A Bit Of This And That

I still feel sleep deprived which is starting to take it's toll on me. It's not that I can't sleep, the problem is that I can't fall asleep! It feels like I've tried everything, but so far, no luck! I guess I have to hope that my holiday trip will make things change.

Speaking of which ... I will leave on Wednesday morning to visit my families for the holidays, and I will be back late on January 3rd. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but it will be tough since it will be my first trip there without Zorro in a long time. It will also be quite difficult to celebrate Christmas without him.

This pas Friday, finally, my Les Misérables in Concert 25th Anniversary DVD finally arrived - yay! :) I got an email on November 24, saying it had been shipped, so I was starting to get seriously worried - but at least it did arrive and of course I watched it almost immediately! :) I won't make a real review of it, after only having seen it once, but I don't think I can help myself from making a few comments!

I love the fact that the 25th anniversary concert is so much longer than the 10th anniversary concert (TAC), they have included almost the entire musical which was fantastic! That being said, I was absolutely horrified to realize they removed "Little People"!! *gasp* I'm in love with the Original London version so I was a bit let down when they changed it to another version - but removing it completely (almost), that's almost criminal, isn't it?
I have to say the stage in general was better than in TAC, more props and set pieces, which made for a better dynamic on stage. Unfortunately I felt that many of the performers didn't quite take advantage of that. They still use microphone stands - is it really that impossible to use head-mics?? - and that made a lot of the cast just "stand there" instead of trying to interact with one another.

It was great to see that they included the speeches at the end (Cameron McIntosh, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg) - I still will never understand why they removed the TAC speeches from the DVD when they are included in the video.
The finale with the 1985 cast was absolutely amazing! While I think only Michael Ball from that cast are among my favourites, it was fantastic to see them all on stage together - and the four Jean Valjeans (Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones, Simon Bowman and Alfie Boe) was also wonderful (gotta say, that was a really nice version of "Bring Him Home"!)!

Oops, quite a few comments there ...:)
Unfortunately I won't get the chance to watch the DVD any more before I leave, but I will try to watch it and make a proper review when I get back here in January.

While I haven't been at Uni that much lately, I made an appearance there this past Friday. I didn't get that much done, but I managed to borrow a book from the library, and I also ran into an old friend there, that I haven't seen in quite a while. We ended up talking for about an hour, and that was really nice! Not much has been working out at Uni lately, so it came as a bit of a list. We also found out we'll be going to the same seminar tomorrow afternoon.

This weekend has been a bit tough, with regards to Zorro. It goes up and down, which is only natural, I guess... At times, things work, and I can go about my business without constantly thinking about him - but then at times, the grief just stabs me like a knife straight though the heart - and just trying to grasp the fact that I have to live the rest of my life without him, and that I will never ever see him or hear him or feel him ever again ... well, that's what makes me lie sleepless at nights ...

I'm right now in the middle of the last preparations for my trip but I will hopefully be able to update the blog at least once before I leave.
Take care!

Sunset Boulevard!

YES! As a gift from my mother, we went to see Sunset Boulevard at Värmlandsoperan on December 28!! :-)

I had not seen, nor heard, this musical before, and had only a very vague idea about the storyline, even though I'd heard some of the more well-known songs before. This was very exciting, especially since one of my favourite performers, Christer Nerfont, had the lead part!! He is usually performing at Värmlandsoperan, but unfortunately I haven't had that many opportunities to see him (though I saw him in Wedding Singer last year!)!
The female lead (Norma Desmond) was played by famous Swedish actress Maria Lundqvist, and I was also looking forward to seeing her.

So despite all the illness and sleepless nights I felt quite excited waiting for the musical to begin!! :-)
When walking out of the theatre I had mixed feelings about the production and the musical, but I guess it's almost always like that - you find some things you like and some things you're not that fond of, right?

At first, I wasn't so thrilled with the storyline of the musical, but afterwards, it's kind of grown on me. My first impression was that it was way to 'simple' - and in a way I still feel like that! I wish the story would have been a bit more intricate, because to me, it felt a little flat. Still, after having thought about it, I quite like the 'enigmatic' feel of the musical and the story. For someone in the middle of life to meet someone who lives in complete isolation and almost in another time, and then end up being dragged into this, almost 'fantasy life', it's quite enigmatic and fascinating actually!

As for performers, there were some high points and some not-so-high points!
I was very impressed by Tonje Bakken who played Betty Shaefer!! I had never heard of her before, but she made a really great impression on me! She was very sweet, a good actor and a great singer!! Her duet with Joe Gillis (Christer Nerfont), "Girl Meets Boy" (that's actually the Swedish title, don't know if it's the same in English?) was outstanding!!
The butler, Max von Mayerling, was played by Björn Eudard, another actor/singer connected to Värmlandsoperan. I saw him as Jean Valjean in the Les Misérables production in 1995, and I'm sorry to say he does not impress me ... I feel no stage presence and to be honest and in my humble opinion ... he can't really sing ...

