penelopesimpson

Love the idea of flowers for men.  I have twice taken flowers for Ed Watson - not big showy affairs for on stage but small bouquets for his dressing room.

If I must have just ONE it has to be Ed Watson Mayerling 2013 with Mara Galeazzi.  As The Telegraph described it, there are nights at the ballet you will remember all your life and this was one of them.  It became evident early on that something special was unfolding and there was such excitement in the house.  At the end, just silence.  And then the roaring and the cheering and a half-dead dancer who had given his all, hardly able to stand.

My husband was nearing the end after a long illness and I nearly cancelled but he insisted I go and for those precious hours I was transported.  I cried all the way home on the train and it was a release.  I shall always be grateful to the wonderful, the incomparable Edward Watson.  

SugarPlum:  There is no magic way to get tickets, particularly last minute.  As others have said, though, people do return tickets because their plans change and these go on the website.  Just keep looking and something usually comes up - unless its Fidelio in which case, no chance!

Quite right, my apologies

Romeo and Juliet with Hayward, Corrales and Ball.  Gave me a totally new perspective on this ballet.  Hayward totally convincing, Corrales bursting with raw charisma and untamed excitement, and Ball a revelation oozing entitlement and menace.

6 hours ago, Don Q Fan said:

Fiz you are correct - people have no manners these days and it's all about Me ME ME.

 

Mary - As for coats there is a coat deposit WHY do people not use the facility it IS free after all?  I can't wait to dump my coats and free myself from it.  Coats in the auditorium drive me nuts - as well as people who rustle plastic:-

Friday 20 Dec Triple matinee - persistent rustling of plastic at the start of both Enigma Variation and Raymonda from Amphi Right for at least 10 minutes when people have just had 30 minutes interval beggars belief.  I was seated Balcony Centre and could hear it so what the neighbours of the perpetrator thought I don't know.  I would certainly have been telling them to stop it.  

 

 

This is a bugbear of mine.  Coats, hats,scarfs, rucksacks, briefcases, shopping bags have no place in the auditorium and the ushers should take action.,  As I predicted, Open Up made the situation worse with its constant emphasis on limited cloakroom facilities when the truth was that there was plenty of storage space but problems with queues.

Sorry Fiona, but The Telegraph awards this spot to Polunin at The Paladium.  I hope it is alright to put the comment in but I am sure Mods will remove if it is breaking the rules:

'Was there anything more dispiriting than the sight of the Ukrainian bad boy Sergei Polunin stumbling like a drunkard through the insipid and ludicrous choreography of his self-curated Palladium show?  Once a star at the Royal Ballet, he was reduced to over-emoting to compensate for his loss of dignity as an artist.  Vanity projects by famous dancers often go awry, but this one hit a new low.'

I didn't attend as I have long since given up on this previously wonderful dancer but doubtless his fans will tell me they were standing in the aisles cheering in wonder - without any trace of irony that this is a huge part of the problem.

So agree.  He had marvellous comic timing.  His Fawlty Towers role was masterly,for once stealing the show from Cleese.

Lovely, lovely message Sim.  Thank you for thanking us but really its all due to you guys.  All best wishes for the Christmas holiday to everybody - even Sergei!

9 hours ago, LinMM said:

Sorry about that penelopesimpson 😢

we had this on Southern railway two years ago (already) I was sympathetic to their cause ...the Guard issue...but it did drive me mad on occasions 😬

Yeah, I'm torn, as well.  I absolutely agree that a guard is necessary.  I get the last train after attending ROH and get off at the end of the line when there can be just a handful of people on board and I don't fancy it without a guard.  The guard always walks through the tunnel under the station with us which is reassuring.  But I have missed three outings in December as the timetable, such as it is, is unreliable and the trains full to bursting.

1 hour ago, Rob S said:

 

Good job the train company I work for wasn’t in charge, the performance would’ve been ‘Cancelled due to a shortage of dummy crew’ 

I hope you don't work for South West, Rob, whose strike forced me to hand back last nights ticket for Coppelia. 

Well, Lindsay, we can certainly agree about all being free to express their cultural taste and to call it as they see it.  I obviously wasn't clear that what I objected to was your stating your view as fact.  What you feel and what I feel are surely both valid but neither are fact.  Can't really be more plain than quoting from your own post:

'those engaged in higher level music education know that ALW's work is musically banal with a generous topping of ersatz emotional manipulation. '

Shall we leave it there?

Well, that is indeed a lovely and distinguished list, Lindsay, but your post is somewhat disingenuous as it seems to be answering a statement I never made. 

Your point was that 'those engaged in higher level music education know that ALW's work is musically banal with a generous topping of ersatz emotional manipulation. '  That's a pretty bald statement on a message board devoted to opinions which are necessarily subjective.  I particularly dislike that you seek to employ a higher authority to make your point that those who really understand these things consider ALW rubbish, ergo, those who like his musical theatre must be, well, how would you express it?  Shall we go with Daily Mail readers, perhaps?  

I don't recall anywhere saying that Andrew Lloyd-Webber's work is superior.  It is of a type, as is the work created by many of the people on your list.  The one is not necessarily better or more worthy than the other.  Pertinently, as you must have understood, he is contemporary and therefore somewhat more available.

To  use the raison d'etre behind Open-Up, surely our goal should be to encourage people to experience a wide variety of artistic endeavours and then make up their own minds as to whether it floats their boat?  Pigeon-holing and then shaming them for their taste is hardly likely to enthuse them.  For my own part I've never given a damn when people tell me I should/should not like something because they say so.   

