Paris

I went with friends to see the opening night of Murray Music and Drama Club's production of Paris last night. I've been waiting all year to see this production as it is one of my favourite rock operas. First nights are always twitchy and this was no exception. The biggest problem I had with the evening were the technical issues. The radio mikes had a variety of little issues - not on when they should have been, feedback, not working correctly, static, etc. Some of the mike volumes were also not balanced so that some lead players were much louder than others and, contrast that with the chorus, and it came across as a very distracting combination. The lighting was OK - a little slow in some spots and unfortunately when Menelaus was on top of one of the columns on the side of the stage, his face was mostly in shadow but his torso was well lit! Overall, considering the logistics of the technical side (including coordinating the soundtrack) they did a tolerable job which will hopefully become exceptional by the end of the run. Oh, one more thing - if you have having sound problems, please don't converse about them at the sound desk at the back of the auditorium during the show - VERY distracting not to mention a dead giveaway that something has gone wrong..... Now to the performance proper. Once again, overall a very entertaining show and please note that the opinion stated is my personal one and from a fan perspective of the musical. Helen - lovely voice and musical interpretation of the role. I expected a little more from the acting side but considering she spends most of the production in relative angst, it was a decent rendition. Your interaction with Paris was lovely and pretty much had me convinced that you pair were in love come hell or high water…. Paris - You already know all the good things that you can do, I felt that you needed a bit more acting and action. I didn’t feel that you had the best rapport with the rest of the cast. You were lovely with Helen but I felt that you kept your distance from everyone else. And your hair constantly over your face drove me NUTS! I really enjoyed your performance but kept thinking that if only he got a haircut..... Hector - Quite passable if a little unsure about your role. You warmed into the role as the evening went on and died an honourable death. Your scene just before going off to die was absolutely beautiful. Cassandra - Good rendition of the priestess; lovely voice. Only criticism would be a direction thing - hands and arms moving in what seemed to be random actions that were very distracting. Priam - maybe opening night nerves but timing for almost every song was off - keep a more watchful ear on the music. Hecuba - Very nice performance - I was very disappointed that you didn't get to do the song when Priam is killed - it has always been one of my personal favourites. Aeneas - A passable rendition of the friend and skipper. You could maybe look at showing a little more camaraderie with Paris otherwise I enjoyed it completely. Laoceon / Sinon - I much preferred you as Sinon which you pulled off very very well. One of the people I came with laughed constantly during your Outside/Inside trio and you did it extremely well. A very nice job. Agamemnon - Not what I was expecting at all. I wasn't totally convinced that you were a conniving rotten sod who started a war for the sake of starting a war. I felt that you portrayed him more as playing a game that didn't really matter and that you switched him on and off depending on when the attention would be on you. If I could make a constructive comment, get some singing lessons enough to feel completely comfortable with any song that you might be doing and relax into the character. He is great fun to play and you should be enjoying him through the singing as well. Menelaus - Another one that I didn't expect. A much younger Menelaus than I had anticipated but vocally you pulled it off extremely well. Even your high notes which I was originally concerned about were Extremely Well Done! A lovely job.... Ulysses / Helmsman - A great pity about the mike problems during a portion of your action. Otherwise you were fantastic and I really enjoyed your performance. Achilles - Not bad...a little pirate-like but not bad. I was disappointed that the opening song wasn't the one on the actual soundtrack because the one that was done was a little lack-lustre. Put yourself more into the shoes of the mighty warrior and you'll be exceptional by the last night. Patroclus - your mike was louder than pretty much anyone else's which was a little distracting but not your problem. You did very well as Achilles best friend and I really really enjoyed your performance. The chorus were fantastic - kudos to the vocal director and the quality of the chorus itself. A great pity that a lot of times you couldn’t hear them a great deal due to the mike issues (were the mikes having from the ceiling on at all??). The bits that you could hear were absolutely perfect. I only have a couple of criticisms – the direction overall was a little bland. There didn’t seem to be the level of excitement that the dialogue / libretto indicated and the characters were walking slowly most of the time even when imminent danger was anticipated. The fight scenes were active enough (if a little over enthusiastically and unchoreographed) and were very entertaining but the rest of the time needed that same level of intensity so that there wasn’t an up and down feeling. However, very creditably done considering the large cast, the multiple action scenes and the subject matter. The other distraction was the determined applause from the back of the auditorium near the sound desk after each song by cast / crew. Sometimes, the song needed to end and go straight into the next bit of action – applauding after each one is not necessary nor (from a performer’s perspective) wanted as it breaks the mood created. Since this was only the first night, there are little things to be sorted. The cast should be easing into their groove from now on. The technical things should be sorted as well. The show is very enjoyable and I had a wonderful time there. Go and see it because the music alone is worth the listen.