriet's really bringing out Christine's fierceness now! and June 6th because I was thinking that it could be the last time I saw Olivia perform it - best case scenario I've got one more show of hers left, and that'll be her last). So both were good, but I don't remember any particular details.

All in all, I had an amazing time. I know it seems I'm being quite critical of Harriet but I've never enjoyed her so much and I am SO impressed how far she's come in such a short time. Also I like to make a note of things I'd like to see changed because half the time, the next time I see her, they've been changed. But she was seriously amazing, and I am SO excited to see her Christine again.

Some final thoughts on the June 6th show; as I said, I was mostly watching Olivia, and something occurred to me. She gives Christine humanity and integrity, in the same way Celinde Schoenmaker does with Fantine and Layla Harrison does with Meg (Gina Beck as Glinda early in her run is another example). That is, she makes a character that's hard to feel for or that can come off as very shallow very interesting, and someone that the audience can feel sympathy for. 

Layla Harrison is nominated for West End Frame (@West_End_Frame) Understudy of the Year! She's a truly incredible Meg, bringing life to an often understated role,  and amazing in her Ballet Girl part as well. You can vote for her here: http://www.westendframe.com/2014/06/vote-understudy-of-year-2014.html#more

Matilda (June 4th, 2014)

Matilda

Children's Cast

Just a quick little review of Matilda. It's a fairly consistent show (rarely do things do wrong aside from a few jumbled lines), but I was sitting three rows back this time and had an idea of a few things to watch for that I hadn't seen before. Mike Denman was on for Mr Wormwood, and Juliet Gough for Mrs Phelps. 

The children were amazing, as usual. Lollie is a very well-rounded Matilda. The dancing is definitely her strength, but she's got a good voice and convincing acting too. Because she's such a strong dancer, I was surprised that she didn't do the stunt in Smell of Rebellion (Tasha did it on only her second show, so there must be something else preventing Lollie from doing it). She also had an unfortunate mishap with her skirt getting caught in her blazer for most of "I'm Here"; beautifully touching song, but it can't've been fun to have her skirt tucked into her blazer (showing her Smell of Rebellion costume) the whole song. Naughty is Lollie's best song, but the strength and power in her voice has improved since November, making Quiet a strong song for her as well. As for the other children: Jaime Adler as Lavender was fine. She didn't quite have the energy and enunciation of Emily Robins (it was hard to understand half of her lines and she got her words turned around a few times). Oliver Loades as Bruce was mediocre until Revolting Children; his (bright blue) glasses kept coming down through the show, and he wasn't really acting. But in Revolting Children he was amazing; huge voice, funny dance moves, playing with the fact that his glasses were falling down. Eithne Cox as Alice seemed to be permanently angry for some reason. Ruby McNamara is a fabulous dancer. Gabriel Werb has the BEST facial expressions. He's absolutely hilarious.

Of the adult cast; Mike Denman did a good job as Mr Wormwood. Not as humorous as I usually prefer, but it was a solid portrayal. Juliet Gough was a mediocre Mrs Phelps. She seemed to be struggling to remember her lines and act at the same time. Mrs Wormwood was FABULOUS. I love Loud, and she has some amazing tricks that she throws in that song. Rudolpho didn't do the split drop on "Calculate this!" which was a bit disappointing, but oh well. Alex Gaumond as Miss Trunchbull was terrifyingly brilliant as usual, though he's still a bit too manly in his voice. Haley Flaherty has a humorous and moving take on Miss Honey, but her voice lacked strength and power during "My House", which is unusual for her. Otherwise, I thought she was incredible. I loved her reaction at the end of Bruce, and she makes Pathetic a more tolerable song. The adult ensemble in London isn't my favourite; they have a massive bearded man playing an 11 year old. Really?! An amazing swing (Katie Price, I think?) does both child and adult roles, taking Lollie's place during Smell of Rebellion, so hats off to her.

It was a very enjoyable show; loved seeing Lollie (even though I'd been hoping for one of the two I haven't seen yet), and had such a great time in general. Highly recommend this show at the moment; the two Matildas I've seen are particularly strong, as is the majority of the cast.