Oh how you tried to cut me down to size
It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been to a musical and now I have managed two in the space of a week (just not this week - posting has been delayed by the fact that I’ve been on holidays)
Jersey Boys
One of the best decisions in my life was opting not to see this for my birthday a few years back. I decided against Jersey Boys in Sydney and went with Hairspray in Melbourne and it was very much the right decision. Hairspray was one the best things I have ever seen in my life and sadly it did not tour - I still don’t understand why it wasn’t more successful. Jersey Boys, on the other hand, toured all over the place and has finally made it to Brisbane so I’ve finally seen it.
Now I am sure that I have mentioned this before (and I am sure that I will mention this again) but I have a problem with jukebox musicals. I worry that they will be the death of the traditional musical. I try only to see them if they are the story of the artist related to the music (and even then I feel a little guilty) but life intervenes and I don’t always succeed.
I wouldn’t have said I was a huge Frankie Valli/Four Seasons fan but it turns out that I know way more of their songs than I thought I did. The one notable exception being ‘Ragdoll’ which is apparently one of their biggest songs but I have honestly never heard it before.
I did enjoy the show. A lot. Frankie was amazing (all of the cast where good actually) and I will hand it to jukebox musicals for their ability to get an excited electric feel in the audience when they hit their stride with a big number that absolutely everyone sitting there knows. I had a great time bopping along to ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like a Man,’
I don’t know how much of it is true. I’m sure some artistic licence was taken but given it was written by people involved I assume there is a strong element of truth and I have to admit that I didn’t realise they had such a strong association with crime (it’s not shocking but it’s not something I ever thought about).
I did really like some of the behind the scenes stuff about how hard it is to get your record played and that success does not necessarily guarantee further success or that you can just get what you want. It blew my mind to find out how hard it was to get ‘You’re Just to Good to be True’ released. That song is epic and iconic and pervasive and it’s so strange to think that people thought it was weird and didn’t know what to do with it. Also if the executives and the stations had had their way and it was never released I would never have seen Denise Richards dancing around with Jesus to it in Drop Dead Gorgeous and my life would have been a whole lot emptier.
I was very sick the night I went to this but the sequins and the dance moves really did manage to make me smile so kudos Jersey Boys for being one of if not the best jukebox musicals that I have ever seen.
Legally Blonde
I will be honest and say that I will probably never, ever get over the fact that the_girl_20 saw this with Aoife Mulholland and Siobhan Dillon in it but I was still more than a little excited about the cast for the first Australian production of this. I love Lucy Durack and Erika Heynatz in probably close to equal measures (the former having been an awesome Glinda and the latter having been the best ever host of Australia’s Next Top Model, Crichton’s ex in by beloved Farscape, my favourite ever contestant on It Takes Two (although Jolene is a close second) and the a voice of a character in LA Noire whom I secretly feel is modelled on BCR (that is not just crazy thoughts it is actually entirely possible except for the fact that BCR can’t sing)) and Helen Dallimore was the first ever Glinda that I saw live. It also featured Cameron ‘a Daddo full of Logies’ Daddo and that gave me happy flashbacks to the mess that was Models Inc.
It has only just opened here and I was surprised by how many empty seats there were - what the fuck is wrong with people that they don’t want to see it???? (I fear it lends even more credence to my fear regarding the jukebox musical because Jersey Boys was at the end of its run and it was packed).
I loved it. All of the cast were great. Even Rob Mills whom I like much better in a role where I am not expected to think he is irresistible (I never quite brought him as Fiyero). The minor players were even excellent - Kyle the UPS guy and the two gay guys may have been the very best things about the show. Well other than the puppies. Yay puppies!!! My friend lost her shit every single time they appeared - her review of the show was “Real live dogs in musicals are the best things ever, they feel like they shouldn’t be allowed on stage and yet there they were.”
I’ve had the CD for sometime (probably since the_girl_20 broke my heart by going to the show and seeing my girls Aoife and Siobhan) but somehow I seem to have only listened to the first act. That actually turned out to be kind of a blessing because I got to sing along to the first act and then in the second act have my mind blown by the awesomeness of ‘There! Right There!’ - I will be spending the rest of my life asking gay…….or European?
Having shipped Lucy very strongly with her Elphaba each and every time I saw Wicked I can say that the one downside of Legally Blonde (well one of two now that I think about it - I will mention the other one in just a sec - is that I didn’t really get to ship Elle with a female character. I honestly can watch things without femslashing all over the place but I have to admit that it was strange not to femslash Lucy.
Ok the other downside of the show is ‘Legally Blonde’ - it is definitely my least favourite song. All the other songs are clever and fun (I love me some ‘Blood in the Water’) but this one I don’t even understand. All this strong, emotional pining to be legally blonde when I don’t even know what that means in this context. If others understand this in a way that I don’t please feel free to illuminate me.
