Swithin Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 *From Here to Eternity,* one of this season's highly touted West End shows, has opened to very mixed reviews. Friends of mine who have seen it said it's pretty awful. The Daily Mail's critic wrote: This one is a hoot, not necessarily by intention. It contains soupy tunes, glistening biceps, reality star Darius Campbell and his jawline, and generally more corn than even the leading breakfast cereal brands. But the Telegraph gave it four stars: This isn?t a major musical to rival South Pacific but in a West End awash with shows for kids and kidults it dares to speak to our inner grown-up about frustrated yearning, fleeting romance and pluck. Whether that?s enough to ensure it lasts longer than from here to the end of the current booking period is another question. and so did the Independent: You remember Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr and their passionate snog in the surf, naturally. Ditto: the brooding intensity of Montgomery Clift and the terrifying bombardment of Pearl Harbor. But how about Honolulu's Waikiki gay bar where hard-up, straight American soldiers earn some extra cash in return for sexual favours? Or the Drag Queen? Thought not. The makers of this new musical have gone back to the unexpurgated version of the James Jones novel on which the Oscar-winning, but bowdlerised, 1953 movie is based. The aim is a grittier, sexier low-down on life in the US army and the show ? with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by newcomer Stuart Brayson ? certainly gives you a powerful sense of men, thrown by poverty into this substitute family, and the nervous energies that are barely held in check by the furious military drilling in Javier de Frutos's testosterone-fuelled choreography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks for sharing this information, Swithin. Whether or not it's a misfire, it sounds like they are trying to make some sort of point by re-presenting the story. I guess we will see how long it runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 OMG! I cant think of anything that could be a worse subject for a musical adaptation! ****. I wonder if the servicemen do high kicks??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 "I never knew it(a musical) could be like this!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyBackTransformer Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 > I cant think of anything that could be a worse subject for a musical adaptation! ****. Star Wars the Musical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 LOL. At least they could techno that up. I'm surprised no one has attempted it yet. Wonder how the beach scene was staged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Next on the agenda---"The Grapes of Wrath---the Musical" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveGirl Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 But...how do you do the beach scene with the surf rolling over them? As for TGOW, as I was watching "The Insect Woman" and the scene which I have chosen not to describe, wherein the girl gives her father some sustenance, it reminded me that in the original novel of TGOW, isn't there a similar scene which definitely was NOT filmed in the Henry Fonda version. Thank goodness! Edited by: CaveGirl on Oct 24, 2013 3:14 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 >Wonder how the beach scene was staged? Just a guess here, Hibi, but MAYBE like how they did it on this old TV sound stage back in the '50s???...(at the 4:20 mark)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Does this seem like a weird concept to anyone else? Kissin' on the Beach Bad Boy! Kissin' on the Beach! Bad Girl! First you kiss a little Then swim a little Then you get a little sand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Not complete without a roller-skating baby peeping Tom. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 LOL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 After doing some research, I found out the first act ends with the beach scene. They are lying on the cold, hard stage. OUCH! (LOL)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 So who plays the role of "Fatso" Judson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 For me, musicals fall into two categories. Chock full of unforgettable yet unmistakable "show tunes" that in most cases resemble the show tunes of many other musicals, regardless of the composer. Or chock full of songs and music that NOBODY could possibly walk out of the theater humming to themselves( Le Miz, Rent). I wonder which category this musical will fall under? Other bad ideas for musicals: DIE HARD PULP FICTION THE MALTESE FALCON THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL CITIZEN KANE ( Well...maybe...) TORA! TORA! TORA! THE WILD BUNCH And that's just for STARTERS! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 No one I know (British cast).......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 You forgot about SCHINDLER'S LIST. UNless they wanted to recycle some of the songs from THE PRODUCERS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo2 Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I want to see " Psycho - the musical". Or maybe " The Birds" tweet tweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Well they did make a musical of Carrie, so why not Psycho ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 LOL. And Carrie went over big.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Carol Burnett did a hilarious parody of inappropriate musicals by doing a sketch called "Hamlet the Musical". Oh man was it brilliant and hilarious. Ophelia came out as a torch singer and sang "I'm in love with the boy in black/ And the boy in black is blue!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 I actually saw a musical version of Hamlet in 2012, in a London pub theatre (The Old Red Lion Theatre, site of Tom Paine's writing of The Rights of Man ). I liked it! Here's a review and photo. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-1307024/Hamlet--House-Horrors-A-compelling-exciting-Shakespeare.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo2 Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Swithin - why not indeed? Lots of people sing in the shower - of course Marion Crane's solo there would have an abrupt interruption - curtains... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted October 26, 2013 Author Share Posted October 26, 2013 She could sing a song about birds. After all, The Birds sort of follows Psycho thematically, in a way, and Norman Bates collects stuffed birds, and of course her name is Marian Crane and she is from Phoenix ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo2 Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Maybe call it Psycho Birds. Or Angry Birds or... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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