The Hills are Alive!
Jane and I are painfully aware that our time over here represents the last chance for 'free travel' before we put our noses firmly to the grindstone. And so we have managed to visit the heck of alot of places, both in the UK and Europe. But these trips are at odds with another powerful need: To pay the deposit on the house we bought last June. Yes, travel is expensive, I'm thinking considerably more expensive (in relative terms) than it was when my family lived here for 7 months some 25 years ago. To cope with the stress of spending money that we probably-have-but-just-barely in order to do stuff, Jane and I have developed what I think is a unique coping strategy: We make completely arbitrary lists of things that we just have to do before we die. These lists are, quite deliberately, never written down and are spoken of only in order to 1) justify doing something and 2) check something off when we have done it. This is highly advantageous as it allows either of us to at any time claim that something is on our list and that, therefore, we absolutely have to do it. And since there's no choice in the matter, all guilt is efficiently eliminated. Last week, in the company of her mother-in-law Marie (visiting for the week), Jane was able to cross 'Seeing a London West End Musical' off of her list.
Which musical should be evident from the title of this post. If it is not, you are either young or an ignoramous. This particular production of the sound of music was, in part, the culmination of a reality TV show cleverly titled 'How do You Solve a Problem Like Maria' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber (the producer) basically ran a very public audition for the lead role. And I can report that the woman they ended up with, Connie Fisher, was really very good. Better, even (or perhaps more current) than Julie Andrews (if you don't know who she is, please see the second part of the second sentence of this paragraph). Connie definitely had the necessary 'pep'. In any case the production as a whole gets my thumbs up, indeed, it was almost worth the price of admission! This, as many of you will know, is high praise from me, putting it in a league slightly below Tommy (which I saw 60+ times as an usher and never got completely tired of it) and Ragtime, which are themselves slightly below Chess and Rent. Note that this list does not include any Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals (although I confess a top 1o list might).
Here's a couple of things that I liked: Rolf (the post guy) was was darker. It was quite clear that he was manipulating Leisl less for her own protection and more to get into her leiderhosen. And the he was drawn to the Nazis out of a sense of impotence next to the formidable Cptn. Von Trapp. The fact that it was a live show allowed them to make the real life audience the 'audience' for the show at the end. This was pretty effective at communicating the sense of unease that many Austrians must have felt at these Nazi 'ministry of culture' events. We booed when it was announced that Cptn Von Trapp would be joining the German navy. The musical includes one (original) song that was cut out of the movie, a duet between Max and the Baroness called 'No Way to Stop It'.
The only negative thing for me was the fact that, while they stuck to the script (to their credit), they did also stuck pretty much to the original subtext. Consequently, some of the stuff around love, sex and marriage was kindof dated.
In any case, I recommend it. So next time you're in London...
Which musical should be evident from the title of this post. If it is not, you are either young or an ignoramous. This particular production of the sound of music was, in part, the culmination of a reality TV show cleverly titled 'How do You Solve a Problem Like Maria' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber (the producer) basically ran a very public audition for the lead role. And I can report that the woman they ended up with, Connie Fisher, was really very good. Better, even (or perhaps more current) than Julie Andrews (if you don't know who she is, please see the second part of the second sentence of this paragraph). Connie definitely had the necessary 'pep'. In any case the production as a whole gets my thumbs up, indeed, it was almost worth the price of admission! This, as many of you will know, is high praise from me, putting it in a league slightly below Tommy (which I saw 60+ times as an usher and never got completely tired of it) and Ragtime, which are themselves slightly below Chess and Rent. Note that this list does not include any Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals (although I confess a top 1o list might).
Here's a couple of things that I liked: Rolf (the post guy) was was darker. It was quite clear that he was manipulating Leisl less for her own protection and more to get into her leiderhosen. And the he was drawn to the Nazis out of a sense of impotence next to the formidable Cptn. Von Trapp. The fact that it was a live show allowed them to make the real life audience the 'audience' for the show at the end. This was pretty effective at communicating the sense of unease that many Austrians must have felt at these Nazi 'ministry of culture' events. We booed when it was announced that Cptn Von Trapp would be joining the German navy. The musical includes one (original) song that was cut out of the movie, a duet between Max and the Baroness called 'No Way to Stop It'.
The only negative thing for me was the fact that, while they stuck to the script (to their credit), they did also stuck pretty much to the original subtext. Consequently, some of the stuff around love, sex and marriage was kindof dated.
In any case, I recommend it. So next time you're in London...
posted by Derek at 9:22 AM
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