Moving on to the leading parts then! :-)
Maria Lundqvist as Norma Desmond was quite hilarious! :-) She is usually a comedy actress, which showed in the musical as well. I have to be honest and say that you could tell she's not a musical artist, but because of the nature of the part, her skills as comedienne made it possible for her to pull it off! She did parts of it amazingly well, but at some points, it felt like the comedy was going way over the top to cover up the not-so-great singing ... I realize Norma should be over-the-top, but at times I wish to have seen a bit more moderation as well as more musical acting (if you know what I mean).
Still, it was amazing to see Maria live, and for someone not usually working in the musical business, she did a great job!!

And then to my favourite! :-) I have been a great fan of Christer Nerfont ever since I saw him and his wife Cecile perform at a Musical Highlights concert in Helsingborg in 2006, and I stand by my opinion that he would make an international success if he wanted to! :-) The production in Karlstad isn't a great one, and at times, he carried the entire show on his own ... I think it's a shame not more people get to know who he is, because he's outstanding!!
When I go to musicals, it's very important for me that the actors have stage presence - you have to FEEL them on the stage, they have to claim their space and their character for me to notice them - and he does just that!!
Enough ramblings ... sorry! I just wish I'd have the opportunity to see more of him than I do! (I know they made Jekyll and Hyde a few years ago, and I very, very much regret not being able to see him in that ...)

Summarizing, I think that it was a really good production, there were definitely room for improvements, but I liked it a lot and as usual, Christer was fantastic, the true star of the show!!

(I apologize for the lack of pictures, but there's no way I have the time to get my scanner working right now ... sorry.)

Finishing off with a YouTube clip I found (there aren't any of Christer, unfortunately!) of Michael Ball, singing "Sunset Boulevard" ... Enjoy! :-)

Phantom of the Opera - June 2009

(Apologies for the lack of pictures, I haven't been able to make any scans from the actual programme yet ...)


I finally got to see Phantom of the Opera in London in June this year, and that was truly a fantastic experience! I have seen it twice before, in Stockholm in 1994, and I was very impressed then – and of course I’ve seen the movie a number of times … but there’s something special about seeing it in London!

We got really great seats, in the third row, and that makes a lot of difference! You come so close to the stage, and you can actually see the actors’ facial expressions, which gives the show even more life! I love the fact that the show is so interactive, what you first think of is the chandelier of course, but there are other things as well – and that becomes even clearer when you’re so close to the stage! Annika had a bit of bad luck, she wanted to see Gareth Snook as Monsieur André, but he was replaced by understudy Craig Nicholls. On the other hand, we did get to see Simon Bailey (who we had seen as Enjolras in Les Misérables in 2006) as Raoul, and that was some consolation to Annika! :)

The show was really fantastic, and I have to say that I enjoyed all the major actors’ performances! That’s not so common, and I truly enjoyed it! I enjoyed both Craig Nicholls as André and Barry James as Firmin (Barry James has also played Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables), they did a good job and added some much needed comedy to the show.

Simon Bailey did Raoul, and I have to say he did a marvelous job of it!! I enjoyed him as Enjolras three years ago, but I have to say I liked him even more as Raoul, I felt that was a part that suited him even better!

Christine was also played by an actress we saw in Les Misérables in 2006, namely Gina Beck (who played Cosette). I wasn’t that impressed with her in Les Miz, but I always have a hard time with the character of Cosette, so I’m never sure if it’s the character or the actress I’m not so happy with. Well, seeing Gina Beck in Phantom helped with realizing it’s the character in Les Miz I have difficulties with, because she was absolutely outstanding as Christine in Phantom!! I doubt whether anyone could have done it better, I was very very impressed with her. On a few occasion I found her voice to be a little too sharp, but on the whole, she was fantastic – and she and Simon Bailey played really well together!

The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo, a true celebrity in the musical world, but someone I had never seen before. He was supposed to play Anatolj in the Chess concert I saw in Oslo in 2006, but was replaced by David Shannon. I really enjoyed his performance, though at some points I found him a bit uneven. That meant that some parts of his performance were really great and others didn’t feel quite so good. On the whole though, a very good Phantom!

I’m very happy to have seen Phantom of the Opera in London – I liked it a lot when I saw the Stockholm production and it is a fantastic musical. And that makes it very special to have seen it in West End, and with such a talented cast!! However, I think I might be growing up a little, as I don’t think I’d pay that much money to see it again! There’s one thing with Les Misérables, that is a musical I can never ever see enough of, it has got something very, very special, but at least it seems I might be able to move on from other musicals now! :)

I Have Found My Jean Valjean!

(Apologies for the lack of pictures, I haven't been able to make any scans from the actual programme yet ...)

Les Misérables - June 27, 2009

We went to see Les Misérables on June 27, and to be honest I was a bit nervous, because I entered Queens Theatre with a terrible migraine and nausea! However, after hearing the wonderful intro, I was completely into the musical, and even though the migraine was worse after the show, at least it didn’t bother me during the show – and that’s the main thing!

