THEGAYUK

Tag: Stephen Sondheim

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Company, Gielgud Theatre, London

    ★★★★☆ | Company

    The stage legend that is Patti Lupone is gracing London’s West End with her presence in a new revival of Stephen Sondheim‘s Company.

    Lupone is not just a star, she is a STAR, having played Evita in the first New York City production in 1979 (Elaine Paige was the first Evita in London’s West End in 1978).

    In Company, Lupone is not actually the star and lead of the show, but every time she is on stage the audience seems to gasp and hold their breath.

    But Company is not at all about her character (an older wiser woman who doles out advice), it’s about Bonnie (played by Rosalie Craig, recently seen in the mega-critically acclaimed The Ferryman), who seems to live in a world full of couples (and of course in this modern society one of the couples is gay). All of her friends are in a relationship, but it’s her, who at her surprise birthday party (which is not really a surprise as someone tells her about it) at the tender age of 35), that she realises that she is single and alone in a couples world.

    Originally a musical about a single man (Robert), showcasing a single strong professional woman is just the message that is needed right now in this #metoo time.

    While Bonnie trots along, there are clever sets (by Bunny Christie) that float in and out of the stage like picture frames. And a scene-stealing moment takes place when, right before his gay wedding, Jamie (a superb Jonathan Bailey – give him his own show NOW), starts to hyperventilate and talk 100 miles a minute as to whether he will go through his wedding – it’s a brilliant turn.

    But the show stealer is none other than Patti Lupone; when she sings the classic ‘The Ladies Who Lunch’ you just want to lick your lips and savour each second. Sitting on a cocktail chair, she sings absolutely delicious, and when she says “I’ll drink to that,” you just want to melt. For me, her song is the most memorable part of the show, and it is an absolute gem.

    Marianne Elliott’s production of this 1970 show is as modern and up to date as possible, but please, more more more Lupone next. Here’s to the lady who steals the show!

    Company plays at the Gielgud Theatre until March 2019, Book tickets now (with no fees)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Frogs, Jermyn Street Theatre

    ★★★ | The Frogs, Jermyn Street Theatre

    The-Friogs-2-THE-FROGS-1-George-Rae-Zanthia-and-Michael-Matus-Dionysos-and-cast-Photo-David-Ovenden1

    Stephen Sondheim is the grand master of some of the wittiest, campest and catchiest musical theatre numbers of all time. He’s also still going strong and still writing at 86. His back catalogue is staggering with Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Company to name a few, so it’s exciting to see a rarely revived 1974 musical re-surface.

    There’s always a worry that there’s a reason a musical stayed under the water (be warned, the ‘frog’ puns are just too easy to resist) and in this case, it’s easy to see why this one floundered and never quite hit the shoreline.

    The story is based on an ancient Greek comedy and concerns a demi-god and his slave who decide to travel to the underworld to bring back a great writer. It’s as silly a story as it sounds and a mad musical but one with a timely political undertone about the role of the arts in society. The chorus sidle on and off the stage playing a variety of parts, jazz-handed and legs crossing and high-kicking in the tiny space of The Jermyn Street Theatre. Dionysos and his slave have some great interactions but the songs are sparse with long discourses in between about theatre and the arts. It sounds dull but isn’t at all, apart from a peculiar piece in the second act that slackens the pace. This being Sondheim, the lyrics are densely packed and razor sharp. It can feel like a list of ‘in’ jokes at times with riffs on theatre etiquette and the behaviour of actors but they’re funny ‘in’ jokes nonetheless. Michael Matus as Dionysos is a musical theatre stalwart/legend and it’s a privilege to see him perform in such an intimate venue.

    The Frogs was originally performed in a swimming pool with Sigourney Weaver and Meryl Streep splashing around amongst the cast. According to Sondheim, the acoustics made it sound like it was being sung in a urinal and it bombed. Nathan Lane (The Birdcage, The Producers and The Good Wife) re-invigorated the play in 2004 but still; it’s a difficult beast.

    If like me you’re a Sondheim fanatic then you’ll love this. If you’re not initiated then it might feel like a drag.

     

    The Frogs plays at the Jermyn Street Theatre until 8th April 2017

  • Theatre Review | Into The Woods – West Yorkshire Playhouse

    ★★★★ | Into The Woods (National Tour)

    A baker and his wife long for a child, but a curse placed on their family many years ago prevent them from having their hearts desire.  But when the Witch who cursed them offers to lift her spell over the family in exchange for them bringing her four specific items; the two of them set out into the woods on a quest which interweaves four very familiar stories.

    Photo Credit : Manuel Harlan

     

     

     

     

     

    Stephen Sondheim’s darkly comic fairy tale mash up is a curious beast. The first act is a charming, comical and whimsical look at the intertwining tales of four familiar stories, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood. The familiarity of the stories and the light comic moments wash over you with a feeling of warm nostalgia, bringing the first act to a close with a happy ending, as all good musicals (and indeed, as all good fairy tales) should. The second act, however, takes a much darker tone, reflected in the subject matter, the musical numbers and the presentation, as Sondheim bleakly examines the impact adults have on their children and how death affects us all. Jack is raised by a single mother, Rapunzel and the witch have a dysfunctional mother / daughter relationship, Cinderella pines for her dead mother and the Baker has his own issues with his absent father. Sondheim certainly pulls no punches as to how parents influence their offspring.

    Performance wise, the co-production between West Yorkshire Playhouse and Opera North is a visual and aural treat. Colin Richmond’s set design starts as a faithful recreation of a primary school classroom, which transforms with remarkable versatility as the tale unfolds, and the staging of the play within a school setting reinforces the themes of parental influence in the second act. The forest of playground swings added eerie gravitas to the set which was enhanced by the digital projections at the rear of the stage. Puppetry further laid on the childhood charm and there is a ‘giant’ character as the second act opens which is enough to induce both laughter and reawaken childhood fears simultaneously.

    The cast sang remarkably, as one would expect, and it was a genuine pleasure to see a musical where absolutely every cast member could sing beautifully; providing expression, emotion and perfect diction in every line.  Claire Pascoe excelled as The Witch both in acting and singing, whilst Ross McInroy had velvet voice which I could have happily listened to all evening.

    Sondheim can often be quite heavy going, and the second act certainly felt very dark (and perhaps just a tad long), as it became increasingly bleak in its portrayal of what happens “after happily ever after”. But despite this, you can’t help but leave the theatre feeling that you have been on a journey, as the show itself presents as somewhat of a metaphor for the woods themselves – the more you journey into it, the darker it becomes.

    Into The Woods is a co-production between Opera North (www.operanorth.co.uk) and West Yorkshire Playhouse (www.wyp.org.uk) and is playing until 25th June 2016. For details or to book tickets visit their websites or call the theatre on 0113 213 7700

     

  • Gay celebs with big age gaps, showing that age is just a number

    What’s age… it’s just a number after all. Here are some celebrity pairings that we’ve found have quite a large age gap. Not that it matters of course.

    Dan Savage and Terry Miller (6 years)

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BKPHqQhDfKJ

    Okay, so the age gap between Terry Miller and Dan Savage is not so big, but this power couple have been together for years bringing up their son, DJ.

    >>> NEXT: LANCE BASS AND MICHAEL TURCHIN>>>

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14