Cabaret
Fri, 16 May 2003, 12:14 amAHarwood23 posts in thread
Cabaret
Fri, 16 May 2003, 12:14 amHiya,
Now I hate giving negative reviews.. But I just saw one show and I just can not keep my mouth shut.
Cabaret.
My god. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bored!!!
Ok first of all. Todd Surprised me. I expected Boy from oz and got a pretty decent Emcee. Vocally and Physically good. He performed well.
The real let down? The story of Cliff and Sally.
Oh MY GOD!!!
The guys from Pageant know what I'd say about their performances.. It was - (LET ME HEAR YA MICHAEL AND DREW) BULL%#$^
Talk about half assed and lacking any 1. Emotion. 2. Stage Presence. 3. Flair or anything remotely interesting.
Like that song from Buffy and like what I saw the young lad in Mamma Mia in Sydney doing - Going through the motions. Done it before and doin it again is how it felt.
He was so stereotypically American with annoying register to boot (prolly direction I dunno). He looked down or was covered face wise for half the show - the half he was in - And lacked any spunk or credibility. Just a whining git if ya ask me.(I should know cos I am one myself) Which would explain why Young Ms Beck's Sally Bowles would go for him. SHe lacked any Pezazz herself. Some nice moments but ultimately a let down and hard to watch without the eyes wandering onto my star of the show and Drew's gonna love me - TEXAS!!!!. She rocked. So much power and stage presence. I was in awe of her confidence and her verasity. SHe really got into it.
I honestly don't think Tina or Lisa could have done any better - but that comes from recycling good little Kathy Seldon types for the meaty roles such as Sally. You want someone to play a tough as nails slutty type who loves sleeping round and being promiscuous. Get a woman who can do it - like Liza. Though theres prolly no beating her.
You can't base a show like this on a goody two shoes type and a man who never shows his face.
The rest of the cast were great! Frau and Frauline were brilliant though Nadine Rocked the show especially with her Act One send off. The first Lead performer (besides Todd) who gave it an oomph. But too late for me and I think a lot of the audience. By the time Act Two came round, people were noticeably fidgeting and coughing. Never a good sign and my eyes were wandering to take in the ceiling of the Burswood theatre, wondering who would survive if the place caught on fire. - Sounds silly but it's true. I was that bored.
The sets were brilliant, the band rocked as did the dancers. But that was half the problem.. They were two good and outshone the stars on several occassions.
Like the supporting casts and the band - I;'d like to see more cycling through of actors for the leads, rather than seeing people who are talented, but not suited to the cast be sent back over to us time after time.
All up - I've seen better shows done around Perth with seamless dialogue that didn't drag, people held captivated by the production and a portion of the production values. And they've been "Amateurs".
I know I wasn't the only one to feel this way and I wish now I had seen David Gardette's Verison of the show (this was the first time I've seen Cabaret the whole way through but from the snippets I've seen I desired more).
It's not the worst show, but far from the best I have seen.
GO TEXAS!!!!!
[%sig%]
Now I hate giving negative reviews.. But I just saw one show and I just can not keep my mouth shut.
Cabaret.
My god. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bored!!!
Ok first of all. Todd Surprised me. I expected Boy from oz and got a pretty decent Emcee. Vocally and Physically good. He performed well.
The real let down? The story of Cliff and Sally.
Oh MY GOD!!!
The guys from Pageant know what I'd say about their performances.. It was - (LET ME HEAR YA MICHAEL AND DREW) BULL%#$^
Talk about half assed and lacking any 1. Emotion. 2. Stage Presence. 3. Flair or anything remotely interesting.
Like that song from Buffy and like what I saw the young lad in Mamma Mia in Sydney doing - Going through the motions. Done it before and doin it again is how it felt.
He was so stereotypically American with annoying register to boot (prolly direction I dunno). He looked down or was covered face wise for half the show - the half he was in - And lacked any spunk or credibility. Just a whining git if ya ask me.(I should know cos I am one myself) Which would explain why Young Ms Beck's Sally Bowles would go for him. SHe lacked any Pezazz herself. Some nice moments but ultimately a let down and hard to watch without the eyes wandering onto my star of the show and Drew's gonna love me - TEXAS!!!!. She rocked. So much power and stage presence. I was in awe of her confidence and her verasity. SHe really got into it.
I honestly don't think Tina or Lisa could have done any better - but that comes from recycling good little Kathy Seldon types for the meaty roles such as Sally. You want someone to play a tough as nails slutty type who loves sleeping round and being promiscuous. Get a woman who can do it - like Liza. Though theres prolly no beating her.
You can't base a show like this on a goody two shoes type and a man who never shows his face.
The rest of the cast were great! Frau and Frauline were brilliant though Nadine Rocked the show especially with her Act One send off. The first Lead performer (besides Todd) who gave it an oomph. But too late for me and I think a lot of the audience. By the time Act Two came round, people were noticeably fidgeting and coughing. Never a good sign and my eyes were wandering to take in the ceiling of the Burswood theatre, wondering who would survive if the place caught on fire. - Sounds silly but it's true. I was that bored.