I have to say this was one of the best – perhaps THE best – Les Misérables show I have ever seen!!! First and foremost, I have finally found my Jean Valjean!!! Ever since I got into Les Miz some ten years ago I have tried finding a really great Valjean, but never succeeded. I have seen a few perform live and I have a number of recordings (quite a few actually!!), but no one has caught my eye completely – except David Shannon!! At first I hardly dared to believe it, and toward the end I was at the edge of my seat, wondering if he’d last the distance or if he’d make some unforgivable mistake toward the end. And he didn’t!! According to me, he was perfect in every respect! He handled all the songs in a wonderful way, he didn’t go over-the-top, which I find difficult to handle, and he just WAS Jean Valjean!! I really, really, really, really want to see him to the part again!!

Javert was played by Earl Carpenter, Annika had seen him last year and was quite impressed, so I was very curious! And I have to say I have mixed feelings for him, similar to the way I felt for Hans Peter Jansens in 2006. Carpenter was good most of the time, but sometimes I felt he was a little too soft. To me, Javert is almost ruthless and keeps standing strong, even when he decides to take his own life, and at times Carpenter felt a bit meek. But his voice was really pleasant and overall, he did a good job!

Rebecca Seale, who played Fantine, was also rather uneven. She portrayed the frail, careful Fantine in a very good way, and “Fantine’s Death” was wonderful and very emotional – but the more forward and driven Fantine didn’t quite work out.

The Thénardiers was funny as usual, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Martin Ball as Monsieur Thénardier, because they had apparently found a guy that wasn’t only extremely funny, but was also a terrific actor and singer! I think he was fairly new (if memory serves, he started out at the cast change earlier in June), and he messed up the lyrics in “Master of the House” a little … Like last time, it felt like “The Wedding” was funnier than “Master of the House”, and in my head, I can’t help feeling it should be the other way around!

The kids did a great job, I’m always sooo impressed at these very young girls and boys handling the stage in such a fantastic way! Young Cosette was beautiful and did a very good “Castle on a Cloud”, but you could tell she was quite new, she was a little stiff and probably rather nervous. Gavroche, played by George Sargeant, was really good – it’s not an easy part, but he could really pull it off. Apart from a few minor mistakes, he truly embodied Gavroche!

Cosette was played by Katie Hall, who I’m sure is very talented! I really liked her voice, but unfortunately I’m having great difficulties in figuring out the character, I have never ever understood Cosette, and that does affect my general opinion as well.

David Thaxton played Enjolras – he was Bamatabois in 2006 (and totally creepy!!) as well as understudy for Enjolras, and I think he was a fairly good Enjolras! He’s not the best I’ve seen but I don’t have anything against him. On the positive side, he really had the voice potential that Enjolras demands. I have seen actors in the part who are out voiced by the powerful music, but David Thaxton had a very very powerful and forceful voice which was great! Unfortunately he didn’t quite have the charisma that I feel Enjolras has to have – in order to get the other students to follow him, he needs something special, and I didn’t feel like Thaxton had that!

Grantaire was played by Jeff Nicholson (who also did the part in 2006), and I really like him. I have had difficulties in grasping that part as well before, but Jeff Nicholson really gives the character life!

Nancy Sullivan played Eponine, and it was a change to see a blond Eponine! She was however, amazing and one of the stars of the show! She did such an amazing job of the character that I can’t help but commenting on one thing. She did use very proper English, and considering the dialect of the Thénardiers and her character as a street kid, I would have liked her to go a little bit more cockney … the contrast ended up feeling a little bit strange. But overall, she was fantastic!!

I have to say it was a really nice audience, I think there were lots of people who hadn’t seen the show before and that was really cool! Lots of laughs and also some shouts at times! :) I also have to mention a funny thing during the curtain call – Earl Carpenter must have had his own little “fan club” of friends there, for when he entered the stage, there were some booing from mid-stalls!! It was apparently in good spirit, and it was quite funny to see the expression on Carpenter’s face!!

Despite feeling pretty terrible, I really enjoyed the show, and I think what I’m mostly carrying with me from it is the fact that I Have Found My Jean Valjean!

My Fair Lady Pictures!

Ooops .... forgot to post my scanned pictures from My Fair Lady in my previous post! Sorry about that! But better late than never, so here they are!
Enjoy!

Long Overdue: My Fair Lady!

