Posts with the label Jeremy Secomb
Showing posts with label Jeremy Secomb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeremy Secomb. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 November 2019
Reputation, The Other Palace | Review
Reputation
The Other Palace
Reviewed on Friday 8th November 2019 by Olivia Mitchell
★★
It's the 1930s and the males in Hollywood are King. The world is glamourous, 'talking pictures' are all the rage and a good story can get you far. Alick and Suzanne Glass' musical is narrated by Freddy Larceny, a huge Hollywood producer who steals a young up-and-coming writer's work and has to fight for the reputation he's so carefully sculpted.
At this time, women are expected to be domestic creatures who stay in their lane and are there to support men with all they require; however, our heroine Michelle Grant confronts this and aims to write a novel and be her own boss. Maddy Banks plays Michelle with a burning energy and a sweet level of self-confidence. Her voice is strong, well-controlled and perfectly fitting for the musical style of the show, but the lack of variation in the score means we don't hear the full extent of Banks' vocals.
Alick Glass' music is entertaining at times and is certainly evocative of the 30s, New York and Paris, but overall the musical feels overstuffed with underdeveloped pieces. Abrupt stops and repetitive melodies often hinder the flow of the show and instead of adding anything to the story, just reiterate something already mentioned. The best musical moments happen when the girls join together in ensemble harmony but these are equally overused and begin to lack oomph quickly.
Tamsyn Salter's choreography is delightful and again very fitting for the time period. Salter has worked wonderfully with the limited space of The Other Palace Studio and will surely look even better when the show develops to bigger venues.
As the sleazy but kind of likeable crook, Jeremy Secomb is superb as Freddy Larceny. He is confident, slick and highly accomplished in his performance, giving a super strong vocal performance and is seeming well rounded despite actual character development. The lawyer who takes on Larceny, Archie Bright is played well by Ed Wade who is charmingly awkward and gives a stand out performance in act two when his vocals really shine.
Overall this is a production which certainly has potential but definitely needs to be edited and streamlined. It's great to see a show which focusses on a female narrative and rewriting history but it's hard to sympathise fully with our leading lady when many of her decisions remain motivated by a man. The love story is sweet but overshadows the female empowerment aspect which had the potential to be crucial and really make this show stand out. The cast do a great job and there are glimmers of magic but there absolutely needs to be more.
photo credit: photo donato
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Evita (UK Tour), Storyhouse | Review
Evita (UK Tour)
Storyhouse
Reviewed on Tuesday 17th April 2018 by Becca Cromwell
★★★★
Set mostly in 1940s Argentina, Evita focuses on the life and death of Argentinian actress turned political figure Eva Perón. Eva Duarte is a budding actress who tries her luck in Buenos Aires and ends up dating and eventually marrying Juan Perón. The first act of the show tells the tale of the Peróns’ rise to power in Argentina, with the focus on Juan Perón’s election as president and Eva becoming the First Lady of Argentina. In the second act, we see the aftermath of Eva’s ‘Rainbow Tour’ of Europe, which ends in her health declining, and eventually her death.
From the beginning, I was captivated by the sheer talent on the stage. The entire cast gave an utterly heartbreaking and incredibly moving performance, which will take me a long time to forget. As with a lot of Bill Kenwright’s productions, the set was minimalistic, but it worked. Although there were a few technical issues, which are expected from the first night, the show ran smoothly. The ensemble and child cast were astounding, with all of them giving great performances. The dance sequences were mesmerising and the harmonies were more than impressive.
Eva Perón was played by Madalena Alberto, who made it look completely effortless. Madalena is known for playing Eva in the Dominion Theatre and London Palladium productions and on a previous UK Tour of Evita. From the beginning she gave an impressive performance, even managing to keep her vocals flawless as she was crying.
Che, played by Gian Marco Schiaretti, is the narrator of the show. He spends most of the show observing and narrating the public’s view of what is happening, which brings depth to the story and the characters. Known for playing this role in previous productions, Gian gave a convincing performance and hit the high notes flawlessly.
Perón himself is played by none other than Jeremy Secomb, who is most known for his impressive list of West End credits, including hit roles such as Javert and Sweeney Todd. Jeremy gave a vocally fantastic performance, and exuded raw emotion throughout. He brought the part to life and made us really feel for him towards the end of the show.
Evita is definitely not a show to miss, and the UK Tour continues until June. Grab your tickets whilst you can.
photo credit: Pamela Raith
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