Been right here but busy busy busy !
It's hard to believe that we've been back in Oz for 6 weeks already.
There has been a hell of a lot happening in the time since we got back ....... settling back into work ...... getting into some heavy motivation to start working on the new show (since I spent a considerable amount of cash buying fabric and bling whilst OS - more on that to follow ) , putting the starting blocks in place for organising the next trip in September and finally, organising the last stage of the house move that started in November.
Now, here we at the end of February already and Christ I am feeling old but the show is taking form, at least on paper - the next trip is all but arranged - and the move is finally over ! At last a little bit of quiet time :-)The time away over Xmas ?
Quite simply, the most incredible experience of my life !
Thank you BJ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course you will be reading this thinking 'back for 6 weeks?' ..... "6 WEEKS ?"
Well that's how long we'd been back when I originally wrote the first part but now it's actually 6 months since Paris !
So what finally managed to drag me out of hibernation ? One word .... WICKED !
Ok.... I love musicals ... especially big musicals ...... but it's been a very long time since I have been as excited by a show as I am about this one. I worked on some incredible shows over the years I was at the Lyric and I miss the adrenalin rush that happens every night when the curtain goes up but this show really makes it hit home how much I miss the whole experience of working in that industry.
I have been a devoted fan of Wicked since we saw it in London in December. That cast was truly superb and I have been a bit aprehensive about the Australian cast - simply because with a show of the calibre of Wicked, this is not the time to make dodgy casting choices but I can assure you that the casting for this production could not have been more spot on.
In the last few months I have been a rampant Youtube surfer, eagerly viewing clips from productions around the world and I while I never really found anything to fully match the cast we saw in London there are some fantastic performances floating around. What we saw on Sunday night though could well eclipse the best of them.
I don't say that with any false sense of patriotism. I would just as quickly dismiss a production that really does not do justice to the true potential of a show.
As a rule, the longer a show runs the more it evolves and the more artists who perform the roles the more the characters develop. Wicked has been running for about 5 or 6 years on Broadway and having seen footage of the original Broadway cast - as good as they were - the characters and script have become far more defined and more multi dimensional.
Of course it's still up to the cast to nail it - and in Melbourne on Sunday night, nail it they did !
Well that's how long we'd been back when I originally wrote the first part but now it's actually 6 months since Paris !
So what finally managed to drag me out of hibernation ? One word .... WICKED !
Ok.... I love musicals ... especially big musicals ...... but it's been a very long time since I have been as excited by a show as I am about this one. I worked on some incredible shows over the years I was at the Lyric and I miss the adrenalin rush that happens every night when the curtain goes up but this show really makes it hit home how much I miss the whole experience of working in that industry.
I have been a devoted fan of Wicked since we saw it in London in December. That cast was truly superb and I have been a bit aprehensive about the Australian cast - simply because with a show of the calibre of Wicked, this is not the time to make dodgy casting choices but I can assure you that the casting for this production could not have been more spot on.
In the last few months I have been a rampant Youtube surfer, eagerly viewing clips from productions around the world and I while I never really found anything to fully match the cast we saw in London there are some fantastic performances floating around. What we saw on Sunday night though could well eclipse the best of them.
I don't say that with any false sense of patriotism. I would just as quickly dismiss a production that really does not do justice to the true potential of a show.
As a rule, the longer a show runs the more it evolves and the more artists who perform the roles the more the characters develop. Wicked has been running for about 5 or 6 years on Broadway and having seen footage of the original Broadway cast - as good as they were - the characters and script have become far more defined and more multi dimensional.
Of course it's still up to the cast to nail it - and in Melbourne on Sunday night, nail it they did !
Amanda Harrison - Amanda HarrisonWow ! I'll say it again for effect - WOW !! Nothing more to say really.... spot on ... nailed it from start to finish.
Lucy Durak - GlindaLucy Durack is just beautiful. When I worked on Mamma Mia, Lucy was just joining the show as a new Ensemble member at the end of the Brisbane season. Being in the Ensemble is not likely to be something this lady has to worry about again.
Rob Mills - FiyeroRob Mills was a bit of a 'ho hum' choice for me but he was spot on ! His acting was a lot better than I expected and he played Fiyero much better than I thought he would. Again there has been a fair bit of criticism about Rob Mills in this role but he was great.
Maggie Kirkpatrick - Madam MorribleWhat can I say ? I thought of a few Aussie performers who could play Morrible - specifically Judi Connelli and Geraldine Turner - and I never factored Maggie into the equasion when the casting started but she suits the role perfectly. Morrible doesn't really have a song to speak of but she is woven through the whole storyline. Maggie plays her as intimidating and sinister and it was really cool to see a few flashes of the Freak showing through later in Act 2 !
Rob Guest - The WizardIt must have been a challenge for Rob to restrain himself in what is a very small role. He has 2 songs only one of which is his 'big number' but he played the part very well.
Penny McNamee - NessaroseNessarose is the Wicked Witch's little sister. Again, not a big role but Penny put a lot more emotion into the character than I have heard or seen before.
Anthony Callea - BoqThere have been a lot of comments made about Anthony Calea being included in the cast - most of them not flattering. Sure he was possibly included more for his name than his acting history. The role isn't particularly challenging vocally and it is certainly not a big role although it is fairly integral to the twists in Act 2. Personally, I thought he did a good job. No he isn't the best actor in the world but he will certainly relax into the role as time goes on.
Rodney Dobson - Dr DillamondI have worked with Rodney on a couple of shows - Les Mis and Jolson and he a great performer and a lot of fun. He makes a great 'token goat' and it's good to see him cast in a principal role in a show this big.
The costumes and set are spectacular.
The music is powerful.
The lighting is perfect.
The story takes you along with it from start to finish.
Harrison and Durack - Brilliant !
Wicked ? - Breath taking !
See it at all costs.
The music is powerful.
The lighting is perfect.
The story takes you along with it from start to finish.
Harrison and Durack - Brilliant !
Wicked ? - Breath taking !
See it at all costs.
Amanda Harrison*
Lucy Durack*
Rob Mills*
Maggie Kirkpatrick*
Rob Guest*Anthony Callea*
In action *
In action *
I think this sign will be making frequent appearances at the front of the Regent Theatre !*
* I did not take these photo's
More on what else has been happening after the weekend !
No comments:
Post a Comment