The sets were brilliant, the band rocked as did the dancers. But that was half the problem.. They were two good and outshone the stars on several occassions.
Like the supporting casts and the band - I;'d like to see more cycling through of actors for the leads, rather than seeing people who are talented, but not suited to the cast be sent back over to us time after time.
All up - I've seen better shows done around Perth with seamless dialogue that didn't drag, people held captivated by the production and a portion of the production values. And they've been "Amateurs".
I know I wasn't the only one to feel this way and I wish now I had seen David Gardette's Verison of the show (this was the first time I've seen Cabaret the whole way through but from the snippets I've seen I desired more).
It's not the worst show, but far from the best I have seen.
GO TEXAS!!!!!
[%sig%]
Re: Cabaret
Fri, 16 May 2003, 12:55 pmWalter Plinge
Anthony Harwood wrote:
> My god. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bored!!!
> The real let down? The story of Cliff and Sally.
> Oh MY GOD!!!
> The guys from Pageant know what I'd say about their
> performances.. It was - (LET ME HEAR YA MICHAEL AND DREW)
> BULL%#$^ Talk about half assed and lacking any 1. Emotion. > 2. Stage Presence. 3. Flair or anything remotely interesting.
Where were your seats Anthony? That so called "theatre" is completely inappropriate for this show (actually, ANY show). Its original production was in the Donwar Warehouse in London (something around the size of the Studio in the Subiaco Theatre Centre), so there is no way it would work in the Burswood "Theatre". Even the American production was at Studio 54. It is designed to be an intimate show. I saw this show twice, once in C row and again in AA row (ie. front row) and it was fantastic. I could see the little details of costuming/make up and subtle facial expressions. Being seated anything further away than 10 rows would have made anyone miss this.
As for lack-lustre performances - I didn't pick it - however, if anyone did think that then its probably supposed to be that way. The characters in the Cabaret are supposed to be performing night after night in some dingy hole to survive, affected by drugs and alcohol and the rest of the sleaze, not to mention being mistreated and abused by both customers and owners..... do you think they'd be fresh and joyous each night? Just the expression on their faces (which no-one could see past 10 rows), their badly applied makeup and their teared costumes should demonstrate that they've probably been performing the same act for years and years.
> Cliff was so stereotypically American with annoying register to
> boot (prolly direction I dunno). He looked down or was
> covered face wise for half the show - the half he was in -
> And lacked any spunk or credibility. Just a whining git if
> ya ask me.(I should know cos I am one myself)
Cliff is supposed to be whiny. I think he's the most boring and annoying character of the lot. He is, after all, just the observer, therefore isn't supposed to be a 'spunky' romantic lead. The lowered face (which I didn't notice either) could have been a natural reaction of shyness to the whole situation that Cliff is in.
>Which would explain why Young Ms Beck's Sally Bowles would go for >him. SHe lacked any Pezazz herself. Some nice moments but
> ultimately a let down.
Sally Bowles isn't the lead in this production - I don't know if that is because other performances shone more brightly or because the show has been re-written so it doesn't feature her as much. Again, Sally isn't supposed to be the romantic lead either. She is a fake character, and obviously not particularly nice (drugtaking, abortion, sleeping around, etc.). Although I LOVE Rachael Beck, I don't think this is her role. The acting seems fine (especially the second act), but I think her voice is too pretty and not strong enough for Sally. Saying that, I agree that Tina and Lisa wouldn't do any better (Lisa especially - what is it with her??). I personally would have like to have seen Nadine Garner in the role - whoah! what a voice!
>Get a woman who can do it - like Liza. Though theres prolly no >beating her.
Or her weight. :-p
> By the time Act Two came round, people were
> noticeably fidgeting and coughing. Never a good sign and my
> eyes were wandering to take in the ceiling of the Burswood
> theatre, wondering who would survive if the place caught on
> fire. - Sounds silly but it's true. I was that bored.
I think a lot of the audience didn't "get it". Perth audiences really need to be educated more (and I'm not talking about mobile phones, bringing kids(!?) and LOLLIES!!!!!!!!!). In the first show I saw, people were laughing at the Emcee holding the grammophone playing "Tomorrow Belongs To Me"! I mean, what the hell? He was just kneeling there, not doing anything. They obviously have no idea that it's a Nazi anthem...... anyhoo. Another point - the Emcee comes on wearing a dress (cue giggling). So what? And boys kissing? How can people be that shocked after nearly the whole cast is virtually nude and dancing crassly using bad language? I mean geez.......
And another - Sally staggers on to sing "Cabaret" with smeared makeup, sweaty and looking like @!#$ - and people laughed!? Hmmm.... she's just had an abortion.... so.....why isn't she singing like Liza? :-p
I mean, people laugh as a reaction because that is their way of coping, but keep it to yourself.......Anyhoo......
