Goodbye

I know that I've been posting little to nothing on this blog for the past couple of years, but now I think it best to reveal that I won't be using this blog anymore. My interest in theatre is nowhere near what it used to be and time has changed for me now that I'm no longer a teenager. However, this doesn't mean I'm not stopping blogging. I have a new blog on WordPress and it's more about the real me which I'll leave a link for at the end of this. This was the very first blog I started and it helped me find my voice and has inspired me to pursue a career in writing/journalism and I cannot be more thankful for it and it has been quite a journey! All I can say now is goodbye and I love you guys so much! Xxx
New blog: micaleona.wordpress.com
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Miss Saigon

I had been meaning to see this show for admittedly quite a while, but due to personal reasons getting in the way as I had been busy working on exams and thereafter was preparing to leave for university along with settling in, so I didn't have much time to go and see shows. But thankfully, now that my first year in uni is coming to an end, I finally had the opportunity to go and see this! So was it worth the long wait? Well, the answer is most definitely yes!
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The plot, similar to the Puccini opera Madama Butterfly, follows events after the Vietnam war as a young Vietnamese bar-girl and American GI soldier fall in love, but are torn apart by the fall of Saigon and the events afterwards, including the reveal that they have a son & Chris got married after returning to America, show the consequences of their and the wars' actions. Although the love story between Chris and Kim is used as the main plot for the musical, and was, I also was particularly intrigued by the framing device of the time setting during the reunification of the Vietnam, as this alone conveys the message of war causing tragedy thanks to the opposing communist and capitalist beliefs of Vietnam and America. This alone really helps make the show stand out compared to others along with the parallels to the original opera it's based on while entwining the historical context of the fall of Saigon. But despite all of this, the story itself is a tragedy, and a very well executed one at that!

The visuals in this show are absolutely spectacular, with the set designs and lighting capturing the beauty yet the sleaziness of Vietnam, rather it be the Dreamland bar/brothel, the streets of Bangkok with the all nightclubs on full display or the Ho Chi Minh City while celebrating the new communist regime (most certainly a visual delight to watch with the well choreographed military routines, dragon and red lightings used for the parade). The American Dream sequence is also a moment I must mention as it goes all out and makes it The costume designs are all also very well done, given that the show is set in the mid to late 70s along with the attention to detail put into the costumes Kim wears. But I really mustn't forget the helicopter scene on the Embassy roof as it's easily one of the most immaculate set pieces I have ever seen in a musical. In fact, the helicopter scene alone is why I'd recommend people go and see this because it'll blow your mind when watching it on-stage!

Despite the visuals, the main highlight for me was most definitely the actors. In her West End (and professional) debut, Eva Noblezada was absolutely perfect as Kim, capturing the naivete and tragedy of the character as she grows throughout due to the affects of the war and being a mother along with her powerhouse voice (in a way reminding me of London's original Kim, Lea Salonga) leaving me in awe. I definitely think she has an amazing career ahead of her West End actor Alistair Brammer (who I had previously seen as Marius in Les Miserables 4 years ago) also shines as the dashing Chris, in particular when showing the character's turmoil over losing Kim while moving on with his wife Ellen. Of course, I obviously can't forget the Engineer, played by Jon Jon Briones, and he was a delight to watch with his more sleazy and seedy take on the pimp while having moments which left me in stitches! Kwang-Ho Hung as Kim's fiancé Thuy also gave a very intense performance along with his voice being surprisingly nice to listen to despite his threatening presence onstage along with Hugh Maynard as John. I must also give praise to understudies Carolyn Maitland as Ellen, as she manages to give the character more sympathy during the new added song Maybe and Marsha Songcome as Gigi was also a joy to watch, in particular when showing off her talents during The Movie In My Mind!

The music itself, with songs by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, the same trio who worked on Les Miserables, also shines mostly due to the emotional centre of almost all the songs and left me teary eyed, in particular with the numbers Sun and Moon, I Believe and Bui Doi and the execution of all of them also help. The Bui Doi scene especially got to me as it showed footage of children orphaned from the war as John and his charity appeal that they must be reunited with their American fathers. The other songs are also enjoyable to listen to as they show how the characters are feeling and progress the plot, including The Movie In My Mind, Kim's Nightmare and I'd Give My Life For You (well, the whole musical is sung through so this comment was unavoidable) However, that doesn't mean the writers don't get to show off their Broadway style, which is shown through the penultimate number The American Dream, which goes all out to show The Engineer's rather sleazy fantasies of being in America capped off with him in a Cadillac while showgirls dance around him. 

