Theatre

[killersmom]

Matthew Bourne has a new ballet production, that recently started touring in Britain,
of Prokoviev's Romeo & Juliet.

This review from Manchester makes it sound exciting:
https://ilovemanchester.com/review-matthew-bournes-romeo-and-juliet-at-the-lowry/

Yay! Another Matthew Bourne!

I wonder what it means on the New Adventures website when it says:
              Which company will you be seeing
                  The Capulets or Montagues?


The article is really good, too: New Adventures Celebrates Pride Month
https://new-adventures.net/news/new-adventures-celebrates-pride-month

Damn, what I'd give to see some of these. I've seen Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on YouTube. Maybe it was just excerpts, but it was beautiful. I loved it!  His works look amazing.

[Sara B]

Thanks Lyle! Read these at breakfast and have now just booked an afternoon seat for the end of September in Southampton - about 2 hours by train. Sounds very exciting. I didn’t know all the other ballets he’d done, but I saw his Swan Lake live. Also Sleeping Beauty on television, but didn’t like that nearly so much, partly because it wasn’t live I suppose.

I’ll tell you about it when the time comes!

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Damn, what I'd give to see some of these. I've seen Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on YouTube. Maybe it was just excerpts, but it was beautiful. I loved it!  His works look amazing.

Linda, we are lucky in Los Angeles because he first brought one of his ballets to Los Angeles before anyplace else, Swan Lake,
and was given such a great reception that he's brought most all of his shows here. Some of them haven't even gone to NYC.

I never use the term genius frivolously and I thing Matthew Bourne is a genius. Every single one of his productions has just elevated the routine to lovely memorable art. I don't think I'm alone.

I've seen Swan Lake more than once.  Last year we went to see The Red Shoes and not looking forward to it that much, because I am not really big on that film, and I was bowled over and loved it. My friend who I went with wasn't into The Red Shoes as well and he loved it. He was asking a girl friend of his if she was going to see it and she said she wasn't because she really didn't like that movie, either, and we told her we agreed with that, but how much we liked the ballet and she went and loved it, too.

At this point I must insert that I believe all three of us may be in the minority when it comes to those who've seen the Red Shoes movie, but so be it!

I've viewed Swan Lake and The Nutcracker on dvd, as well. I think it's safe to say that recorded versions of theatre are not as good as seeing them in person, simply because in the theatre you can look at what you want to and recorded versions are either very static, or interrupt what you want to look at on occasions. If that makes sense.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Thanks Lyle! Read these at breakfast and have now just booked an afternoon seat for the end of September in Southampton - about 2 hours by train. Sounds very exciting. I didn’t know all the other ballets he’d done, but I saw his Swan Lake live. Also Sleeping Beauty on television, but didn’t like that nearly so much, partly because it wasn’t live I suppose.

You're welcome Sara!

I believe Cinderella was the second of his I saw and really liked it. He revised it recently with a new production and some altered choreography and it was here earlier this year in Los Angeles and I saw it again. I didn't like it as much this time. One reason is that they had more "special effects' in this one, if that's the right word, and I thought it detracted.

He did a show called Play Without Words which was a sort of dance version inspired by the movie The Servant and a couple other 60's films and it was just pure delight. It is the only show I have ever been to that got a standing ovation -- at intermission! The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre had one screening of The Servant while the show was here and a friend and I went to that and Matthew Bourne did a Q&A about it being the inspiration for this show. I don't recall if we knew beforehand that he was going to be there or not.

He's also done the choreography for some musical productions like Oliver!, South Pacific, My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins. (He won a Tony for that.)

I didn't realize it had been ten years, but he did a ballet of Dorian Gray that long ago. Because all his other ones had come to Los Angeles, we kept expecting it to as well, but it for whatever reason he's never brought it here. I've wondered why? When I saw a revival of Swan Lake here a couple years ago I sat next to someone I began talking to and we talked about seeing his other productions and I brought up the fact Dorian Gray had never come here and he told me he'd seen it in Britain and I was so jealous. Especially because he liked it so much.