Jersey Boys
One of the best decisions in my life was opting not to see this for my birthday a few years back. I decided against Jersey Boys in Sydney and went with Hairspray in Melbourne and it was very much the right decision. Hairspray was one the best things I have ever seen in my life and sadly it did not tour - I still don’t understand why it wasn’t more successful. Jersey Boys, on the other hand, toured all over the place and has finally made it to Brisbane so I’ve finally seen it.
Now I am sure that I have mentioned this before (and I am sure that I will mention this again) but I have a problem with jukebox musicals. I worry that they will be the death of the traditional musical. I try only to see them if they are the story of the artist related to the music (and even then I feel a little guilty) but life intervenes and I don’t always succeed.
I wouldn’t have said I was a huge Frankie Valli/Four Seasons fan but it turns out that I know way more of their songs than I thought I did. The one notable exception being ‘Ragdoll’ which is apparently one of their biggest songs but I have honestly never heard it before.
I did enjoy the show. A lot. Frankie was amazing (all of the cast where good actually) and I will hand it to jukebox musicals for their ability to get an excited electric feel in the audience when they hit their stride with a big number that absolutely everyone sitting there knows. I had a great time bopping along to ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like a Man,’
I don’t know how much of it is true. I’m sure some artistic licence was taken but given it was written by people involved I assume there is a strong element of truth and I have to admit that I didn’t realise they had such a strong association with crime (it’s not shocking but it’s not something I ever thought about).
I did really like some of the behind the scenes stuff about how hard it is to get your record played and that success does not necessarily guarantee further success or that you can just get what you want. It blew my mind to find out how hard it was to get ‘You’re Just to Good to be True’ released. That song is epic and iconic and pervasive and it’s so strange to think that people thought it was weird and didn’t know what to do with it. Also if the executives and the stations had had their way and it was never released I would never have seen Denise Richards dancing around with Jesus to it in Drop Dead Gorgeous and my life would have been a whole lot emptier.
I was very sick the night I went to this but the sequins and the dance moves really did manage to make me smile so kudos Jersey Boys for being one of if not the best jukebox musicals that I have ever seen.
Legally Blonde
I will be honest and say that I will probably never, ever get over the fact that the_girl_20 saw this with Aoife Mulholland and Siobhan Dillon in it but I was still more than a little excited about the cast for the first Australian production of this. I love Lucy Durack and Erika Heynatz in probably close to equal measures (the former having been an awesome Glinda and the latter having been the best ever host of Australia’s Next Top Model, Crichton’s ex in by beloved Farscape, my favourite ever contestant on It Takes Two (although Jolene is a close second) and the a voice of a character in LA Noire whom I secretly feel is modelled on BCR (that is not just crazy thoughts it is actually entirely possible except for the fact that BCR can’t sing)) and Helen Dallimore was the first ever Glinda that I saw live. It also featured Cameron ‘a Daddo full of Logies’ Daddo and that gave me happy flashbacks to the mess that was Models Inc.
It has only just opened here and I was surprised by how many empty seats there were - what the fuck is wrong with people that they don’t want to see it???? (I fear it lends even more credence to my fear regarding the jukebox musical because Jersey Boys was at the end of its run and it was packed).
I loved it. All of the cast were great. Even Rob Mills whom I like much better in a role where I am not expected to think he is irresistible (I never quite brought him as Fiyero). The minor players were even excellent - Kyle the UPS guy and the two gay guys may have been the very best things about the show. Well other than the puppies. Yay puppies!!! My friend lost her shit every single time they appeared - her review of the show was “Real live dogs in musicals are the best things ever, they feel like they shouldn’t be allowed on stage and yet there they were.”
I’ve had the CD for sometime (probably since the_girl_20 broke my heart by going to the show and seeing my girls Aoife and Siobhan) but somehow I seem to have only listened to the first act. That actually turned out to be kind of a blessing because I got to sing along to the first act and then in the second act have my mind blown by the awesomeness of ‘There! Right There!’ - I will be spending the rest of my life asking gay…….or European?
Having shipped Lucy very strongly with her Elphaba each and every time I saw Wicked I can say that the one downside of Legally Blonde (well one of two now that I think about it - I will mention the other one in just a sec - is that I didn’t really get to ship Elle with a female character. I honestly can watch things without femslashing all over the place but I have to admit that it was strange not to femslash Lucy.
Ok the other downside of the show is ‘Legally Blonde’ - it is definitely my least favourite song. All the other songs are clever and fun (I love me some ‘Blood in the Water’) but this one I don’t even understand. All this strong, emotional pining to be legally blonde when I don’t even know what that means in this context. If others understand this in a way that I don’t please feel free to illuminate me.