Romeo & Juliet the musical

Romeo, Romeo, we better start looking for another job pretty soon!

I have to say this really is one of the worst musicals I've ever seen. I'm sorry to have to say this, especially as the industry is in such a bad way , but shows like this are obviously the reason why! Don Black may have won three Grammies but I think they should be able to take them back if you write such twaddle! Not only responsible for the appalling lyrics but for half the appalling book, Don, along side John Cameron who is responsible for the amateur  orchestrations that make a 12 piece orchestra sound more like a programmable organ, really has had a hand in damaging an industry that he once helped to establish!
How can they have got it so wrong? They had the greatest love story ever told! The cast were very energetic and did the best they could with what they had, especially stagestar Alexis James who for my mind was the best thing in it. I always felt he was a little out of his depth in Notre Dame but I was very pleased to see him bounce back with his portrayal of Tybalt. Why cast an obvious poof as Romeo? He seemed more interested his chum dancing around in his Michael Jackson red leather jacket then the virgin Juliet. He did had a good voice though, even though for me had too much affected 'Musical Theatre Vibrato' in it. Juliet had a pretty voice but was far too young to play the part. I know that she is supposed to be 14 but she came across much younger and portrayed the part with absolutely no passion or sexual tension. I was almost expecting her to break out with 'Tomorrow' from Annie at any time.
The whole passion and sexual tension bit to me is what makes the whole love story so tragic. Two young but passionate lovers that have found there soul mates, not play mates. That's why when they both eventually die one should be devastated not relieved
 I remember seeing 'Whistle down the wind' when it first opened and watching Lottie Mayor (25) play a 15yr old girl alongside Dean Collinson (29) who played a 17yr old delinquent. The chemistry was fantastic cos they played that sexual tension, that unknown but desperately wanting sexual tension so well. Put those two in Romeo and Juliet and maybe, just maybe it would work.     No you'd have to have beautiful music with lyrics that made sense not ' Your eyes are my rivers, your arms are my mountains!

The music is French with a few catchy melodies but not melodies that in my opinion should be sung as it doesn't work because of the pitch they have set it. It is very jerky at times with loads and loads of syllables, and you cant hear a bloody thing they're saying. No, I don't think it is the sound dept fault this time. The blame has to lie with the arranger.

It's very interesting that this review is so different to Paul Levene's but that's healthy, we both got very different things from the show. I'd be interested in what anyone else thought!

Mr. D Davenport (W. Hampstead)

Les Miserables!

What can I say ... saw the show on October 26th ... mainly because I wanted to see Jerome Pradon as Javert and he was simply brilliant! I must admit I couldn't imagine him playing Javert! I loved Phillip Quest playing him, but Jerome's version was very different ... but in a good way! he didn't play Javert as an old man with high authority ... he played him more confused and bitter, which I loved. He even had some moments when he's mutter to himself showing that he was really into the part and in japer's mind! he sang and acted with great passion and emotion and his presence on stage was outstanding! so I loved every minute! As for the other actors ... they were excellent ... I saw Eponine's understudy ... she was amazing! her voice was perfect for the role ... and hardly Fraser as Marius!!! WOW! he played the part gloriously! I much prefer him to Michael Ball. The Ternaries were a great couple on stage! you could tell they enjoyed working as a team which the audience pick up instantly! Val jean played by the talented Michael sterling was perfect! he reached all those high notes without a struggle! as for little Gavroche, Fantine, Enjorlas ... they were breath taking! Fantine's death was a tear jerker as well as Fantine's ... Gavroche was so cute as he always is! as for Cossette ... I hate her character, she's so wet and boring ... but it's not the actress's fault she sang beautifully! so overall a wonderful show, great singing, great acting, great scenery. Makes a GREAT night out! go and see it you won't be disappointed! ... also it will be sadly Jerome Pardon's last performance as Javert on November 30th! ... which I'm proud to say I'll be going again on that night to see him off safely to France! 

Carys Boulton

Romeo & Juliet the musical

So, is Romeo & Juliet now the worst Musical to ever hit the West End?