My Fair Lady – April 16, 2009

I know this entry is way way overdue, and I apologize for that. But better late than never, right? :) In April of this year, me and my Mum went to Stockholm to see My Fair Lady, and as always when it comes to musicals, it was a wonderful experience!
We had been lucky enough to get a really great hotel, very small rooms, but it was situated right next to Oscars (where My Fair Lady was playing) and it was quite cheap!
Both me and my Mum were quite excited to see this musical, I had never seen it before, even though I had some idea of the plot and songs, and it was very special to my Mum, who had seen it when she was young, in Stockholm, with Jarl Kulle!
When we entered the theatre, we instantly found a note saying that Henry Higgins and Freddy were played by their understudies!! That made me quite sad actually, as I had really been looking forward to seeing Tommy Körberg (Higgins) and Helen Sjöholm (Eliza) together. They are outstanding together, with a very special energy between them, and it felt quite disappointing not being able to see them this time!
However, it was fantastic to see the musical, as I had never seen it before, I haven’t even seen the film version of it! I did know some of it of course, but it’s never quite the same to see the entire play live!
Instead of Tommy Körberg, Christopher Wollter was playing Higgins (he usually played Freddie), I had never seen him before and I was really impressed! He had a very nice voice, and was quite a good actor, but to me, he was too young to play Higgins. I can’t help but feel there should be a noticeable age difference between Higgins and Eliza - he’s the elderly professor and she’s the young girl off the street – now you got the feeling they were basically the same age. As I said, I really liked Christopher Wollter, and I’d love to see him in something else – Marius or Enjolras in Les Misérables, Chris in Miss Saigon etc. – but he didn’t quite fit in as Henry Higgins.
I also found it difficult to adjust to the new Freddie … I’m sure Christopher Wollter normally made fantastic Freddie, but the understudy Fredrik Lexfors was not quite so good, I’m sorry to say. I’m sure with a bit more training and experience, he’ll be able to pull off the part, but when we saw him, he didn’t make a great impression.
It was absolutely fantastic to see Jan Malmsjö live, I have only seen him on TV before, so I feel really lucky he was on when we were there! He was very very good, despite his age, and quite the comedian, which I hadn’t expected!! I haven’t seen him do any comedy before, and it was nice to see he could do that as well! Also, and inside joke for all my Swedish readers: Before singing “Get me to the church on time”, Jan Malmsjö ran on stage and dramatically exclaimed: “Ring klocka, ring!” *lol*
As usual Helen Sjöholm was FANTASTIC! I don’t think she’s done a bad performance in her life, she’s really amazing!! She’s a really tiny person, and every time I see her, I’m amazed at her capacity! She as well got to do a fair bit of comedy, I hadn’t seen that before, but she was very good at it!!
Pickering, played by Michael Segerström was also quite good. I hadn’t heard of him before, but he brought a lot of comedy to the show.

I have to say – and I think my Mum agrees with me – the show had a lot more comedy than I had expected. Even though I’ve never read Pygmalion, or seen the movie, you do get a fair idea of what the musical is about, and I hadn’t pictured it as being very funny. The basic theme wasn’t comedic of course, but a lot of things had a fun twist, and there were lots of laughs from the audience.

It was a really wonderful experience to have seen My Fair Lady, but I can’t help but feel a bit sad about not getting to see Tommy Körberg. I really like his voice a lot, and together with Helen Sjöholm, it gets even better. They are an unstoppable team, and I really really would have liked to see them together! I also think Tommy Körberg would have made an excellent Higgins!
The musical will be running this fall as well, the new premiere will be some time in September … Me and Mum did have an idea of going during the fall, to try to catch Tommy and Helen together, and also be able to see Cats (my Mum has never seen it, which is a true shame, considering how much she loves cats!!), but it doesn’t seem like it will be possible now …

The Wedding Singer!

At New Year's Eve, I saw The Wedding Singer with my Mum, and it was a great experience on very many levels!!

This was originally a movie, as some of you may know, and was later adapted for the stage on Broadway in America. This production by Värmlandsoperan is the first in Europe, so that was very special of course. But the best part was that they hadn't made it "simple" and just translated the american music into Swedish, they had in fact transformed it so that it applied to Sweden! The setting, the characters, the comments, the language, everything was typically Swedish, instead of being some kind of "americanized Swedish", which is quite common these days. The musical has a clear setting in the 1980's, and since I grew up during the 1980s and the 1990s this felt very special to me - and it was made even better by the fact that it didn't mirror the 80's in America, but in fact the 80's here in Sweden!





I was thrilled to once again see Christer Nerfont perform, he is quickly becoming my favourite Swedish musical performer, but I can't help thinking that he doesn't quite get the credit he should, working at Värmlandsoperan! I have nothing against it, and I guess that's what he wants himself, but there are no doubts in my mind that he would be a huge success in the "bigger" Swedish musical productions in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, and also on the stage in London's West End and on Broadway! His voice is fantastic and his stage prescence outstanding!! I have seen him a few times now - I saw him as Robert in Kristina From Duvemåla, where he impressed me a lot, he did a musical concert with Karlstad University's female choir, "Söt Likör", which was wonderful, I saw him with his wife Cecilie in a Musical Highlights Concert in 2006, and now in The Wedding Singer - and he keeps impressing me!
A shame he usually works in Karlstad, I'd love to see him somewhere a little closer to home! :)
Apart from Christer, I was very impressed by Nina Lundseie, who played the femmale lead and did a fantastic job of it!!





The musical was really great, a true romantic comedy and even though I usually don't like them that much, this one was absolutely terrific!! (I think it's the romantic comedy movies I don't like, but give me a live performance on stage, and I fall completely! *lol*)
The usual twists and turns, the usual anxiety when it seems like the beautiful young girl will be stuck with the "bad man", and the usual relief and little tear in the corner of your eye at the end when the hero and princess end up together! *big smile* I enjoyed the music a lot, which was very 80's, and lots of cool references!
A lot of dancing as well, which in my experience isn't that common in musicals these days, so that was great to see - lots of talented dancers on stage at the same time!





