Paramour - Original Broadway Cast Recording Review

Source: Amazon.com

Why is it so hard for Cirque du Soleil to engage an experienced musical composer from Broadway to lead their New York based shows?

It's the troupe's third attempt at breaking into the market, and each time has been a sadly disappointing offering. Paramour is the closest Cirque has come to creating a traditional musical, but as always, the composition doesn't fall to a well known composer or team of creatives, but to those they know best, composers Bob et Bill (Guy Dubuc & Marc Lessard), who have scored a jaw-dropping nine original scores for the company. Perplexingly joined by Andreas Carlsson, it was a missed opportunity to let this team write the score for a big scale musical in the Big Apple. Wanting to conquer the New York theatre scene without engaging composers who have ever worked there before - will Cirque ever have the courage of their ambition?

The premise in Paramour is a sticky love triangle set to the backdrop of a movie being made, which spans multiple different genres. It actually wasn't so long ago that we were presented with a musical score of a similar premise - Carter Burwell's score from Hail, Caesar! also had the composer going through different ages, times and styles to the premise of the audience visiting various 'movies'. It was extremely theatrical and probably would have been smarter framework than the flimsy love-story here. To their credit, the team manage to evoke these movie genres extremely well, with all the textures and instrumentation you'd expect in hackneyed spaghetti Western ('Help a Girl to Choose'), biblical epic ('Cleopatra') and mobster crime noir (NYC Rooftops) films. Other songs make interesting homages to old school musicals and Hollywood - 'Everything' sounds like a blend of 'Maybe' from Miss Saigon crossed with some more irritating material from Sunset Boulevard, such as 'Too Much In Love to Care'.

On the other hand, there's the usual Bob et Bill percussion-noise driven filler crap ('Revenge Fantasies', 'NYC Rooftops' - does anyone ever listen to these tracks after the first listen?), but also extremely satisfying moments, such as the highlight 'Egyptian Gift', an instrumental moment both clandestine and exotic, with booming drums and an arresting violin peppered across which sounds like magic. 'The Hollywood Wiz' is exactly the kind of opener a big-scale show needs - a grand, vaudeville feeling show-man tune with a strong contribution from the ensemble and a big voice. Maddeningly, unlike any well structured musical with themes and leitmotifs for characters, each 2-3 minute song in Paramour tries to make a new melody which is dead and buried before it even takes off. There are two brief reprises of songs, but nothing sophisticated or clever . . . maybe there are more, but I don't care to listen to it again to find out.

Who are the key players in Paramour? Ruby Lewis makes her debut with the role of Indigo, Ryan Vona plays composer Joey and Jeremy Kushnier plays AJ. They've all got awesome, powerful and vibrant voices, a belting hybrid of classical musical theatre and pop, with a bit of rough and raw power. It's just too bad that their material ranges from average to awkwardly bad.

The lyrics suck. There are too many instances where the most cringy, predictable rhymes you hope won't happen do happen, so there's really no point identifying examples. Honestly, what were we expecting from Andreas Carlsson, a man who writes lyrics for the likes of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC? This is Broadway, where the story is sometimes as important as the music - frankly it's not good enough and really lets the whole production down (chuck on 'Ginger Top' and 'Love Triangle' for a laugh, as they are worst offenders).

All in all, a passable but disappointing offering from Cirque du Soleil in their attempt at global domination. Talented cast members can't make up for unforgivable lyrics, and the music is not sophisticated or up to scratch to rank with the best shows on Broadway. Maybe one day, Cirque du Soleil will dare to work with some new composers, but until the day comes, there won't be a stand out performance from them on Broadway.

'Cirque du Soleil Paramour - Original Broadway Cast Recording' by Cirque du Soleil is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and is also available on Spotify & physical CD.

Pokemon Live! by Temple Theatre Company

Pokémon Live! is Temple Theatre Company's debut production, and it's awesome just how this unsavoury and crusty execution managed to entertain the audience. I couldn't control my excitement for seeing the show - I grew up with the songs, I knew all the characters and the storyline, and I understood all the intertexual humour. And because of all those reasons, I was willing to forgive almost every disastrous aspect of the show and appreciate it in its horrifying glory.

Ash (Adwan Dickson) and his friends Misty (Rhiannon Moushall) and Brock (Thomas Pitiris) are on their latest adventure, which is to win the new Diamond Badge from a new gym leader. Unknown to them, the Diamond Badge is a ruse concocted by Giovanni (Zane Weber) and his minions Team Rocket (John Vizcay-Wilson, Xanthe Jones, Phoebe Ballard). Team Rocket have captured Ash's mum Delia (Georgina Purdie) and Professor Oak (Patrick Aiken), and plan on capturing Pikachu (Elizabeth Witt) so that the new super Pokémon MechaMew2 can learn all the known battle moves, and allow Giovanni to take over the world.

