Jesus Christ Superstar & Ophelia: Madness (in blue)

[smallhobbit]

Two separate productions - I saw the first Wednesday evening and the other Friday evening.

Jesus Christ Superstar was on at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and I'd wanted to go there for some time.  The production had excellent reviews, and was being revived from last year, with a number of the same cast.  I hadn't realised it was purely songs - and I have to wonder how people get on who don't know the basic story.  For those of my flist who know me well they won't be surprised I was mentally pointing out what I would term incorrect interpretation - but that didn't bother me - I've seen Shakespeare's Richard III twice this summer and we know how accurate that is as a historical record.

It may be coming to this after hearing the Gershwin of An American in Paris in the afternoon was a mistake.  I much prefer Gershwin to Lloyd Webber.  I felt there was little nuance in the singing - most of the songs were blasted out, and there didn't seem to be much difference between a lot of them.

I liked Judas (Tyrone Huntley), Caiaphas (Phillip Browne) and Annas (Sean Kingsley) and thought they brought some depth to what they were singing.  Otherwise I was rather disappointed in it.  On the plus side, Judas' viewpoint of the events may prove very useful at some point in the future.

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Ophelia: Madness (in blue) was the inaugural production of a music theatre project, and was performed in The Swiss Church, London.  A friend of mine was thinking of going, and since it was on when I was in London I said I'd go with her, and try something different.

We had assumed this would be Ophelia's version of her part in Hamlet - a sort of fanfiction.  Instead Shakespeare's words were taken and mostly sung, although there were a few spoken words.  It was rather strange.  Emily McDouall, who played Ophelia was very good - she had an excellent singing voice and really showed through her expressions how she was feeling.  Hamlet and Laertes seemed convinced they had to sing as loudly as possible (not necessary, there wasn't a large audience) and seemed very wooden.

The production only lasted 45 minutes, after which my friend and I went to an upmarket burger bar and caught up on each other's news.  So a good evening, if not quite as anticipated.

Here's a picture of the Swiss Church:

Comments

[margaret_r]

Your certainly got a lot packed into your London Trip! I'm with you on Gershwin vs Lloyd Webber, although I do like to watch Lloyd Webber's productions. The Ophelia play sounds a bit odd really but the church looks nice.

[smallhobbit]

I like to do as many different things as possible to make it feel like a real holiday. I normally find Lloyd Webber singalongable, but I suppose that's probably two or three songs out of a whole show.

The Ophelia play was odd - but the setting was lovely - and it was one more experience.

[solosundance]

We saw JCS last summer and loved it (even though it rained!), much more than I was expecting - so much I'm taking daughter back to see the last performance later in September. I find it interesting in terms of where it fits in musical theatre history (soooo 70s), and also have a soft spot for the Lloyd Webber score. And interesting - we saw American in Paris two nights ago and also loved that, for different reasons. The Gershwin music is wonderful, and I was particularly happy with the high quality of the dance/choreography.

Very impressed you saw both in one day!

[smallhobbit]

I know a lot of people have enjoyed JCS, but it just wasn't for me. I hope you have a great time when you go again - and that it stays dry for you.

That's the one problem with cramming as much in as possible, I inevitably do see two performances in one day. Generally I try to contrast them as much as possible, but this was just how the planning fell.

[aome]

I adore JCS, myself, I must admit. I'm sorry the production didn't really work for you. But it sounds like you managed to cram in three really interesting (and very different!) productions into your London trip, and yay for having a nice visit with a friend, as a bonus!

[smallhobbit]

I think most people around me enjoyed JCS, so I think it was me and my preferences. But I'm glad I went, and I always like doing a variety of different things - makes it feel more like a real break.