Miss Saigon isn't just one of the best recent musicals I've seen, but also one of the bests I've seen period right next to The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. With incredible set pieces, a very compelling cast, memorable musical numbers and huge emotional depth, this really is something theatregoers must go and see now that it's been revived!
Rating: *****
And I did manage to go to the stage door afterwards, so here are a few photos!

My lovely mum came with me to see it & I insisted she have a photo taken with someone before we left!

Annie (2014 film)

Right from the get-go, I had huge doubts over this film thanks to the decision. Although there was some controversy surrounding the choice to change Annie's race to African American compared to the cute freckled red head little girl we all know & love, I didn't really mind, since well, that was the producer's choice & it is not a direct adaptation of the musical despite the songs, characters & basic plot...wait a minute! Anyway, there was some controversy thanks to the situation with the Sony hackers who ended up distributing digital copies of the film online to be pirated before it's release, although it has still made $110 million in the box office so far, so I guess it wasn't as big of a problem for Sony in terms of money! Produced by Will Smith & Jay-Z along with several others, can this version of Annie make me get fully dressed with a smile, or does this feel like a hard knock life? Well, as I mentioned above with what the film wants to be, I think it's clear my views are not very positive!

Anyway, I think judging that there, you can tell that the film is already problematic! Despite it trying to be it's own thing by changing the time setting, the fact that it's trying to be this & an adaptation of a beloved musical can make it very confusing with what it wants to be. Besides the basic outline of the plot & the characters, there is little resemblance to the original thanks to the main problem: the modernisation. It immediately gives the film a dated feeling & it doesn't help that everything they add in is forced, including memes, viral videos, the product placement (which I'll get to in a moment) & frequent use of today's social media & celebrities. The factor that they try to do callbacks to the original show, including a girl at the very beginning who looks exactly like the original Annie also makes it feel very very confusing. And the commentary of the original & is replaced with vapid materialism (including the girls going to a film premiere, Miss Hannigan wallowing in her own misery over not being famous & Annie seemingly being known by everyone in New York) although they also make a perplexing choice of poking fun at product placement in films despite the movie doing that itself not meant for comedy or parody, including Windows being frequently shown in William's smarthouse, obvious tie-ins with Toblerone & Ferrero Rocher at the movie premiere the characters attend & Twitter & Instagram playing very huge roles in the climax. Speaking of the comedy by the way, none of it made me laugh thanks to the predictability & there is a number of adult jokes with Miss Hannigan being mistaken for a prostitute which felt pretty coarse & unnecessary despite it being a film mostly aimed at families.

 

Originally intended to be played by Willow Smith, I personally thought replacing her with Academy Award nominated Quvenzhane Wallis from Beasts of the Southern Wild was the much better option for the title role, as she does her best to give her character charisma & a personality despite the very cheesy dialogue & the completely different personality they give Annie, although one particular scene where it's needlessly revealed that Annie is illiterate did stand out for me in terms of her acting. William Stacks, played by Jamie Foxx, is also very charismatic throughout with his performance, as always, despite the character himself being the generic misanthropic workaholic with a tough background, although he has to do a number of embarrassing scenes including spitting mashed potato in a homeless man's face, or eating many of Annie's disgusting & sporadic recipes at his smart house. As for the villain of the piece Miss Hannigan, played by Cameron Diaz, I thought this was a huge casting mis-step with her acting feeling very forced throughout along with the awful autotuning on Little Girls & the decision for her to redeem herself by the end was very predictable (which was started when Will tells her Annie genuinely thought she had a good singing voice. Pretty weak & ironic reason, huh?). She doesn't even hold a candle compared to Carol Burnett & is definitely one of my choices for one of the worst casting choices ever in a movie. Since Hannigan's brother Rooster & girlfriend Lily are taken out of this for obvious reasons this time round, the other villain, Guy, William Stacks'  played by Bobby Canavale is just a jerk Grace , played by Rose Byrne, while playing a motherly role towards Annie & the movie attempting to give her a quirky personality, can easily be qualified as the generic love interest towards Stacks due to their interactions despite the fact they have little to no chemistry. And Nash, played by Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje is pretty much the Punjab as Will's bodyguard despite not doing much for the plot besides being nice to Annie. And to give the film an even more dated feeling, they add in cameos all over the place with actors like Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Michael J. Fox along with singers Rihanna & Sia (who sings You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile which is now a background song during a montage & is admittedly catchy if you can ignore that it's a song from the original musical).

