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Post by Buff on Mar 24, 2008 16:49:19 GMT 11
Chookas to the Cast and Crew of Blood Brothers for tonight's oping show. Here's to a great run! Buff  |
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paulie
Backyard Balladeer
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Post by paulie on Mar 31, 2008 10:19:29 GMT 11
Interesting review... someone's not a fan. Anyway, I look forward to seeing the show this Thursday.
THE EXAMINER MARCH 26
Fine tuning would lift the quality of society's production
BLOOD BROTHERS REVIEW By JEFF HAYES
THE Launceston Musical Society's first offering for 2008, Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, is an intriguing exploration of the darker ramifications of the British class system.
A single mother is convinced to give up one of her newborn twins by her barren upper- class employer, setting in motion a series of events which ends in tragedy and doom.
The production featured dynamic vocal performances by the principals, especially Tessa Dunstan as Mrs Johnstone and Ben Martin as the Narrator.
They were well supported by a strong choral ensemble.
Cayden Richards and Christopher Bryg, as the separated twins, began slowly but grew in confidence and vocal surety as the show continued.
Both performers, however, would benefit from lifting their eyes to the audience as they tended to play down a lot.
Despite its heavy subject matter, there were a number of lighter moments, but at times stylistic shifts tended to break the momentum of the play.
Choreography, when intrinsic to the action, was very effective, particularly in the children's play sequence.
However, there were moments when a shift to a full- blown production number seemed discordant.
The musicians, under the direction of Matthew Dudfield, provided able support to the performers, but I did question the need for the performers to be miked for an intimate space like the Annexe Theatre.
Pacing tended to be a problem and lessened the dramatic impact of the story.
The action should drive inexorably to its conclusion but the production, at this stage, tended to limp to its finale.
The cueing was too slow and this lack of energy affected many other areas of the play.
Blood Brothers would benefit from some judicious editing as the overuse of the reprise was unnecessary and annoying.
The production has a solid base and, given its long season, has time to grow and develop.
It continues at the Annexe until April 5.
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Post by Buff on Mar 31, 2008 10:58:32 GMT 11
Blood Brothers would benefit from some judicious editing as the overuse of the reprise was unnecessary and annoying. That's a running gag with the cast! The poor Narrator has to sing virtually the same song (there are differences!) about 8 times. Mr. hayes will have to talk directly to Willy Russell to fix that one! The production has a solid base and, given its long season, has time to grow and develop. A person who saw the show on the opening night and then again on Saturday night said the show had gone up several levels. The general response from people who were at the show the same night was that he must have been watching a different show to them. Hope you enjoy the show on Thursday night! Buff |
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Post by accentuate on Mar 31, 2008 21:34:57 GMT 11
Interesting review... someone's not a fan. Anyway, I look forward to seeing the show this Thursday. THE EXAMINER MARCH 26 Fine tuning would lift the quality of society's production BLOOD BROTHERS REVIEW By JEFF HAYES THE Launceston Musical Society's first offering for 2008, Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, is an intriguing exploration of the darker ramifications of the British class system. A single mother is convinced to give up one of her newborn twins by her barren upper- class employer, setting in motion a series of events which ends in tragedy and doom. The production featured dynamic vocal performances by the principals, especially Tessa Dunstan as Mrs Johnstone and Ben Martin as the Narrator. They were well supported by a strong choral ensemble. Cayden Richards and Christopher Bryg, as the separated twins, began slowly but grew in confidence and vocal surety as the show continued. Both performers, however, would benefit from lifting their eyes to the audience as they tended to play down a lot. Despite its heavy subject matter, there were a number of lighter moments, but at times stylistic shifts tended to break the momentum of the play. Choreography, when intrinsic to the action, was very effective, particularly in the children's play sequence. However, there were moments when a shift to a full- blown production number seemed discordant. The musicians, under the direction of Matthew Dudfield, provided able support to the performers, but I did question the need for the performers to be miked for an intimate space like the Annexe Theatre. Pacing tended to be a problem and lessened the dramatic impact of the story. The action should drive inexorably to its conclusion but the production, at this stage, tended to limp to its finale. The cueing was too slow and this lack of energy affected many other areas of the play. Blood Brothers would benefit from some judicious editing as the overuse of the reprise was unnecessary and annoying. The production has a solid base and, given its long season, has time to grow and develop. It continues at the Annexe until April 5. I have become interested in reviews (and though I know nothing about Launceston or Blood Brothers), I actually wanted to pipe in and comment on this one. This reviewer to me, sounded like they liked it rather alot and had an enjoyable evening, but merely pointed out flaws. As there are in every production. From Wicked on Broadway to Blood Brothers in Launceston. The problem with reviews, on small or large scale productions, is the response to them. Just because the reviewer had critical feedback, as well as a lot of good to say about this production, the poster Paulie has boiled it all down to say "Clearly, someone is not a fan". But thats not true: This review had as many positive elements as negative. You could have easily said "clearly someone is a fan" and it would have been equally as true a statement. Reviews are an opinion of someone who has a word count to fill and feel they need to shine the light on what is possibly strong and what is possibly weak about a production. This review has done both. But just because this reviewer wrote a couple of criticisms amongst a lot of praise, why on earth do you boil that down to "clearly not a fan?" Thats the problem with reviews: the people reading them. And the way they siphon them into a definitive record of if the show is good or bad. |
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Post by Buff on Apr 1, 2008 8:51:40 GMT 11
I couldn't agree with you more, accentuate. I didn't think it was too bad a review. The problems pointed out were one's we knew existed anyway and have been working on to eliminate. The review was positive towards the 4 leads and rightly so - they are doing an amazing job. Buff |
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paulie
Backyard Balladeer
Posts: 23
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Post by paulie on Apr 1, 2008 9:06:23 GMT 11
What's that noise I hear? Could it be the sound of someone jumping to conclusions??