In closing let me use a Ballet analogy.  Quite the worst thing I ever saw at ROH was Twyla Tharp's one-act concoction two or three years ago.  It was so bad it made me squirm, the more so because it was ring-fenced with pretentious description that had lead me to anticipate the second coming.  But here's the point - there were very many people in the audience who engaged with it and loved every minute.  It was not the ballet that was wrong, it was me because it wasn't to my taste.  Lets celebrate diversity (can't believe I just said that) and allow people to find what moves them rather than fat-shame them.

Oh my goodness, I have watched this series over and over again.  Paul McGann was unlucky because it made Sean's name.  I am guessing you also love Band of Brothers?

7 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Some of my favourite films were initial failures at the Box Office, only achieving popularity when they were released for home viewing.  They include This is Spinal Tap, Terminator (the first one), and the Shawshank Redemption.  I was put off going to see another film by the reviews from the critics, which I later saw on tv and thought was marvellous.  That was Master and Commander, and to this day I regret they never did the follow up.   

Oh, Fonty, I adored Master and Commander and have never understood why they didn’t extend the franchise.  It was so much more than a seafaring thing.  The chemistry between the two men was touchingly brilliant and that last  scene where they both play together is magical.  Did you know that Paul Bethany spent several months at Russell Crowe’s house  learning to play?  They would sit looking out to sea as they had tuition, lovely image.

Thanks for that DanJ.  I intend to see it over Christmas.  Could you fathom why it’s getting such a horrid press - in some media it’s almost becoming an act of faith to ridicule it?

Beautiful lady.  Always thought she was the top Princess Stephanie

5 hours ago, Beryl H said:

I saw Cats and surprisingly disliked it, apart from Graham Fletcher's dancing, but loved Phantom, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, and the more recent Stephen Ward in which he certainly didn't dumb down ( probably why it had a short run, that's the problem) but was a serious modern musical work.

Beryl, I saw Stephen Ward, too, and thought it was brilliant and a bit of a leap forward for ALW.  Thought it was really sad and discouraging for him that it never took off.  I share your view in not liking Catd, although I never quite understood why.  Also thought Aspects was seriously underrated - it was quite complex musically but I suppose it lacked the catchy tunes of Evita and Phantom.

4 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

It wasn't, as far as I know. It originated at the Barbican, transferred to the Palace, moved to the Queen's, recently had a short run at the Gielgud, & has now just re-opened at the Queen's which has been re-named the Sondheim.

 

I've seen most of ALW's shows & have liked most of them, apart from Love Never Dies where I hated the plot & what had been done to the characters, & even then I liked some of the music. Cats I loved on CD & the video of the filmed stage production but not so much when I saw it live. I suppose I have hopelessly plebian tastes for enjoying ALW's music but I'd rather hear him than a lot of modern classical composers.

No, Dawnstar, you don’t have hopelessly plebeian tastes.  What you are is eclectic and wide-ranging in your artistic and cultural outlook. More importantly, you have the courage to be open about what you enjoy, even in the face of those whose narrow viewpoint leads them to condemn what they personally do not like.  And then we get the herd mentality that we see so much of on messageboards where the perceived view is never gainsaid  
 

I am a great fan of ALW’s work which has done so much to keep musical theatre alive and well and provided excellent entertainment for millions all over the world.  Oddly, this doesn’t make me or others like me (not that I expect anybody on this board to signal  agreement) any less able to  appreciate classical music, opera or ballet.  I can even manage to appreciate The Times and The Guardian as well as the Daily Mail!

Raven Girl or Phantom?  No contest.
 

ONS

10 hours ago, Lindsay said:

I think those engaged in higher level music education know that ALW's work is musically banal with a generous topping of ersatz emotional manipulation.  And of course, the reason Roger Waters has a problem with ALW's "genius" has long been known:

 

An astute businessman - undoubtedly.  An artist - hardly.....

Wow.  What a pity the great unwashed don’t appreciate  that his work is musically banal, a fact which you state with such certainty it simply must be true.  Or maybe they do and they just don’t care, them preferring to enjoy themselves on an evening  out watching a dramatic storyline unfold through catchy tunes and enjoyable music,  there being no Tippett  or Stockhausen on at their local Dog and Duck. You’ll be telling me they read the Daily Mail next.

It does look creepy. Won’t do Francesca any harm, though.  One wonders who Tom Hooper saw as the audience.  Despite its certification it’s not family feel good stuff and it hasn’t endeared itself to fans of the stage show.  The only people enjoying it are the headline writers!

Thanks for that, it’s reassuring.

30 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Perhaps they just can't face yet another person bellowing out Memories from Cats? I  remember years ago there was a veto on The Power of Love, the song made famous by Jennifer Rush for the same reason.  

Then they need to get real and understand the market their graduates will be competing in.

10 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

There's a world of difference between something being easy to sing and easy to sing well. If people auditioning prospective MT students can't get an idea of their technique from hearing an ALW song and a few simple exercises, I wonder why they're in their job.

Hear, hear!  Hilarious really.

What do they say:  'Dear Student,  For your forthcoming audition it is forbidden to use any songs or music from this country's most popular and successful producer of musical theatre.'

The inference being that ALW compositions, although beloved by millions all over the world, are sub standard and the students should aim for jobs with.....??????

I have a little story about Superstar.  I was on my first work experience in an advertising agency in Charles Street off Berkeley Square.  All we could hear all day was the chorus of Superstar coming out of the windows opposite us.  After weeks of this we made enquiries who all the people traipsing in and out were and what they were doing and were told they were writing and casting a musical!  And the rest...as they say...