The movie of Cabaret has done damage to the real show. It's not glitter and gold. The real story is nasty. The original production in the 1960's was basically a censored version because people couldn't cope with such confrontation. Another appeared in the 1980's, only slightly censored. The show (now) seems be the full version, and revolves not around Sally Bowles, but around the sleazy Kit Kat Club, the rise of Nazism and the disintegration of society. I personally think this production (despite specific performances) is fantastic and just in terms of concept is excellent theatre.
People these days need to accept things for what they are, and not what they want things to be.
But that is just my opinion.....
> My god. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bored!!!
> The real let down? The story of Cliff and Sally.
> Oh MY GOD!!!
> The guys from Pageant know what I'd say about their
> performances.. It was - (LET ME HEAR YA MICHAEL AND DREW)
> BULL%#$^ Talk about half assed and lacking any 1. Emotion. > 2. Stage Presence. 3. Flair or anything remotely interesting.
Where were your seats Anthony? That so called "theatre" is completely inappropriate for this show (actually, ANY show). Its original production was in the Donwar Warehouse in London (something around the size of the Studio in the Subiaco Theatre Centre), so there is no way it would work in the Burswood "Theatre". Even the American production was at Studio 54. It is designed to be an intimate show. I saw this show twice, once in C row and again in AA row (ie. front row) and it was fantastic. I could see the little details of costuming/make up and subtle facial expressions. Being seated anything further away than 10 rows would have made anyone miss this.
As for lack-lustre performances - I didn't pick it - however, if anyone did think that then its probably supposed to be that way. The characters in the Cabaret are supposed to be performing night after night in some dingy hole to survive, affected by drugs and alcohol and the rest of the sleaze, not to mention being mistreated and abused by both customers and owners..... do you think they'd be fresh and joyous each night? Just the expression on their faces (which no-one could see past 10 rows), their badly applied makeup and their teared costumes should demonstrate that they've probably been performing the same act for years and years.
> Cliff was so stereotypically American with annoying register to
> boot (prolly direction I dunno). He looked down or was
> covered face wise for half the show - the half he was in -
> And lacked any spunk or credibility. Just a whining git if
> ya ask me.(I should know cos I am one myself)
Cliff is supposed to be whiny. I think he's the most boring and annoying character of the lot. He is, after all, just the observer, therefore isn't supposed to be a 'spunky' romantic lead. The lowered face (which I didn't notice either) could have been a natural reaction of shyness to the whole situation that Cliff is in.
>Which would explain why Young Ms Beck's Sally Bowles would go for >him. SHe lacked any Pezazz herself. Some nice moments but
> ultimately a let down.
Sally Bowles isn't the lead in this production - I don't know if that is because other performances shone more brightly or because the show has been re-written so it doesn't feature her as much. Again, Sally isn't supposed to be the romantic lead either. She is a fake character, and obviously not particularly nice (drugtaking, abortion, sleeping around, etc.). Although I LOVE Rachael Beck, I don't think this is her role. The acting seems fine (especially the second act), but I think her voice is too pretty and not strong enough for Sally. Saying that, I agree that Tina and Lisa wouldn't do any better (Lisa especially - what is it with her??). I personally would have like to have seen Nadine Garner in the role - whoah! what a voice!
>Get a woman who can do it - like Liza. Though theres prolly no >beating her.
Or her weight. :-p
> By the time Act Two came round, people were
> noticeably fidgeting and coughing. Never a good sign and my
> eyes were wandering to take in the ceiling of the Burswood
> theatre, wondering who would survive if the place caught on
> fire. - Sounds silly but it's true. I was that bored.
I think a lot of the audience didn't "get it". Perth audiences really need to be educated more (and I'm not talking about mobile phones, bringing kids(!?) and LOLLIES!!!!!!!!!). In the first show I saw, people were laughing at the Emcee holding the grammophone playing "Tomorrow Belongs To Me"! I mean, what the hell? He was just kneeling there, not doing anything. They obviously have no idea that it's a Nazi anthem...... anyhoo. Another point - the Emcee comes on wearing a dress (cue giggling). So what? And boys kissing? How can people be that shocked after nearly the whole cast is virtually nude and dancing crassly using bad language? I mean geez.......
And another - Sally staggers on to sing "Cabaret" with smeared makeup, sweaty and looking like @!#$ - and people laughed!? Hmmm.... she's just had an abortion.... so.....why isn't she singing like Liza? :-p
I mean, people laugh as a reaction because that is their way of coping, but keep it to yourself.......Anyhoo......
The movie of Cabaret has done damage to the real show. It's not glitter and gold. The real story is nasty. The original production in the 1960's was basically a censored version because people couldn't cope with such confrontation. Another appeared in the 1980's, only slightly censored. The show (now) seems be the full version, and revolves not around Sally Bowles, but around the sleazy Kit Kat Club, the rise of Nazism and the disintegration of society. I personally think this production (despite specific performances) is fantastic and just in terms of concept is excellent theatre.
People these days need to accept things for what they are, and not what they want things to be.
But that is just my opinion.....
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