New Year's Eve was the last performance, although nothing special happened to "celebrate" (aparently, there had been a real wedding on stage on the premiere - totally cool!!), and I have to say I wish it had played longer, because then I maybe had been able to see it once more!

The next production will be Candide during spring, but I don't know wether I'll be able to see it, it all depends on wether I'll be going to Karlstad, and how much time I get! *fingers crossed*

Overall, I strongly recommend The Wedding Singer if it will be put into production on other places, and all I can say to you all (mostly those of you in Sweden) - if you get a chance to see Christer Nerfont, don't miss him! :)

När det är din bröllopsdag
Hör på mej så lovar jag
Min musik slår an en
Ton av kärlek
När det är din bröllopsdag
Lyssna till din hjärtas slag

Sången inom dej
För kärlek är
Ja, kärlek är musik

Musical Show Stoppers - 23 March

Featuring:
Alex Sharpe
Mary Carewe
Peter Corry
Conductor: Gareth Hudson

Yes, yesterday it was time for the Musical Show Stoppers Concert, with these wonderful West End performers!
Unfortunately they didn't even have a programme, only some little leaflet with information on the performers ... so this cannot be a complete review, as I have no way of remembering all the songs they performed. I will however try to say something about the highlights of the show!

This time it was performed with a different orchestra than I'm used to, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, they were very good indeed, with a lot of instruments I don't even know the name of! :)
The three performers were all absolutely fantastic, they started with some "Musical Show Stoppers" (suitable, huh?) song ... I never really figured out the song nor the musical, but it was a great introduction to the evening!
Peter Corry moved on to singing "Hello Young Lovers" from The King And I, which really was a bit unfortunate for me ... Philip Quast - my number one hero when it comes to musicals :) - sings that song on his album "Live At The Donmar", they had re-arranged it now, modernized it, and it really wasn't near as good as on Philip's album. (I guess you simply can't love everything, right?)
After that, Peter and Alex Sharpe performed "Sun and Moon" from Miss Saigon, which was absolutely wonderful!! They did such an amazing job, and it's fantastic to see real actors, because they actually act out the song! This was really a concert - and the performers had very little space on stage to move around - but they truly did an act!! I think Peter Corry surprised everyone - including Alex :) - when he ended the song by kissing her!
I had even more memories of Philip Quast, when Peter Corry later on sang "Oh What A Circus" from Evita! I really, really wanted to see it again in London ... oh well ...
Mary Carewe did a marvellous job as well, mostly I remember her "As If We Never Say Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard and also songs like "Somewhere" (West Side Story) and "Broadway Baby".
Peter Corry did a song I had never heard before, called "The Impossible Dream" from The Man From La Mancha, which I really enjoyed ... wonder if that's avaliable on cd somewhere ....
The first half of the show ended with an amazing medley from Anything Goes, with all three performers ... fantastic!
During the second half we saw more amazing work, Alex Sharpe was astonishing in "Whistle Down the Wind" and "Take That Look Off Your Face" (from Tell Me On A Sunday)! Peter Corry performed "If I Can't Love Her" from Beauty And the Beast, the lovely duet "I Know Him So Well" from Chess, fantastic by both Alex Sharpe and Mary Carewe!!
Mary Carewe also sang "Defining Gravity" from Wicked, and it was terrific!! I have heard people saying that's a great song, and I can totally agree now! Makes me want to see Wicked when I'm in London next time too ... don't think it's on my "Musicals-must-see" list ... rather on my "Musicals-want-to-see" list! :)
Peter Corry and Mary Carewe did "All I Ask Of You" from Phantom of the Opera, which was really fantastic ... and in all fairness, Peter Corry ended that song with a kiss as well!
Toward the end of the second half came what I had been waiting for all night: Les Misérables. Mary Carewe did an introduction, saying it was "the most popular musical" (Guess that's true in the U.K. anyway!) and since both Alex Sharpe and Peter Corry had been performing in it, they were doing 'their' songs ....
Alex Sharpe in "On My Own" .... what can I say?!? From now on, she and Sabrina Aloueche are my TOP favoruites!! Alex had impressed me a lot throughout the entire evening, and this just placed her in the "sooo-near-perfect"-category! She was amazing!!!
Moving on to Peter Corry who were doing "Stars" ... and I was nervous!! "Stars" is my song from Les Misérables, I have a pretty strong view of what I like and don't like regarding how it is performed, and it is not pleasing to hear your favourite song performed badly ... I was on the edge of my seat when the orchestra started playing ... and then I nearly fell out of my seat!! He was SOOOOO GREAT!!! I think I pretty much just sat staring in awe .... I have to admit that nobody will ever come close to Philip Quast's Javert to me, and Michael McCarthy certainly isn't far behind, but this guy is definately my number three!! He did such an amazing job with it, and you could really tell he was making an effort! I can't say he completely transformed into Javert, but with regards to this being a concert, without staging or props or costume or makeup, he did a hell of a good job of it!!! I'm SO impressed!

