Post by Sally on Nov 20, 2004 21:26:54 GMT 11
5:30pm, 20/11, Regent Theatre.
Neighbours cast
Interesting. I mean that in a good way! The chorus all wove through the audience (which could get unnerving at times!) before heading up to the stage, as people were coming in still, so this kept going for about 10 minutes.
Marisa Warrington, Marcella Russo, and Natalie Blair sang the opening song, as theatre ushers, and WOW. All three of them, great! Not great singers mind, but good enough and very much in character. Natalie actually had a pretty impressive voice. Marisa's sounded the weakest at the start (a bit reedy) but she actually ended up with the most singing, and her voice very much suited the character she was playing (Columbia) and the way she played her. Very earnest, exciteable, and a wee bit squeaky ;D Marcella had the voice I'd have liked to have heard more of, of those three. And she was a brilliantly sultry Magenta!
Natalie Bassingthwaighte was the main reason I had wanted to see the show, and she did not disappoint. She was incredible - what a voice! And what a cutie. I definitely look forward to seeing her in hopefully many more shows
And Maria Mercedes as Frank-n-furter..
well putting a woman as F-N-F was a risk, but whoa did it pay off. She was channeling Tim Curry. She was so over the top, she walked away with the show.
Visually, it was another one concert-style. I am beginning to forget what a full set looks like
The band were on stage, there were steps and such everywhere, and the entire stage was in use, so that when not singing, the chorus all hovered on the edges and around the back. It was a very open stage, from where I was sitting I could see the doors leading to the back There were also two large video screens, which were used as changing backdrops, and also for things that were happening "in another place". At the start, the introduction of Brad and Janet was preceeded by a bit of Scott and Charlene's wedding even
It was loud and fast and full on (no interval!) and fun and well worth it. The cast looked like they were having a ball, especially Natalie (Bass, who lost it during curtain call when Ian Smith accidentally sung the wrong thing) who was just brilliant. If I could have one gripe, it would be that Alan Fletcher's mic was turned up way too loud at the start. It was painful to listen to at that volume but luckily seemed to be lowered eventually.
Overall, loved it. Though not the sort of show I would see again (if it was on for a longer season that is), it was worth seeing once, just for the novelty value, as well as *finally* seeing Natalie on stage.
Was it unfair to the show seeing it just after Eureka? I don't believe so, because having just seen Eureka (this afternoon ;D will spare you all the raving review), I was therefore on a theatre high, and since I couldn't very well see Eureka again (well actually, RHPS did get out at 7:15 and for a good 30 seconds it did cross my mind that there was enough time to get to Her Maj...
), just seeing any show was good enough. And you can't very well compare something like RHPS to Eureka anyway because they are such vastly different shows in every respect! And of course Eureka's miles better, that goes without saying So I was ready to see RHPS on its own merits and not compare it to anything else, but there was one place where I couldn't help but do so, and that was the chorus. I loved the chorus in the TPC shows - especially High Society. I loved the chorus in everything else. I adore watching the Eureka chorus. And that's where RHPS fell - I had just come from a show where I can't stop watching the chorus members and enjoying everything they do, to one where I just want those people to go away and stop it Going from a show where there are 30 people to watch, to one where there's half a dozen, and then all these other people floating around in the background that you just want to ignore. But aside from that, I didn't let myself compare the show to Eureka too much
Overall: 8/10
Neighbours cast
Interesting. I mean that in a good way! The chorus all wove through the audience (which could get unnerving at times!) before heading up to the stage, as people were coming in still, so this kept going for about 10 minutes.
Marisa Warrington, Marcella Russo, and Natalie Blair sang the opening song, as theatre ushers, and WOW. All three of them, great! Not great singers mind, but good enough and very much in character. Natalie actually had a pretty impressive voice. Marisa's sounded the weakest at the start (a bit reedy) but she actually ended up with the most singing, and her voice very much suited the character she was playing (Columbia) and the way she played her. Very earnest, exciteable, and a wee bit squeaky ;D Marcella had the voice I'd have liked to have heard more of, of those three. And she was a brilliantly sultry Magenta!
Natalie Bassingthwaighte was the main reason I had wanted to see the show, and she did not disappoint. She was incredible - what a voice! And what a cutie. I definitely look forward to seeing her in hopefully many more shows
And Maria Mercedes as Frank-n-furter..
well putting a woman as F-N-F was a risk, but whoa did it pay off. She was channeling Tim Curry. She was so over the top, she walked away with the show.Visually, it was another one concert-style. I am beginning to forget what a full set looks like
The band were on stage, there were steps and such everywhere, and the entire stage was in use, so that when not singing, the chorus all hovered on the edges and around the back. It was a very open stage, from where I was sitting I could see the doors leading to the back There were also two large video screens, which were used as changing backdrops, and also for things that were happening "in another place". At the start, the introduction of Brad and Janet was preceeded by a bit of Scott and Charlene's wedding even It was loud and fast and full on (no interval!) and fun and well worth it. The cast looked like they were having a ball, especially Natalie (Bass, who lost it during curtain call when Ian Smith accidentally sung the wrong thing) who was just brilliant. If I could have one gripe, it would be that Alan Fletcher's mic was turned up way too loud at the start. It was painful to listen to at that volume but luckily seemed to be lowered eventually.
Overall, loved it. Though not the sort of show I would see again (if it was on for a longer season that is), it was worth seeing once, just for the novelty value, as well as *finally* seeing Natalie on stage.
Was it unfair to the show seeing it just after Eureka? I don't believe so, because having just seen Eureka (this afternoon ;D will spare you all the raving review), I was therefore on a theatre high, and since I couldn't very well see Eureka again (well actually, RHPS did get out at 7:15 and for a good 30 seconds it did cross my mind that there was enough time to get to Her Maj...
), just seeing any show was good enough. And you can't very well compare something like RHPS to Eureka anyway because they are such vastly different shows in every respect! And of course Eureka's miles better, that goes without saying So I was ready to see RHPS on its own merits and not compare it to anything else, but there was one place where I couldn't help but do so, and that was the chorus. I loved the chorus in the TPC shows - especially High Society. I loved the chorus in everything else. I adore watching the Eureka chorus. And that's where RHPS fell - I had just come from a show where I can't stop watching the chorus members and enjoying everything they do, to one where I just want those people to go away and stop it Going from a show where there are 30 people to watch, to one where there's half a dozen, and then all these other people floating around in the background that you just want to ignore. But aside from that, I didn't let myself compare the show to Eureka too much Overall: 8/10