Pitiris as Brock, Dickson as Ash and
Moushall as Misty (Source: Facebook).

For a show that was conceived as a multi-million dollar spectacle, the production value is seriously lacking and in some areas hilariously bad. The music, lyrics and book are puerile and banal while the directing is shambolic, however with material like this, it's very difficult to not make that entertaining - the fact that the team admitted they set out of make something that veered on 'so bad it's good' certainly prevails as a victory. My friend next to me's mouth hung open in sheer horror while I wailed with laughter. There are backouts that have no function, in some instances where NOTHING on stage even changes and the audience are just left in the dark listening to random instrumental reprises. There are pointless dance breakdowns where the story doesn't progress and there is no insight given to character. The lighting rarely does anything emotive and seem to serve as a homage to schizophrenia, and the sound is poorly mixed, usually being too soft but occasionally achingly loud.

All of those elements fed directly into the enjoyment of piece and to top it off there are several great aspects of the production too - the actual performers made the most of their ridiculous material and were clearly having a fantastic time, and the cast was sprinkled with veterans of Brisbane musical theatre with all being apt singers and several members pretty good dancers. Comedic timing was excellent and scenes flavoured with random elements, such as entering on scooters or 'falling' into holes, were glorious. It felt like, seeing as the show was noted suitable for audience under 15, there could have been more tounge-in-cheek comments, and the fact that Pikachu was scantily dressed set itself up for some jokes that just never happened. Regardless, references to the games were fantastic - stepping into the eyesight of trainers, the music, but in particular the voice over at the start is one of the most ingenious introductions and executions of house etiquette I've ever heard. Certain songs were just stellar - 'Misty's Song' was hilariously inappropriate, 'PokéRap' a brilliant opener, and the ridiculously flamboyant 'Double Trouble' were glorious.

I'm amused that I enjoyed Pokémon Live! for the same reasons I didn't enjoy Next to Normal. Pokémon Live! is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever seen, but Temple Theatre Company has completely embraced this puerile work and transformed it into a glorious trainwreck which was hilarious and completely enthralling for 90 minutes. Hopefully this ambition has paid off and the troupe can now afford some real props, costumes and material to perform. But for what it was - wow. My childhood came to life, albeit a little more sexy than what it was.

Temple Theatre Company's Pokemon Live! played at Brisbane Arts Theatre from April 23rd - April 27th.

Less Miserable About Les Mis Soundtrack

Cover of the Les Misérables highlights album (Source: Amazon).

Casting actors rather than singers in movie adaptations of musicals are always at best a necessary evil. Les Misérables has been one of the most anticipated musical adaptations of all time, and a lot of emphasis has been put on acting and pulling out emotion over singing. Unlike the usual filming process of recording tracks months before shooting begins, Tom Hooper's adaption of the world's second longest running musical featured actors singing in realtime on the set and then mixing an orchestra to suit the product after. Claims from the actors insinuate that this 'revolutionary' method allows more flexibility and emotion to be put into the singing, but the reality is that few manage to pull it off properly. Despite fantastic new orchestral arrangements and some wonderful chorus works, there is too much 'acting' in the singing, too many lacklustre singers and bad mixing really detract from what could have been an excellent recording - there are some great moments, however.

At the helm of the recording is Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, and he's just bad. He's acceptable on shorter passages and in songs that don't require such strenuous vocal demands, but star moments like 'Bring Him Home' and 'Soliloquy' are laden with dreadfully nasal vibrato it's unbearable, and he sounds like a squeaky puppy in phrases on 'One Day More' - he's also the worst contender for blubbering through lines and drawing out the emotion too much. Russell Crowe is awful - while no-one was expecting him to be Philip Quast, his gravely part-time rock voice is totally unsuitable as he lacks the vocal power that the role of Javert demands, but his timbre makes it sound as if just sounds like he is shouting as he clambers though 'Stars' and Suicide. It's remarkable how unmelodious his voice is, and shocking how amateur they both sound.

