Featured Post

Brief awakenings: White Rose The Musical @MaryleboneTHLDN

Image
A fascinating and daring act of defiance in Nazi Germany by a group of university students in Munich is given a slightly perplexing rock musical treatment in White Rose, the musical. Something seems amiss in this earnest and occasionally tuneful show. It lags more than it inspires, which is surprising given the tragic and compelling history of the real-life characters the show depicts. Given that young people are increasingly likely to vote for far-right parties across Europe, it’s an opportunity to look at a time when they had a different perspective on the future. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation or the larger space of the Marylebone Theatre where it plays.  The White Rose were a group of university students in Munich who sought to undermine the Third Reich through publication of a series of pamphlets urging passive resistance to the Nazi regime. Over a brief period between June 1942 and February 1943, they distributed their pamphlets across campus using ...

Holographs of my mind: Dusty @dusty_show


Dusty Springfield is back from the dead in Dusty, a multimedia musical which has her spinning around and singing in 3D holographic spectacular. As for the show, despite other opinions, I liked it for the music. It is a wonderful homage to her, even if the technology gets in the way of the performances and the story.


Anyone watching this show and unfamiliar with Springfield’s life and music could be forgiven for thinking she was just an act from the 1960s. The show ends around the Dusty in Memphis period, which was her now seminal album recorded in Memphis but only a minor hit when it was first released. Her career continued up to her early death in 1999, along the way it was peppered with lesbian affairs, alcoholism and struggles.

The inclusion of “Son of a Preacher Man” was included in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, saw her return to fame before her death in 1999 at the age of sixty. Alas none of this is covered in the story.

Instead there is the intriguing technical achievement of combining footage and holographic effects of the real Dusty, singing along to live music with backing performers.

The decision to combine Springfield’s studio recordings with live vocals is going to make for a challenging evening for anyone playing her. Alison Arnopp as Dusty has the unenviable task of being compared to the throaty singer. She performs capably but has a thankless task of sounding like her and providing the drama links.

Francesca Jackson as the friend Nancy comes off a bit better as she gets to sing a complete song. Her vocals also sound more like Springfield, particularly when she hits the low notes.

Witney White is a revelation as Martha Reeves and gives the show  an injection of soul and some funky moves.

Actually all the performers show off a lot more moves than Springfield and at least they have that over her. Going by the footage she was not one for fancy footwork other than sticking a leg out or raising a hand up in the air.

All told if the West End has a Sinatra tribute show and and Jackson tribute show, it surely should have a Dusty show. Although it might be a better show by just focusing on the music (and maybe the occasional video-hologram-spectacular).

Dusty runs at Charing Cross Theatre until 21 November.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

First impressions with @johnnyfoxlondon follow…

Photo credit: Elliott Franks

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Image
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan...
Read more...

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Image
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue .   Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple.  The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial ...
Read more...

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

Image
Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
Read more...