Theatre Review
This week I saw a play about a gay threesome. Luckily for you guys it was so dreadful I can't bring myself to review it (see Time Out for Emma's slating).
No this review is about something I saw 2 weeks ago. Something funnier. Something furrier...
The chances are you've never heard of Julie Atherton. I, however, have been her biggest fan for 4 years. She's a young musical-theatre actress with a tiny CV, but a consistent track-record of laugh-out-loud delightfulness and charismatic versitility. Now I want to BE her... Why? Because she is currently starring in one of the finest shows you will ever see in the West End.
AVENUE Q, for those with no former furry-awareness, is based on the following simple idea:
Seasame Street helped teach us so much when we were kids- what if they made a version of the all-singing, all-counting, almost-all-muppet TV show for grown-ups to help negotitate that tricky post-uni quarter-life crisis?
The book handles this concept adeptly, skilfully avoiding allowing it to limit characters or tie down plot. On the night I saw it, the audience were so engaged with the plight of the muppets that there were in fact some very un-British sighs and cheers.
Most excitingly for me, this British transfer (from Broadway) is a bit like the holy grail of pitch-perfect casting - (yes, casting so good it deserved two metaphors) - A HIGHLY talented, charismatic and skilled ensemble prove once and for all that you CAN cast a West End show with brilliant nobodys and create a piece of theatre infinately superior to the usual bland assortment of "Her-From-Corrie-For -3-Weeks-Only" nonsense. This is the result of a rare and admiral decision by producers, and one that pays off (artistically at least). The cast negotiates a spectrum of specific and tricky muppet voices with ease, many playing multiple characters, all looking like they've been puppeteering all their lives. So committed, in fact, is this show to great casting, that, unable to find an actress of Japanese origin good enough for the part of Christmas Eve, they have paid (through the nose) to have the original Broadway 'Eve' reprise her role over here.
Beautifully designed, creatively staged, tightly choreographed, written and directed with a razor-sharp wit and great big heart- (Songs include: "What do you do with a BA in English?" and "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist") - This wonderful piece of theatre will have you singing "It sucks to be me" all the way home with a smile on your face and a skip in your step.
Just have a beer first. And don't take your grandma.
No this review is about something I saw 2 weeks ago. Something funnier. Something furrier...
The chances are you've never heard of Julie Atherton. I, however, have been her biggest fan for 4 years. She's a young musical-theatre actress with a tiny CV, but a consistent track-record of laugh-out-loud delightfulness and charismatic versitility. Now I want to BE her... Why? Because she is currently starring in one of the finest shows you will ever see in the West End.
AVENUE Q, for those with no former furry-awareness, is based on the following simple idea:
Seasame Street helped teach us so much when we were kids- what if they made a version of the all-singing, all-counting, almost-all-muppet TV show for grown-ups to help negotitate that tricky post-uni quarter-life crisis?
The book handles this concept adeptly, skilfully avoiding allowing it to limit characters or tie down plot. On the night I saw it, the audience were so engaged with the plight of the muppets that there were in fact some very un-British sighs and cheers.
Most excitingly for me, this British transfer (from Broadway) is a bit like the holy grail of pitch-perfect casting - (yes, casting so good it deserved two metaphors) - A HIGHLY talented, charismatic and skilled ensemble prove once and for all that you CAN cast a West End show with brilliant nobodys and create a piece of theatre infinately superior to the usual bland assortment of "Her-From-Corrie-For -3-Weeks-Only" nonsense. This is the result of a rare and admiral decision by producers, and one that pays off (artistically at least). The cast negotiates a spectrum of specific and tricky muppet voices with ease, many playing multiple characters, all looking like they've been puppeteering all their lives. So committed, in fact, is this show to great casting, that, unable to find an actress of Japanese origin good enough for the part of Christmas Eve, they have paid (through the nose) to have the original Broadway 'Eve' reprise her role over here.
Beautifully designed, creatively staged, tightly choreographed, written and directed with a razor-sharp wit and great big heart- (Songs include: "What do you do with a BA in English?" and "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist") - This wonderful piece of theatre will have you singing "It sucks to be me" all the way home with a smile on your face and a skip in your step.
Just have a beer first. And don't take your grandma.
posted by Kate John @ 11:57 AM
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