Elsewhere the cast are fine. Eddie Redmayne is surprisingly nice as Marius and Amanda Seyfried's voice is thin but lovely for a quiet Cosette, both are appropriately toned down for the movie but Seyfried is barely present on the recording. The same goes for Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter, who have the usual unremarkable vocal skills but communicate a good performance through the Thénardier characteristics. The two singers who have performed their respective roles on stage are less than stellar - Samantha Barks returns with her signature wooden-but-pleasent Éponine, as does Aaron Tviet as a passable-but-boring Enjolras who lacks any presence and authority since he sounds significantly demasculinized (look up David Thaxton for a good idea of how the role should sound). The star of the recording is Oscar touted Anne Hathaway as Fantine, who shreds 'I Dreamed a Dream' with ineffable passion and such conviction it's simply breathtaking. While she's not the definitive Fantine, her performance communicates an immensely impressive equilibrium which balances the harrowing anguish and pain of her character with a sensitive delivery of tone and melody.

The gimmick of having the singing live translates poorly from the screen to this recording, and while it's apparently a revelation when it comes to filming, it rarely works to add to the independent musical experience. There are some awful musical decisions such as in 'Castle on a Cloud', where The Grudge graces us with an appearance to cackle "COSETTTEEEE I LOVE YOU VERY MUCHHH" in our ear - it sounds absolutely terrifying out of context. On the other hand, the revised orchestral arrangements are incredibly vibrant, sumptuous and thrilling. Disregarding the vocals, 'Confrontation', 'Look Down' and 'The Final Battle' have never sounded so exciting, nor arrangements like 'In My Life', 'Red and Black' or 'Javert's Suicide' so luscious.

Regardless of both positive and negatives, the recording isn't the most pleasant listen because the mixing is, unfortunately and predictably, awful. The wonderful orchestra is captured perfectly but the recording is marred by the vocals, which are captured with only basic microphones. The result means that there is a lot of hissing and scuffs, with extraneous noises featuring, like people kicking furniture, scuffs of shoes, and over dramatic breathing and lipsmaking. It sounds as though there has been no processing or editing of the vocals - there's not even a basic reverb to unify the numerous tracks together, and it would have greatly improved their placement in the mix - it's very unprofessional and it's irritating to listen to.

There have been some revisions and rearranging to the lyrics, and while they don't do anything major like change the meanings of the song, they're also so minor it didn't really seem necessary (ie. In 'At The End of the Day' - "The winter is coming on fast . . ." becomes "The plague is coming on fast . . .". What's the point? Winter sounds more poetic anyway). 'Suddenly', the new song composed in a scramble to win the Oscar for Best Song, has the complexity of a Christmas carol and is totally unnecessary to the story (if anything, a song should have been written for Cosette). It's not really anything memorable, and I hope it never gets added to the stage show.

All that aside, there are highlights for the CD. Anne Hathaway's incredible rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' is the jewel of the album, and anything with the chorus included is wonderful - 'At The End of the Day' and 'Red and Black' are magnificent. 'The Final Battle' is riveting with the sheer grandeur of the orchestra, and for the sake of nostalgia 'One Day More' is fairly good. My absolute favourite track is the 'Epilogue' which, despite its imperfections, is a luminous adaptation which features an elegant and beautiful orchestra arrangement, thunderous chorus, and includes - finally - the Bishop in Valjean's final moments (I can't describe what that means to me).

All in all, I'm less miserable about the soundtrack than I thought I'd be. There are some awful performances from some of the most prominent actors including Jackman and Crowe, but there are some acceptable performances and Hathaway absolutely steals the show with her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream', all backed by some glorious orchestration. While mixing is horrible and very amateur, when properly done the chorus shines, and there are a few great moments. This is also only the highlights album, so you can expect another deluxe collector's special Asian limited edition to come out featuring all the tracks at double the price. I'll probably buy that one too. All in all, if you're a fan of the musical then you'll be a sucker for this CD regardless. If you're a fan of the movie and love blindly following crazes, you'll probably like this too. If you enjoy singing rather than acting, perhaps not so much.

The 'Les Misérables' Highlights album is available worldwide December 25th, and is currently available on iTunes. Available on physical CD and digital download.

Underground's Urinetown [*]

Promotional artwork for Urinetown (Source: Underground Productions).

I didn’t know anything about Urinetown until last night, but from the moment where the front of house manager jumped on a seat and yodelled that we all “know the drill”, to the disembodied voice whispering “. . . piece of ass” at the start of the show, I suspected it was going to be a bit of a disaster. 

Urinetown is about a world in turmoil – in an eternal drought, water consumption is monitored and restricted by the tyrannical Urine Good Company who charges the public for the privilege to piss. Handsome boy Bobby Strong, who lost his father to the cruel arm of the law, falls head over heals in love with Hope Caldwell in an ill-fated romance among a revolution that hopes to inspire change and liberate the water rules, so everyone can pee where and whenever they want.

