365 Days of Torture or Love?

25/08/2017

Chicagoooo, Chicagoooo. Chicago has stolen my heart and thrust it into the deepest part of hell that there is.

Wikis response:  Chicago is a 2002 American musical crime comedy-drama film based on the musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age.[3] The film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere. Chicago centers on Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) and Roxie Hart (Zellweger), two murderesses who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Velma, a vaudevillian, and Roxie, a housewife, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, and adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago won six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture. The film was critically lauded, and was the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968.

Oke, where do I start? 

I’ll start off with first impressions:

Who is the woman that is called Roxie because I have seen that actor before, but I just can’t place her. *50 minutes later* I paused the film to search up who she was and it Bridget Jones! I thought it was her but I’ve grown accustomed to her English *non-regional* accent, that it never occured to me that she could possibly have such a fluent American accent - even though shes from America? Basically, I’m dumb. Secondly, wow. Can I be them? I mean not the characters because they have quite sad lives - I’m talking about the fantastic performers behind the screen.

Catherine Zeta-Jones has a voice like no other. Her power is indescribable, and the intensity that oozes out of her is admirable. This woman could most definitely rule the world, hands down! Zeta-Jones’ character, Velma Kelly, was a powerful woman. She has the force of one thousand men, and can just as easily fool them all too. Her mind is sorted throughout the film and her position is clear: she will return. Zeta-Jones exploded into song and dance like a firework escaping its capsule. My eyes were filled with tears at the end of the day simply because of the effort put in to this character, to absolutely smash Velma’s part with a bulldozer. Her endurance and passion is shown throughout the play and made her solos even more moving. Her performance alone would receive 10 stars from me.

Renée Zellweger. A woman of many traits. After growing up with Renée being Bridget Jones, submerging myself into 1920s Chicago, rising Jazz star, Roxie, gave me quite the shock. Her performance was outstanding but that could be my bias of shock talking. Who knew Renée could move like that?! I didn’t! The solo song Roxie sang: Funny Honey, has me shook. What a song!!!!! ALTOS THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!!! I’m not 100% sure if Zellweger sang this herself, but if so, wowwwwwwww!

So the music in this musical was

a m a z i n g

John Kander is a magician of his kind. With bangers like ‘Cell Block Tango’, ‘Mister Cellophane’, ‘Razzle Dazzle’, ‘When You’re Good to Mama’ and of course ‘All That Jazz’. (Amos took my heart in this film. I love him to pieces and that’s why Mister Cellophane is there. I mean yeah his character is weak but ya know it’s a nice change from the 1920′s men who think they are entitled to sex every night after equipping themselves with a wife; as though the ‘wife’ is some commodity you can buy at a supermarket.) To be perfectly honest, I could list the whole soundtrack and tell you what I think is amazing about it all, however, that would take another two days. The screenplay (written by Bill Condon), the cinematography (Dion Beebe) and music as a whole were phenomenal. 

This production was beautiful. I can imagine it was very expensive, nonetheless, it was chilling from start to finish. Would I watch this film again? Hunny, I’ve been listening to the soundtrack all day. 100% YESSSS. 

I should probably try and make these reviews a bit neater so if you would like a more structured review please do send your tips! 

24/08/2017

After a very high start with Moulin Rouge yesterday, I was eager to see what the world renown CATS could offer me. 

Wikis response: Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Cats introduced the song standard "Memory". The first performance of Cats was in 1981.

Opinion: 

I wasn’t prepared. I probably should have read the book first for this one, because for the first act I was utterly confused. Jellicle cats? What?! I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy watching the film, however, in the future I may see if I could even read a synopsis of the film before watching. As I was so struck with confusion the film didn’t really play out very well until the very end when suddenly it all clicked. After watching the film I listened to the sound track by itself while doing some line learning for Drama, and that’s when it all clicked into place and I really started to enjoy it.

Ultimately, after a day of recovery, I can confirm that ‘Cats’ the Musical is indeed a fantastic musical. From its originality in the story line to the powerful ballad of ‘Memory’, performed by Elaine Paige, this film encapsulates the British Public in a seemingly timeless production. 

The staging itself was one of a kind. The use of body language and dance while belting out songs doing cartwheels - I’m not quite sure how they did it but I applaud them no matter what. The intricacy of the performance must have taken years to perfect! The endurance and flexibility of all performers was admirable, and the energy never fluctuated. In the end, I rewatched the film just so I could sit and truly enjoy the experience and I am oh so very glad that I did. These performers were dancing and singing like they were cats - Jellicle cats! Gillian Lynne did such a wonderful job with the choreography I’m not sure it can be surpassed! Not only is Lynne 91, she also recently choreographed the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. This woman is phenomenal and a National Treasure.

23/08/2017

Opinion:

Wow. In this musical, created by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), falls in love with the star of Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). The musical includes well known songs with different tunes and harmonies to accompany the lyrics. This film is cinematic gold and I do not understand why I waited nearly 18 years to watch this masterpiece.

The film starts off with filmography which won an Oscar back in 01, and my oh my did they give that award to the correct recipients. The angles, time and energy put into this film is incredible. You can see the effort and enthusiasm given throughout the whole film, especially in Nicole Kidman’s bedroom scene. *I’m trying not to give any spoilers*. The electricity that vibrates off these characters is indescribable and I can only hope that one day my acting will be as soul destroying as the performance Kidman and McGregor gave.

The writing of this piece should also not be over looked as it contains the most intricate and delicate word placement that even if you gave me six centuries to write the same piece, I would never be able to accomplish what Pearce and Luhrmann have. Not only am I left in immense awe after watching this musical, however, I am left inspired. The story line changes with the audience as they become more susceptible to change and difference. This bohemian treasure carries such power in a 2 hour film that it will remain forever timeless.

I am now upset as I write these last few sentences as I feel as though the standard of performance has now been risen so far up, that the following performances will never be able to compete. Let’s hope I am wrong.

Hi!

My name is Charlotte and in my last year of high school I have vouched to my 8 twitter followers that I will do a 365 day blog of Musical and Opera reviews.

I would like to study Musical Theatre and or acting at University therefore this project will really help me centre around that goal.

To obtain my goal i will have to watch and listen to about 730hours worth of opera and musicals. Am I prepared? No. Am I excited? YES!

As a third culture kid my knowledge is quite restricted in musicals and operas as they were never seen as the cool thing to know at my international school, and obviously the first thing anyone does at school is try to fit in. So recently, I have discovered which path I would like my future to take and I thoroughly think that this project will help aid my future in uncertain ways.

Good luck, or as showbiz calls it: Toi, toi, toi!