After a great finale the performers were called in for an extra number ... but it was so rehearsed, I think you could really say that was the finale ... "Fame" from the musical with the same name!! It was simply fantastic, the performers gave it their all, and the audience were clapping along like crazy! Me being picky when it comes to things like this, have a bit of a point to make! I really would have loved it if either one of the performers or the conductor (probably the conductor!) would have indicated to the audience to clap during the instrumental parts and the refrain ... and then let the performers be heard properly when they sang individually ... but I guess I am being picky.
I can't help it though, I think that it is important to the people on stage to communicate with the audience in order for it to be as great a show as possible. I actually do have a great example of this from when I saw Guys & Dolls last week! During a solo song by Tommy Körberg, a saxophone player actually came out on stage to do a solo in the middle of the song! It was very effective since you normally don't see the orchestra. When he was done with his solo, Tommy was supposed to finish his song, but before doing that, he communicated with the audience, by looks and body-language, to applaude the saxophone-player in the middle of the song - so that he would be given credit for what he had just done.
I just love that sort of subte communication between on-and off stage! :)

Well, to conclude this "review" (I really wanted a programme in order to write a proper review ...), I have to say it was an amazing evening!! I know I have left out songs, and probably forgotten quite a few as well, but I can't go on writing here forever, now can I?! ;)
All three performers were very impressive, all in their own way actually! Mary Carewe had a very special style to her, and she fitted certain parts and songs amazingly well! Peter Corry had a lovely charisma, and just the fact that he pulled off "Stars" the way he did, gives him top marks in my book! :) Alex Sharpe was probably my favourite, when it comes to her singing and her voice, because you could clearly see a true talent you don't often come across in her!

Hope you enjoyed the review! :)


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Another Week!

The days and weeks certainly fly by now ... and I can't quite figure out why I never really blog anymore. Guess I'll have to try and change that, right?!

Study-wise things are very intense right now ... I know I have sooo much to do, and I never feel like I do enough, which is kind of tough! I really want to try to make the most of this exam, although this entire semester so far has been complete chaos. Guess I can only try to do my best and hope it works out ...

I had my great friend Annika here this weekend - sooo much fun!! :) :)
We went around some shopping centers, saw the ocean (at last ... although it was storm ... *lol*) AND the big thing: We went to see Guys & Dolls in Malmö Saturday night! *yay!* I have written a review below, if you're interested in hearing about it!
I have some photos from Annika's visit ... but I am kind enough to not publish them here, until I have gotten her permission! :)

Oh, another totally cool thing happened this weekend. Something I could never have dreamed about! :)
In October, I went to a really cool Musical Highlights concert, which featured Swedish musical performers Christer and Cecilie Nerfont (they are SOOOO great, but highly underestimated in Sweden, I think)! I had a blast, that was probably the best concert I have ever been to, and afterwards, just for fun, I sent them a letter (they are married, so that helps. *lol*). I only did it to let them know I think they did a great job etc, and I definately did not expect any reply! I didn't hear anything and pretty much forgot about it!
When I checked my emails during the weekend, I got such a chock! I had an email from Cecilie!!!!!!! Soooo cool!!! She was superfriendly, thanked me for the letter, told me about her and Christer's future plans, about the concert they had done, how that felt .... sooooo amazing!!! :) :)

And on that happy note, I will sign off for today! :)
Take care, guys!



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Guys & Dolls - 17 March 2007

Yes, me and a friend went to see Guys & Dolls in Malmö past Saturday ... what a lovely evening! I don't think there is anything I like better than seeing a live musical! Naturally I have my favourites and all that, but the atmosphere surrounding it, the excitement when you've found your place and are just waiting for all the slow people to get seated so it can start .... fantastic!!

Principal cast:
Sky Masterson - Tommy Körberg
Sarah Brown - Jenny Silver
Nathan Detroit - Claes Malmberg
Miss Adelaide - Sofie Lindberg

The first thing I'd like to say about Guys & Dolls is that it impressed me a lot, even though it wasn't my favourite "kind" of musical, or musical-music ... (yeah, I realize how confusing that was!) Fact is, there are different types of musicals as well, genres within the genre if you like, and I have to admit that Guys & Dolls was not among my very favourites. Despite that I was quite impressed, and it was wonderful to see a really comedic musical! I find that very rare, most musical has a great sense of drama to them, but there were few heavy, dramatic songs (there were one or two, but they almost disappeared in the comedy).

Claes Malmberg is such a natural comedian, he practically only needs to walk on stage and people starts laughing! He was really at his best here (this was the first time I've seen him live, so it was extra special because of that), and I cannot for the life of me figure out how he managed to pull of the monologues he did, it was outstanding!! VERY funny!

Tommy Körberg is a rock, always a solid wonderful performance. This was the third time I saw Tommy live, I have previously seen him in Sound of Music (1996) and Chess (2003). He did a wonderful job with this part, and showed that he as well is quite capable of performing comedy! :)

I have to say I was a little less impressed by the two female leads though. Jenny Silver as Sarah Brown never really delivered the character, I never quite figured out her character and I got the feeling that she was just showing a stereotypical model of a character, not the character itself. But that might just have been me ... :)

Sofie Lindberg was better, I think, both regarding acting and singing. It was a little hard to get a grip on her as well, as her character, Miss Adelaide, was somewhat ridicioulus, and when you see a show for the first time (and I had NO idea what it was about!) it is hard not to judge a performer without taking into account the character.