The musical itself is a perplexing and difficult choice since it really has no redeemable features. The premise is insipid and the book, score and lyrics are too inane for a snob like me - while there are a handful of reoccurring motifs (like, 3?) there is no complexity or anything memorable in the score. While the director and script claims that the production looks at the serious issues of the environment, globalisation and consumerism, it doesn't really come through or discuss any of the issues at great length. I don't think anyone was expecting a musical comedy to do such a thing, but if it was trying to it's difficult since there isn't much character development, and sequences and numbers just happen in front of your eyes while you watch in a daze.

There were three standout performers in the cast – unsurprisingly two of them include James Gauci and Rhiannon Marshall. Gauci plays the dashing Bobby with a great exuberance and vitality, easily breezing through the rock-esque score, and Marshall is the picture perfect and plucky heroine with an airy voice and lovely timbre. Their duet, ‘Follow Your Heart’, showcases true musicality and ability to perform. The third standout was a boy with light purple hair, who performs these outrageously inappropriate movements, stealing focus every time he was on stage. And the audience loved him for it - pointing him out and cheering every time he was there. One thing the whole cast is is enthusiastic, although by the ending of the second act, it’s apparent that they’ve all cottoned on about how ridiculous their situation is. Regardless, everyone performs with great élan, and it really pays off in a few musical numbers like ‘Run, Freedom, Run!’ and ‘Why Did I Listen to that Man?’ Pretty much anything involving the whole chorus was a glorious, chaotic mess and barrage of sound. Kieran Davey and Xanthe Jones aptly perform and make the best out of their two roles, an irritating duo who provide unnecessary narration while breaking the forth wall (the whole thing feels very patronising).

The Schonell in its festering glory didn’t help the situation - the cavernous space swallows up any performer or piece of set in it, and the minimalist approach of having a sparse set for the small indie-rock musical totally backfires since the space is about as intimate as a volcano. The set was practical but didn’t really stimulate much, although unfortunately it fell down about a third of the way through Act One. The wretched sound system causes the frequencies of microphones to cancel out sporadically, and (I think we heard one of the lighting operators fall down) it’s impossible for the lighting to evoke any additional emotion and it just comes off as a category I would describe as ‘musical lighting’ – however, there is a lot of comedic lighting cues, like when the cast dance in the dark, characters having to step across into their spotlight, and (my favourite) couples walking across the space in a blackout for apparently no reason.

For a scipt claiming to be a comedy, there are a lot of lines and gags that are emphasised and then re-occur as the script progresses. They’re pretty rancid, but there are a few genuinely funny moments where I laughed out loud – Little Sally retelling Bobby’s final message, Caldwell’s bizarre mannerisms and throwaway remarks, and ol’ purple hair kept us adequately engaged throughout the duration of the show.

It's a huge achievement for a student theatre company to produce a large scale musical with such a huge cast, but this performance of Urinetown just goes to show that even a solid and enthusiastic cast can’t save a truly unpleasant show. There were a lot of mess-ups on the technical side of things due to the shabby venue, but there’s nothing really special in the musical itself. The enthusiasm of the cast carries the show to some extent and there are a few stand-out performers, but it’s not a particularly enjoyable evening.

Tickets for Underground Production's Urinetown are $15-$20, and is showing at The Schonell Theatre at the University of Queensland until September 10th. Duration of 2 hours and 30 minutes including interval. Book by visiting Underground's website.

A New (Don't Cry For Me,) Argentina - Evita 2012 Cast Recording

The three principals of the Evita revival: Michael Cerveris (Perón), Elena Roger (Eva) and Ricky Martin (Ché) [Source: Time Magazine].

How much you enjoy the 2012 cast recording of Evita will be largely dependent on how attached you are to previous actresses who have portrayed Eva. As usual, if you're a Lupone fan just don't bother - but if you're open to new interpretations, this recording contains the full score in English, with updated orchestrations and also it boasts the wonderful Elena Roger in the title role.

It gets given the flimsy title of 'rock opera' because it's sung all the way through, but Evita is the best score Andrew Lloyd Webber has composed, combining Latin rhythms, tangos, waltzes and habaneras with his signature souped-up rock rifts and kitsch drum-kit accompaniment. Some moments are over the top and cheesy, but for Evita Lloyd Webber wrote selections that are breathtaking and some melodies are unbelievably memorable and catchy.

The cover art of the new CD [Source: Broadway World].

