Tag Archives: London Coliseum

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris
★★

London Coliseum

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris

London Coliseum

Reviewed – 23rd January 2019

★★

 

“At no point is there any moment of true pathos, which is saying something, given the material”

 

As the enormous glossy souvenir programme proclaims on its cover, Notre Dame de Paris is an ‘international musical phenomenon’, and this production, at the Coliseum, sees it celebrate its 20th anniversary. Inspired by Victor Hugo’s novel, set in Paris in 1482, the musical tells the well-known story of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Esmeralda is a beautiful gypsy who lives in the grounds of Notre Dame, along with many other ‘etrangers’ seeking sanctuary. She bewitches all the men around her – the evil Frollo, archdeacon of the cathedral; the cavalier and ladies man, Phoebus, already engaged to another; and, of course, Quasimodo, the facially and bodily disfigured bell-ringer. After stabbing Phoebus, and framing Esmeralda, Frollo imprisons her and sentences her to death unless she pledges to love him. She refuses and is hanged, at which point, Quasimodo, enraged and in despair, hurls Frollo down the steps of the tower to his death.

Hugo’s is an operatic plot, and the Coliseum seems a suitable stage on which to play out this most emotive of dramas. What a shame then, that the staging, music and acting on display are so soulless and banal. Richard Cocciante’s score has no light and shade, so that all the songs blend into one endless 80s power ballad. This isn’t helped by the complete lack of emotional connection common to all the key performers. At no point is there any moment of true pathos, which is saying something, given the material. Gilles Maheu’s direction is pedestrian and unimaginative, and the evening feels much more like an overblown 80s superstar gig than a musical, with the soloists more often than not centre stage, with some showy but meaningless choreography behind them.

The dancers in the show would be better described as acrobats, and the razzle-dazzle set-pieces that dominate this production – Feast of Fools, for example – raise cheers from the audience celebrating feats of physical prowess more usually seen at the circus, or in a gymnastics display. Similarly, the singers can all belt out the numbers, but without the acting chops to give them any meaning. Unless you are a rock fan, with a love of big, brash, commercial spectacle, this show is devoid of interest.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Patrick Carpentier

 


Notre Dame de Paris

London Coliseum until 27th January

 

 

 

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Bat out of Hell – New Images

 

Take a look at the stunning new production photos for the world premiere of Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical, which is currently in previews at the London Coliseum, opening on 20 June and running until 5 August 2017.

 

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”12″ gal_title=”Bat out of Hell”]

Photography by Specular

 

Directed by award-winning theatre and opera director Jay Scheib, the cast of Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is led by Andrew Polec as Strat and Christina Bennington as Raven, with Rob Fowler as Falco and Sharon Sexton as Sloane. They are all featured in the photos, alongside Danielle Steers as Zahara and Dom Hartley-Harris as Jagwire, who perform Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and Dead Ringer.
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland. Strat, the forever young leader of The Lost, has fallen for Raven, daughter of Falco, the tyrannical, ruler of Obsidian.
Jim Steinman’s previous musicals include his collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Whistle Down the Wind, including the hit single released by Boyzone, No Matter What, and the musical Tanz der Vampire, which has been running for 20 years and has been presented in Vienna, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, St Petersburg and Tokyo.
As with many great works of art, the genesis of the Bat Out Of Hell album occurred across a number of years. One of the songs was written while Steinman was an undergraduate at Amherst College in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, Steinman wrote a theatrical musical that was presented in workshop in Washington D.C. in 1974 and featured many of the songs that would ultimately appear on the Bat Out Of Hell album, which was released in 1977.
Bat Out Of Hell became one of the best-selling albums in history, selling over 50 million copies worldwide. And 16 years later, Steinman scored again with Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which contained the massive hit I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).
For the stage musical, the legendary and award-winning Jim Steinman has incorporated iconic songs from the Bat Out Of Hell albums, including You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Bat Out Of Hell, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) and Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, as well as two previously unreleased songs, What Part of My Body Hurts the Most and Not Allowed to Love.
Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical has book, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman, direction by Jay Scheib, choreography by Emma Portner, with musical arrangements and supervision by Michael Reed, set design by Jon Bausor, costume design by Meentje Nielsen and Jon Bausor, video design by Finn Ross, lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, sound design by Gareth Owen, orchestration by Steve Sidwell, casting by David Grindrod Associates and musical direction by Robert Emery.
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is produced by David Sonenberg, Michael Cohl, Randy Lennox and Tony Smith.

 

 

BatOutOfHellMusical.com

 

 

 

 

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