Overall though, wonderful performances! Stefan Ljungqvist as Big Julie was SO funny!! :)

And, my first really really real blooper! I'm still laughing out loud just thinking about it.
Tommy had a scene with Claes, and he blew a line. No biggie, those things happen. Claes tried to fix it, and I think he could have, but both he and Tommy had such a hard time keeping themselves from laughing ... when all of a sudden a couple of people in the audience really start laughing out loud! And that was it! Both Claes and Tommy started really laughing on stage, they just had to look at eachother to crack up again! They really tried finding their way back to the script, but it was more or less impossible. Finally Tommy had to walk to the other end of the stage to try and calm himself down, leaving Claes all alone in his corner!
They managed to somehow finish the scene - although hardly following the script!! - and get out of there ... but I'm betting it had been 10 or 15 minutes by then and the entire audience kept on laughing!!
Soooooo funny!!!!!!!!!!

To conclude this little review - it was a wonderful show, with solid performances from the cast - but I have to say that Claes Malmberg was outstanding. The way he moved on the stage and the way he delivered his lines - especially those looooong monologues - were absolutely outstanding!

A couple of pictures of the principal cast:

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Cats - 2 december 2006

Yesterday I went to see Cats at the Gothenburg Opera with my friend Annika, and it was really a wonderful production!
I did have kind of a hard time getting used to it being in Swedish, as I know most of it in English, but after a while it felt okay.

I really love Cats because of its marvellous set and fantastic make-up and constumes, and I certainly wasn't disappointed yesterday! Very impressive!
The sets were actually quite amazing, with Mungjerrie and Rumpleteazer tumbling out of a huge tea cup (!), a giant size pot plant crashing down on the stage (!) and perhaps the most impressive: Skimbleshanks' train going around the stage, pulled by the actors! Incredible!!

Niklas Andersson, famous Swedish performer (who has also done a lot of work in London's West End), played Munsktrap, and he did a fantastic job! He looks excellent in cat costume *lol* and his voice is amazing! I'm very glad that I got to see him live (this is actually the second time for me, I was lucky enough to see him as Chris in Miss Saigon - another excellent performance!)!
Grizabella was played by Evelyn Jons and her prime number was without a doubt "Memory" which was very, very moving!
I also quite enjoyed seeing Patrik Magnusson as Rum-Tum-Tugger and Per Myrberg as Gus/Growltiger (I've seen Per Myrberg in Chess in Stockholm (2003) and he always gives a great performance)!
Hans Josefsson played Old Deuteronomy (which unfortunately had been translated to 'Profetikus'), he did a great job - wonderful deep voice! - but I think I would have liked to see a little more and charisma and authority in his performance.

There were also four absolutely amazing dancers on stage - I could hardly believe what they were able to do!! Credit to Hanna Linné (Victoria), Timo Lattu (Pouncival), Katja Kortström (Tantomile) and Mattias Andersson (Coricopat)!

I loved the way they did the curtain call, which felt quite original. The orchestra played the Jellicle Cats-song and the variuos groups, pairs or singel cats came on stage and did their own little dance routine, while the audience clapped to the song!! Very nice!!

All in all - a great production and a great Saturday afternoon!!





Jessica's Websites

Chess - The Musical International Tour

Oslo Spektrum, 12 November 2006

Despite doubts and several problems, I was able to see Chess in Oslo on 12 November!!

It turned into quite a day, actually, as I left my Dad and his family at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, the bus arrived in Oslo at 11.25. Chess was at 3 p.m. and lasted about 2½ hours ... and my bus home left at 10.45!! My Dad picked me up at 1.45 in the morning!! (Also know that at 8.20, that is about 5½ hours later, I was on the train going back home!!)

I was quite nervous about the entire day, but in retrospect, I can honestly say that it was all worth it!!

The production was absolutely wonderful!!! I have only seen the Swedish production from 2002 before, so there will be some references to that (apologies to those who hasn't seen it!).

This was what felt like a combination of a concert and a stage production. It was done very well, the performers all wore head-mics, including the chorus, which mean they were able to move around the stage moore freely, giving it more of a stage production feeling. However, not many props were used, the stage pretty much stayed the same the entire time ... Anyway, it was a great show!!

I was suprised to find that this production was quite different to the Swedish production! A lot of new songs here - and several songs from the Swedish production that were not included! The songs that actually were the same were did not often appear in the same order or context either ... I felt that it turned the storyline around a bit, nothing really major, but there were differences! (Should there be an interest, and my energy level permitting, I might try to do a more detailed comparison between the two productions). I also felt that the different use of the songs somehow "altered" the characters a bit - I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I definately reacted to it. For instance, there was this reporter character called Walter de Courcey, who weren't even in the Swedish production at all!

I definately have to get some more Chess recordings, to learn more about this!!