The cast of this recording are not definitive, but it's always enjoyable to hear different portrayals of roles. Michael Cerveris' portrayal is too lethargic and laden with vibrato for Perón, and his attempt to put emotion into pieces like 'Dice Are Rolling' and 'I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You' seems to make him scoop to notes and affects the authority of his character - it also makes him sound as if he's struggling to reach higher notes which is weird because he has an impressive range. He also has a very strange accent which I can't really pinpoint (listen to him say flourishing as 'flurooshing' in 'Dice Are Rolling'), it's a little off but reminds me of Rogers a little. He's much more memorable than previous Peróns, but I really wish Philip Quast had been able to reprise this role since he was brilliant but practically non-existent on the last Evita recording.

The weakest link of the cast is Ricky Martin, who is is just so jarring to listen to with his embarrassingly obscene accent (like pronouncing Peronism as 'Perronism'), bizarre phrasing and an unpredictable vibrato. Although, occasionally he seems to get things right, and when he does he's quite enjoyable. In numbers like 'Perón's Latest Flame' and 'Eva's Final Broadcast' he actually creates quite an interesting and nasty character, but previous interpretations are superior despite his efforts. Supporting Rachel Potter as Peron's mistress delivers sweet rendition (with a belt!) of 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', and Max von Essen manages to make the most out of his pointless material ('On This Night of a Thousand Stars') by being the best Migaldi recorded. Maya Jade Frank and Isabella Moner perform a very sweet 'Santa Evita' before the moment being ruined by that random guttural interjection from Martin.

While she'll never be considered the definitive Evita, I'm crazy about Elena Roger, who is perfect in the title role of the trashy and calculated actress who clawed her way to the top and seduced a nation. Roger is the only Evita who has appeared on two recordings - her Spanish accent adds another element of authenticity to her portrayal of Evita (her diction has also improved significantly since her previous recording). The score is unbelievably demanding and strenuous, but while previous actresses have screamed their way through the score, Roger's vindictive portrayal posses a remarkable vocal quality that distinguishes her from previous earth-shattering Evas. Her voice has an earthly quality, slightly rough and raw, but powerful and engaging. She is captivating, and while she has attracted a lot of criticism for being too nasal, she is ferocious on the brutal highs (SCREEWWWW THE MIDDDDLEEEE CLASSSESSS!) and lows of the score, and manages to balances explosive exuberant ('Buenos Aires', 'Rainbow High') with a quietly modest and candid moments ('Don't Cry for Me, Argentina', 'Waltz for Eva and Ché'). Her 'Rainbow High' is simply bitching, and she absolutely smashes the ending with these incredibly crazy notes which would bring the house down.

Shot of 'Buenos Aires' [Source: Evita Official Website].

The new orchestrations are reduced (naturally, since that saves money) and the outcome doesn't reflect the score well since Evita was conceived with sweeping orchestration which very fittingly compliments the woman who became a legend. It's fairly good considering the state of Broadway currently, and the additional embellishments and instrumentation adds a distinct Latin flare, but unfortunately large portions of the score have painfully obvious synthesizers and keyboards substituting the real instrument. I'm all for authenticity when it comes to transferring live scores to a recording, but there are some samples on this album which are criminal - such as the 'harp' noise, which is just vulgar and sounds so unrealistic that it detracts from the grandeur of the score. Also, the tempo of certain tracks are bizarre – 'Rainbow Tour' goes through about four tempo changes, 'Lament' is on steroids and 'On This Night of a Thousand Stars' is utterly erratic.

Most recordings of Evita have had fuck ups that no-one has bothered to fix post production, and in that tradition the mixing and editing is a little lopsided - however it's superior to the amateur attempt on the '06 London revival. There is an odd choice where principals are all mixed to the centre and the chorus sound very distant and heavily processed – they're still great, but the mixing feels uneven when the two are placed together. There's also some weird tendency that when accompaniment is sparse and about to transition to another segment in a song, a bass just booms in without any warning, and then exits just as enigmatically . . .

I enjoyed listening to this new recording, and although it has a few flaws and it's not my favourite interpretation, Elena Rogers makes it totally worthwhile by being totally star quality. If you're new to Evita then this is a good place to start, and if you're already a fan it'll be enjoyable for you to compare to previous recordings and should hopefully hold a high place in your collection.

The New Broadway Cast Recording of Evita was released July 26th, 2012. Available on physical CD and digital download. Preview the entire album for free on AOL music. 

To all the Patti Lupone fans who whine about how they can't listen to any other copy of Evita . . .