 

Other than the story & characters, the musical numbers also feel really watered down, mostly thanks to the modernisation of the orchestrations, the lazy choreography & the blatantly obvious autotuning, with the worst ones being Little Girls, I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, Maybe & Easy Street (which is set in a bar & oddly edited with cutting between & Miss Hannigan hatching their little scheme & them salsa dancing to the song despite it not actually happening). Tomorrow is also placed oddly along with the visuals being rather bizarre & it's kinda sad Quvenzhane Wallis didn't get to show off her voice with it (it doesn't really help that the score has this & It's A Hard Knock Life all over the place as if those are the only songs people care about) To make things worse, they decided to add in original numbers by which serve absolutely no purpose, including the Golden Globe nominated Opportunity, despite being a kind of good song, still feels like it was added in to be a cliched Oscar bait song, The City's Yours (which I hardly remember despite Jamie Foxx's good singing voice sadly being autotuned) & Who Am I is just there to try & make Miss Hannigan's redemption feel more 'natural' & to try & confirm what we already knew with Will having feelings for Annie. And the oddest part about it all is that the film almost feels ashamed to be a musical since they always lampshade when cliched musical numbers would be in a negative light. Well, at least it seems the actors were having fun while doing the final number & I Don't Need Anything But You was fun, if not rather abrupt.

 

There is honestly no point for this movie to exist at all & mostly thanks to the modernisation. With that it strips away the purpose & themes of the original along with the heart & replaces it with vapid materialism, gimmicky & over the top cliches giving it a very dated feeling as a result. The musical numbers are ultimately forgettable & it feels very confused as to what it wants to be: a proper adaptation of Annie or be it's own movie. At roughly 2 hours long, the pacing makes it feel like an eternity & the attempts at emotional scenes or character development fall flat despite the mostly likeable cast due to the characters being reduced to stereotypes of themselves from the original. Even if you're a fan of Annie or Jamie Foxx, I'd say go & watch Dreamgirls or stick with the original 1982 film or even the 1999 Disney TV version despite it's flaws because at least it sticks to the purpose of the original along with the themes & commentary it wanted to get across!

Rating: **

Once (The Musical)

I know, I know, I haven't done nearly as much posts as I should, but I finally had the opportunity to go & see this show after planning on doing so for months last night!

Once
Starring: Ronan Keating, Jill Winternitz, Alison Harding, Tim Prottey-Jones, Brandon Ellis, Matthew Ganley, Loren O'Dair, Matthew Hamper, Daniel Healy

Based on the 2006 low budget Irish film of the same name (which I shall review separately), the story is essentially a boy meets girl plot set in Dublin as an Irish busker/vacuum repair man with a broken heart meets a quirky Czech single mother (they have no names & are referred to as Guy & Girl in the programme so I'll be calling them that) as they fall in love through music, despite the fact that she's helping him try to win his ex girlfriend back & she has an estranged husband. It may sound very cliched when writing it down, but the way it's executed onstage along with the chemistry between the characters & it is taken more seriously than you think (especially the resolution of it at the end) Like any stage version of a film, this does expand more on the story & characters, and considering the film only really had 2 characters it focused on, this makes more sense as the side characters like Girl's mother Baruska, the bank manager that gives them the loan to work in a recording studio & the music shop owner (now named Billy) are given much more personality & are mostly the source of the comedy along with the funny banter between Guy & Girl. It doesn't shy away from the main story, but I really enjoyed them as much as Guy & Girl & it is nice to see them have their own tiny subplots to give them some development. The story overall is as simple & charming as it was in the film & this is an example of a stage version of a movie can work very well & be it's own thing (I mean, I doubt any of you would know this was actually based on a film if you first saw this)

Well known as the lead singer of former boyband Boyzone, Ronan Keating in his West End debut, while arguably used as an example of stunt casting before the show closes, actually fits the role of Guy pretty well, even if most of the time he has to strum his guitar & sing songs about love & heartbreak, although he is admittedly more understated in his acting compared to his co-stars. American actress Jill Winternitz on the other hand was fun & charming playing the rather eccentric Girl while managing to give her more depth with her passion for music & her conflicted feelings for Guy. The ensemble cast I also have to give credit to as they all have to play instruments & remain onstage when they are not needed or to do the orchestrations, with the act 1 finale Gold shining in particular as they have to dance while playing their instruments simultaneously. And a special mention goes out to Tim Prottey-Jones as Billy because he made me laugh so much with his antics & banter along with understudies Brandon Ellis & Allison Harding as the bank manager & Baruska.