Cast List:

Anatoly Sergievsky - David Shannon

Florence Vassy - Linzi Hately

Freddie Trumper - Sean Kingsley

Alexander Molokov - Michael McCarthy

The Arbiter - Åge Sten Nilsen

Walter de Courcey - James Spilling

Svetlana Sergievsky - Carmen Cusak

Chorus:

John Addison, Michael Broughton, Amanda-Jane Callaghan, Tomos Griffiths, Kristin Hellberg, Melissa Jaques, Daniel Koek, Tim Laurenti, Stephen McCarthy, Rhone McGregor, Yvette Robinson, Jennifer Tierny, Gary Amers, Derek Anderws, Chris Ellis-Stanton, Emily Mascarenhas, Daniella Gibb, C J Johnson, Elia Lo Tauro, Natalie Moore, Brenda-Jane Newhouse, Kelly O'Leary, David Stothard, Jonathan Williams

A truly wonderful cast, with some lovely surprises for me! I knew that Michael McCarthy would play Molokov, he was without a doubt the main reason I went to see it! *lol*

Very nice to see David Shannon, whom I'd heard a lot of great things about! Also great to see Carmen Cusak, who sings on one of my favourite cds at the moment; The London Cast Recording of The Secret Garden. The biggest surprise was to find out that Linzi Hately was playing Florence! She's of course played Eponine in Les Misérables in London, she sings "On My Own" on the Stage by Stage Documentary, and she's also on The Secret Garden cd!

The entire cast was fantastic and they worked very well together!! The Arbiter, played by Norwegian actor Åge Sten Nilsen was of course a big hit with the Oslo audience! :-) But he certainly deserves all the credit he got, he did a great job. I've never really understood that part, and therefore I've never really liked The Arbiter. Mr. Nilsen did a great job, he had a nice, clear voice and I might even start to like the part now! :-)

Svetlana, played by Carmen Cusak, had unfortunately a rather small part (much smaller than in the Swedish production!), but she did a marvellous job! She managed to sing with a Russian accent that sounded completely genuine - most impressive!! The duet "I Know Him So Well" with Linzi Hately was a real highlight!!

I never really figured out the reporter-guy, Walter de Courcey, other than the fact that he was generally annoying ... Maybe that was the point?! *lol* Anyway, James Spilling did a great job, he'd found an amazing American accent! :-)

Sean Kingsley played Freddie Trumper, the American Chess Champion. I learned from the programme that he has played Jean Valjean (Les Misérables) in London, and it's always nice to see "Les Mis People"! *lol* His interpretation of the character Freddie didn't quite agree with my picture of Freddie, but he's a very talented performer! I was most impressed with the way he did "Pity the Child" - sooo much feeling and emotion, he really gave it all and it was fantastic to see!!

Over to David Shannon, who played Anatoly. I learned that's quite experienced in the world of musicals, having performed in Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle Down the Wind, Grease and many, many more!

I had heard a lot of great things about him, and I can with certainty say that they are all true!! An outstanding performance - he has a great voice which can be both soothing and very powerful. His "Anthem" (Act One Finale) is the best one I've ever heard, without a doubt!! I would love to see him again (actually, that goes for most of the cast!!)!!

Linzi Hately was probably the biggest surprise to me! I had liked her a lot both in the Stage by Stage Les Misérables Documentary and on the Secret Garden cd, but I didn't really feel she was totally outstanding! Until I saw this production!! She was absolutely fantastic, with a rich, full and clear vocie! I have to say she's better than Swedish performer Helen Sjöholm, who is one of my very favourites ... I was most impressed by Linzi Hately's performace, highlights were the previously mentioned "I Know Him So Well" (with Carmen Cusak), "Someone Else's Story" and "Nobody's Side". Amazing!!

Last, but definately not least: Michael McCarthy as Molokov. Ever since I saw Mr. McCarthy as Javert in Les Misérables (London 2004), I've said that he's my second favourite performer after Philip Quast. I don't think I've ever realized just how very true that was until I saw this show!! Along with Philip Quast, Michael McCarthy is by far the most talented performer I have ever come across!

He did a fantastic job as Molokov, his voice is so powerful and majestic and he's got such a stage prescence! He practically owns the stage, he's got so much energy and personality and charisma, and he can really let the audience be a part of that!

This was the first time I'd heard Chess sung in English (and since this production was so different from the Swedish production, it was the first time I'd ever heard some of the songs), and Michael McCarthy is really a master of articulation, his voice is so clear and strong and there's absolutely no difficulty in hearing the lyrics!

For me, personally, the real highlights of the show were Michael McCarthy, Linzi Hately and David Shannon - the entire cast and production were fantastic, but these three really made into something truly special - a great evening indeed!!

I really wish I had had the courage to go to the stage door afterwards, it would have been fantastic to meet this amazingly talented performers ... but I've never done it before, and I was far to shy, scared and nervous ... *kicking myself now*

Anyway, despite travelling and waiting for in total 15 hours 15 minutes (!!) to see this production, it was all worth it in the end!! I know I'll never be able to see this particular production again, but I hope I'll be able to see these amaing performers again ... soon!! :-)

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