This used to be said of Notre Dame de Paris but is now being aimed at Romeo & Juliet, the latest West End Musical to originate from France, and my conclusion, once again, is No, it most definitely is not.

When reflecting on a new Musical, I ask myself the following: Did I enjoy the Music and how good were the cast vocally?  Was I convinced by the story and the acting, i.e. did I care if the characters live or die, find or lose love?  Did I like the overall visual effect of the show? And finally, and I guess most importantly, would I want to see it again?

The first thing that must be said about Romeo and Juliet the Musical is that this is NOT the show for you if you are expecting to hear Shakespeare - if you want Shakespeare, go see the play. ­ This is a musical adaptation of the story of Romeo & Juliet, but there the similarity ends. The recent Baz Luhrmann film retained the original text but set the story in a modern setting, whilst the musical goes one step further by also replacing the original text with modern language. For example, I may not be word perfect on the original but I'm pretty sure that when Tybalt informs Lady Capulet of the ongoing romance, Shakespeare did not use the line "Your daughter's being stuffed by a Montague!" ­ but it was still surprising to see just how many people were disgusted by the show simply because of the use of modern language (although even I was not too sure when Tybalt goes on to use the expression 'dipping his wick' ... ­ so when did Cockney Rhyming slang hit Verona? ­ Maybe that's artistic licence taken a little too far!).

So onto the Music, and being a Musical it's a little obvious to say that the quality of the songs is very important. Romeo & Juliet, like Notre Dame before it, has been labeled by many as mere Euro-Pop, which really does annoy me. This just strikes me as too convenient a label to hang on to anything that is French. Act 1 is full of great upbeat numbers including Verona, Kings of the World and Ugly or Beautiful, whilst Act 2, not surprisingly contains more sombre love songs full of remorse and reflecting on the tragedy that has occurred. Many of these songs sit comfortably alongside any of today's top Musicals, and there were only one or two that could be deemed as unnecessary to the plot.

Don Black has also come into a lot of criticism for his lyrics, but his years of experience have taught him how to perfect the art of telling a story through music. He makes sure that the important narrative information contained in each song is easily understood and not lost or hidden in the middle of complex arrangements, therefore ensuring that the audience is never confused by what they are watching (which was the one real criticism I had of Notre Dame). 

The cast is quite superb with singers of the highest quality. Lorna Want is just the perfect Juliet, with her youthful, innocent appearance and possessing a truly beautiful voice, and Andrew Bevis plays her ideal partner as Romeo. Other standout singers in the cast include Jane McDonald who gives a wonderful performance as Juliet's Nurse.  She has a really powerful voice and her Northern wit is also used to the full. Please do not believe that she has been cast as a 'name' simply to sell tickets. Michael Cormick as the Prince and Alexis James are also excellent, and I particularly enjoyed Alexis singing "It's today" and his performance in the dual that followed. And also watch out for the penultimate song, "Empty Sky" sung by Sevan Stephan as Friar Lawrence mourning over the lover's dead bodies, ­ such a powerful number and sung with incredible force. A real 'Wow!' number.

So was I convinced by this cast? The answer to this question is always provided at the end of a show. Characters die and character mourn, and yes, it was moving enough to prove that the cast had convinced me. There is a fine line that should not be crossed, as too much sadness could leave an audience so depressed that you feel like joining Romeo & Juliet in their suicides bids! This show is emotional, but does not cross that line.

The only real down side for me was the visual aspect of the show. I like the sets and the use of the movable scaffolding that represented the two opposing houses, but there were too many points when it looked like the cast were struggling to move freely around the small stage. I understand that the French production was set on a far larger stage and the show has clearly suffered by being downsized. It is also difficult to show the true division of the two families when they are forced to stand so close to each other because of the lack of space. Having said this, a good point is that the smaller theatre means fewer tickets to sell, and hopefully word of mouth from a truly appreciative audience may be sufficient to stop the critics from prematurely killing another  show!

And so to the final and most telling question, do I want to go again? Most definitely 'Yes!', now where did I put the phone number for the box office!

Paul Levene, London

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