musicals in manhattan
Ordinary Days, Trafalgar Studios
Me and Erin went 'Daniel Boys... Julie Atherton... relatively cheap tickets... I'm sorry, there's something in question here?'
Anyway, tiny theatre, front row seats so we're about 3m from the performers at all times, which means expressions get to be done subtly and a raised eyebrow comes over just as well as a song.
It's about two couples who don't interact with the other couple beyond passing each other in the street, set in NYC. Daniel Boys and Julie Atherton as Jason and Claire have just moved in together and are coping with having another person right there, how the relationship changes, problems that ensue. You don't find out until the last song where the source of some of Claire's issues come from, but that doesn't really matter aside from adding an extra poignant note to her previous actions. Daniel's hopeful and sweet and earnest (*what* typecasting, I ask you), Julie's part pessimist and has her usual wondrous 'you are such a nutter' expressions. Easy gelling and interaction due to prior experience, so yes, they are great as a couple.
Alexia Khadime and Lee Williams (insert name here) are two people who meet when highly strung grad student loses her thesis notes and he's the artsy dreamer who picks it up. Their story is learning to see different perspectives on life and making each other think. With utter hystericalness of her frustrations as he goes off on a diatribe of dreaminess. Special mentions: her trying to find her way through the Met to find this bloke who's picked up her book, coda near the end being her figuring out why he likes a painting of apples so much.
Anyway. it's lovely, beautifully sung and acted, poignant in places and hysterically funny in others. No bad songs whatsoever. Alexia Khadime I hadn't seen before, but she'd been Elphaba in Wicked and there were moments where you were going 'okay, definitely an Elphaba voice.' (it's kind of range plus power in certain places. We had a bit of discussion re: this and reckoned Julie, although having a voice that can belt something chronic, probably couldn't quite do it. Hmm. Now pondering whether Hannah Waddingham, breaker of sound systems with vocal power could do it.)
And..er... stage door moment facepalms of the twitter variety. Julie had got a new phone due to hers breaking. She was chatting to mates while we politely waited to get a photo, and trying to ring her boyfriend Tom Parsons to see where he was, had to get the number off her mate since hadn't installed on hers, etc, then couldn't get through. We'd been checking twitter whilst waiting and went 'Um, Julie? Tom's in the pub and a wee bit squiffy if his spelling is anything to go by...'
Me and Erin went 'Daniel Boys... Julie Atherton... relatively cheap tickets... I'm sorry, there's something in question here?'
Anyway, tiny theatre, front row seats so we're about 3m from the performers at all times, which means expressions get to be done subtly and a raised eyebrow comes over just as well as a song.
It's about two couples who don't interact with the other couple beyond passing each other in the street, set in NYC. Daniel Boys and Julie Atherton as Jason and Claire have just moved in together and are coping with having another person right there, how the relationship changes, problems that ensue. You don't find out until the last song where the source of some of Claire's issues come from, but that doesn't really matter aside from adding an extra poignant note to her previous actions. Daniel's hopeful and sweet and earnest (*what* typecasting, I ask you), Julie's part pessimist and has her usual wondrous 'you are such a nutter' expressions. Easy gelling and interaction due to prior experience, so yes, they are great as a couple.
Alexia Khadime and Lee Williams (insert name here) are two people who meet when highly strung grad student loses her thesis notes and he's the artsy dreamer who picks it up. Their story is learning to see different perspectives on life and making each other think. With utter hystericalness of her frustrations as he goes off on a diatribe of dreaminess. Special mentions: her trying to find her way through the Met to find this bloke who's picked up her book, coda near the end being her figuring out why he likes a painting of apples so much.
Anyway. it's lovely, beautifully sung and acted, poignant in places and hysterically funny in others. No bad songs whatsoever. Alexia Khadime I hadn't seen before, but she'd been Elphaba in Wicked and there were moments where you were going 'okay, definitely an Elphaba voice.' (it's kind of range plus power in certain places. We had a bit of discussion re: this and reckoned Julie, although having a voice that can belt something chronic, probably couldn't quite do it. Hmm. Now pondering whether Hannah Waddingham, breaker of sound systems with vocal power could do it.)
And..er... stage door moment facepalms of the twitter variety. Julie had got a new phone due to hers breaking. She was chatting to mates while we politely waited to get a photo, and trying to ring her boyfriend Tom Parsons to see where he was, had to get the number off her mate since hadn't installed on hers, etc, then couldn't get through. We'd been checking twitter whilst waiting and went 'Um, Julie? Tom's in the pub and a wee bit squiffy if his spelling is anything to go by...'