So when I found out about the new Romeo & Juliet and was reading about it on the New Adventures site, I went to their contact page and wrote and asked about the possibility of Dorian Gray coming to Los Angeles and why it might not have already and also asked if it was one that had been put on any home media.

I got a response this morning:

Hi Lyle,
 
Thank you for getting in contact with us and great to hear that you are a big fan of Matthew’s work! New Adventures will not be visiting LA soon with Dorian Gray as we have not been programmed by any of the theatres there and are currently touring different productions. However this does not mean we will not in the future as the company really enjoys visiting the city and audiences. Please keep up to date on our website with our upcoming shows https://new-adventures.net/shows.
 
Unfortunately we also have limited archives ourselves of the production, other than what is already in the trailer. I'm sorry that I can't help further on this occasion.
 
Best regards,
Leah
 
Leah Fox
Administrator
New Adventures
T. +44 (0)1252 597 050

Well, at least there was a glimmer of hope there:
does not mean we will not in the future as the company really enjoys visiting the city

I’ll tell you about it when the time comes!

Sara, I'm so excited to know that you'll be seeing Romeo & Juliet next month! I can't wait to hear all about it!

[Sara B]

You just never know what being a Brokie will lead to! Thanks so much for inspiring me to look for it, Lyle.

[tfferg]

Thanks Lyle! Read these at breakfast and have now just booked an afternoon seat for the end of September in Southampton - about 2 hours by train. Sounds very exciting. I didn’t know all the other ballets he’d done, but I saw his Swan Lake live. Also Sleeping Beauty on television, but didn’t like that nearly so much, partly because it wasn’t live I suppose.

I’ll tell you about it when the time comes!

Lucky you, Sara!

We did have the pleasure of seeing Swan Lake live ion Melbourne a few years ago.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I have no idea whether the show will be good or not, but a road company of Hello, Dolly! will be playing Philadelphia beginning tomorrow night. I love that show--I love the songs. It's my kind of show. I got myself a ticket for Mardi Gras--well, OK, next Tuesday evening. It just happens to be Mardi Gras.

[ingmarnicebbmt]

I love that show--I love the songs. It's my kind of show.

I feel exactly the same.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Maybe Dolly will throw beads out to the audience!

[fritzkep]

Maybe Dolly will throw beads out to the audience!

 

I once saw the musical in New Orleans with Dorothy Lamour in the lead role, and she is originally from there. It was a great show, and during the curtain calls she paused and talked with the audience about growing up in the city. My mother knew her family slightly. It was a very memorable performance.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Dolly! is the only show where I saw a role played by the person who originally created it--Carol Channing on her last tour with the show.

[Flyboy]

lol!! Jeff, I never did see CC in Hello Dolly, but I did meet her once way back in the 70's......huge EYES and BIG HAIR then!! 

I did see Hello Dolly on Broadway with Bette Midler, she was perfect for the role! Loved the performance! I'm a huge Streisand fan as well, but she was just TOOOO YOUNG to pull off that role in the film version. But she did give it her all, IMHO, you understand? 

[Jeff Wrangler]

I did see Hello Dolly on Broadway with Bette Midler, she was perfect for the role! Loved the performance!

I would like to have seen her in the role.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Dolly! is the only show where I saw a role played by the person who originally created it--Carol Channing on her last tour with the show.

I'd call the road company that I saw ... adequate. It was just OK. The actors playing Cornelius and Irene had the best voices. A sight gag of Dolly stuffing herself at the table at the Harmonia Gardens went on too long. Horace had hair (wig) too long for 1880. I don't regret seeing the show because the music was fine.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I see from the March 9 New Yorker that Armie Hammer is back on Broadway in a play called The Minutes. The issue has a full-face photo of him that shows off his amazing blue eyes.