If you were aware of this director's style, you would know that the director in question has a tendency to add in additional material to shows (ie "if extra songs were written for a film version, then let's throw them into the stage version without cutting anything out to compensate for the additional time"). This has often had a negative impact on the pace of his past productions, with usual finishing times of 11pm+.
The reviewer in question has seem much of his work (as have I), and - this is just a guess - I imagine that his review reflects that.
However, I have bought my ticket and will go along this week and make up my own mind.
Also Accentuate, I did not use the word "clearly". Could it be said you are employing a little 'theatrical license' with my posting?
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Post by Buff on Apr 1, 2008 10:56:30 GMT 11
...with usual finishing times of 11pm+. Blood Brothers also finishes around 11pm. I was talking to a friend of mine who said about the finishing time, so I looked up the West End Production and they have a similar running time. Buff |
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paulie
Backyard Balladeer
Posts: 23
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Post by paulie on Apr 1, 2008 11:13:53 GMT 11
Buff, I don't want to be picky, but the London production comes down at 10.45pm nightly.
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Post by Buff on Apr 1, 2008 12:10:55 GMT 11
You're right - I misread the website. I saw the running time as 2 hours 45 minutes and assumed that the 20 minute interval was not included in that time, so added it on. Oops  Buff |
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paulie
Backyard Balladeer
Posts: 23
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Post by paulie on Apr 4, 2008 11:38:19 GMT 11
I went along to Blood Brothers last night, and overall thought it was quite good with some moments of excellence from the performers. The move to the Annexe Theatre has certainly paid dividends. Hopefully more LMS shows can be staged there.
I think the Examiner review made some valid points about pacing, and there are some very pregnant pauses around scene changes and entrances and exits are rather drawn out.
Tessa Dunstan was outstanding as Mrs Johnstone, as was Cayden Richards & Christopher Briggs as the brothers. Good to see some new faces to the group. Mrs Lyons was also first rate (sorry, but her name escapes me and I don't have my program handy).
For me, there were a few small issues that needed work. There was a bit of overacting in the ensemble which unecessarily pulled the audience focus, one or two accents definitely needed work, and the narrator was a bit too classical for my liking in his approach to the score (lovely voice, mind you), and a bit stiff in the acting department.
Oh, and I didn't see a choreographer credited in the program. Did the show have one?
Overall, a pretty good effort from LMS. Congrats, guys, and enjoy the rest of the season ;-)
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Post by Buff on Apr 4, 2008 18:00:45 GMT 11
Tessa Dunstan was outstanding as Mrs Johnstone, as was Cayden Richards & Christopher Briggs as the brothers. Good to see some new faces to the group. Mrs Lyons was also first rate (sorry, but her name escapes me and I don't have my program handy). The leads are great - a real highlight. Mrs. Lyons is Anne Grainger and I have loved working with her. Wonderful actress. Oh, and I didn't see a choreographer credited in the program. Did the show have one? Overall, a pretty good effort from LMS. Congrats, guys, and enjoy the rest of the season ;-) The director did the choreography that was required. Glad you enjoyed the show. We realise that it's not perfect but are happy with the way it is going and the response from the audience. 3 shows to go! Buff |
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