The set design, designed by Bob Crowley, takes a minimalist approach as the one set piece used throughout the whole show is a traditional Irish bar (which you can get a drink from before the show starts & during the intermission) including a wide mirror at the back & chairs at the sides for the musicians whenever they're not needed on centre stage & the occasional subtitles to indicate what language the characters are speaking or to translate what they are saying. The Tony Award winning lighting design by Natasha Katz also manages to convey an intimate atmosphere & is used to it's advantage when the characters are in different locations than the bar like Guy's room, Girl's flat & especially during the scene with Guy & Girl at the cliff. For something as simple as Once, this works in it's favour as it lets the music & musicians further the story & it gives out a very welcoming atmosphere.

The musical numbers, most of them composed by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (who portrayed Guy & Girl in the original film) are definitely the highlight of the show, incorporating folk & rock music along with some very moving & beautiful lyrics which help move the story & show how the main 2 characters are feeling. Of course, the Oscar winning Falling Slowly makes appearances at the beginning & a heartbreaking reprise as the final number along with a few others from the film like When Your Mind Is Made Up which the actors sing their souls out for & Jill Winternitz's renditions of If You Want Me & The Hill were also very lovely to listen to. But honestly, next to Falling Slowly my personal favourite would have to be the act one finale Gold for me thanks to the beautiful lyrics & the choreography & orchestrations. The original songs are also very beautiful like Ronan Keating's versions of Leave, Sleeping & Say It To Me were simply amazing. However, the show does have the opportunity to add some light hearted songs into the mix like Abandoned in Bandon by the bank manager, Girl's flatmates & Baruska singing & dancing to Ej Pada Pada Rosicka & Guy hilariously rocking out to Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy. In fact, this is some of the best music I have ever heard for a musical as I do have a soft spot for folk music & the melodies & lyrics are all very beautiful to listen to! Heck, I immediately went to get the soundtrack when act 1 ended!

I am so glad I've finally seen this show because it really is something special. Like the original film, this is an example of less is more with letting the breathtaking music & actors tell this story of both the love main characters share for each other & a love for music. This really is something worth watching onstage & I really recommend checking it out before it closes on March 21st. And no, I didn't go to the stage door because it was late at night when it ended, I was exhausted from a day's work of studying & I just wanted to get back home as quick as I could to listen to the amazing music again!

Rating: *****

Into The Woods

For the Christmas season, Disney decided to release their own adaptation of the Sondheim Broadway musical, Into The Woods, which happens to also be the second adaptation of a Broadway musical Disney has made after Babes in Toyland back in 1961. The factor which has made me really interested about it is from what I've heard about it, people seem to have reservations for Disney being the company to adapt it for the big screen due to the adult themes & dark moments in the original stage show despite the fairytale setting. And just to be clear, I did listen to the Broadway soundtrack & watch the original Broadway stage version on Youtube before seeing the film to get a taster before going in. With an all star cast Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski & Chicago director Rob Marshall, will a Disneyfication of a classic Broadway show make it better, or was it too big of a risk? Well, you'll be surprised to know it in fact does live up to high expectations, although not quite better than it's source material.

Despite being under the Disney name, I just want to warn parents right now that if planning to take young children to see this, the film keeps all of the dark elements from the stage show, including the entire second act (which would be removed for obvious reasons in primary school productions) with the themes of death/grief, the sexual undertones between the Wolf & Little Red Riding Hood, even adultery & the main theme of wishes having consequences which all of the characters are forced to deal with in a realistic manner. Even then that's toned down obviously for the PG rating with almost all the deaths being heavily implied, the violence mostly being played for laughs & the adultery being a kiss between the Baker's Wife & Cinderella's Prince instead of full on seduction & the Agony reprise mentioning the princes having affairs with Snow White & Sleeping Beauty being entirely cut out. The themes of consequences & having to face them along with the well known moral 'children will listen' are very strong ones thanks to the characters & how most of them develop throughout the story, especially the Baker due to his experiences with his father & how he mustn't run away from his problems. Like any Sondheim musical, this does have the opportunity to be comedic as well as dark, although it varies including a darkly comic scene where Cinderella's stepmother cuts off her daughters' toes & heels to fit the slipper & the hilariously over the top Agony sequence thanks to some intentionally hammy acting or moments where the characters have to deliver lines in a very deadpan manner.

 

The visuals in this movie look fantastic, going for a fairytale look akin to that of a storybook, with immaculate production designs from Rapunzel's tower, the village in the kingdom to the woods themselves (which is a combination of sound stages & actual forests) along with the limited use of CGI on the occasional green screen effect or animals like the ravens which frequently appear & of course the giantess in the second act. This can also be said for the costume designs, including Cinderella's golden dress, Red Riding Hood's outfit similar to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, the Witch's outfit post transformation & the interesting choice of Johnny Depp's Wolf character wearing a zoot suit, with eagle eyed fans knowing that this is a tribute to Tex Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood, another Red Riding Hood adaptation with the theme of seduction. This can also transcend into the musical numbers as the orchestral arrangement compared to the original is very luscious & beautifully haunting to listen to, as well as being catchy of course thanks to Sondheim's witty & memorable lyrics which will make all the songs get stuck in your head & clearly the cast they chose for this were capable of the libretto they were given, especially Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Lilla Crawford, Anna Kendrick & Johnny Depp.

 

Speaking of the cast in this, they are all very wonderful & what carry the movie forward. Despite a star billing next to Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp in fact only appears in two scenes which last up to two minutes, although he manages to make them worth it in his rendition of Hello Little Girl. The other actors like James Corden, very familiar to British audiences in shows like Gavin & Stacey, his Tony award winning stint in One Man Two Guv'nors and more recently The Wrong Mans, plays a likeable lead as the Baker with a surprisingly good singing voice (it may not be Broadway quality like the other cast members but he still carries a charm to the character given that he's pretty much the protagonist compared to the more comedic roles he's known for playing) along with Emily Blunt as his wife in particular when conflicted with her feelings towards after committing adultery during Moments In The Woods & both have great chemistry during It Takes Two. Pitch Perfect's Anna Kendrick also shines as Cinderella with her comedic timing & Broadway style singing, in particular during On The Steps of The Palace while Chris Pine manages to be charming yet hilariously over the top as her prince opposite Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince during the Agony sequence or his very adorkable scenes with Rapunzel. The choice to have child actors as Jack & Red Riding Hood instead of adults like in the stage productions while a risk was thankfully pays off as Daniel Huddlestone (Gavroche in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Miserables) does a great job opposite Tracey Ullman as his mother while Broadway actress Lilla Crawford (from the 2014 revival of Annie) manages to be hilarious throughout, especially when she has to be deadpan, despite the controversy surrounding her age & the context of t and considering they originally intended Sophia Brownlee to play her, I personally thought Lilla was the much better choice thanks to her more theatrical resume & I believe she really does have a great career ahead for herself after this film. But despite all them, this is definitely Streep's movie, as she manages to make the Witch her own character, in particular during the musical numbers Stay With Me & The Last Midnight being intimidating yet having a charisma to her, also managing to give her a surprisingly sympathetic side during her scenes with Rapunzel. She may not shine as much as Bernadette Peters in the original but she isn't supposed to as she manages perfectly switch from over the top to more subdued & she isn't a downright villain despite all of her actions.

 

Despite all of these praises, there are a few problems, in particular with the change in Rapunzel's plot as she does not share the same fate as in the original & is practically ignored as she's never seen nor mentioned again after the scene where she confronts the Witch & rides off with her prince. Moreover, some of the songs that have been cut out like No More & So Happy that would have helped the plot more make the second act feel less symbolic with the main theme they're trying to get across & at times in the second act (but I will give credit that there are instrumental versions of some of the cut songs in the scenes they would have been in), the directing can be inconsistent with how it wants to execute different sequences, for example a hilariously over the top Agony sequence or the theatrical look of  I Know Things Now while others like are treated more like scenes like Any Moment & Giants In The Sky than musical numbers. But the second act in particular did drag on too long compared to the first as it doesn't feel like it's a second act but more like a continuation of the first, also making the themes less symbolic.

 

Overall, despite a few issues with the second act, Into The Woods is thankfully an example of an adaptation from stage to screen which pays off thanks to the very likeable cast, the gorgeous visuals & the same wit & charm as the original thanks to Stephen Sondheim himself & James Lapine's screenplay. Despite being Disney made, this is a very different turn for them & takes risks which most of the time pay off thanks to director Rob Marshall & the cast they got for this.
Overall: ****