Coliseum Theatre
Date: 29 May (Wednesday), 2:30pm
Seats: Stalls, Row C 7-8
(Seen with Jess!)
Notes: I was introduced to this show by the Theatre Club Podcast, and although it had already been on my radar, I had heard mostly negative things about the show. But it was reviewed positively on the podcast so I figured we'd give it a go. Jess and I went to the matinee showing during half term, and although we got our tickets through the TodayTix rush, the tickets aren't selling well so the rush seats are prime seating in the stalls which are worth up to 400% what we paid!
I was a little conflicted about this casting. They had cast Kelsey Grammar in the lead role, and I really had no experience of him as a stage performer. His acting was great and I thought he was a great character, but vocally he just didn't have the chops. He was mostly in tune, but it lacked the oomph that I wanted and it was quite often flat. I think though that this show needed a "name" to help sell tickets, because it's a show that hasn't been on stage really at all since it was first on in 1968. It would not have done well without a mainstream name to help things sell, I just wish they could have found someone who was a bit stronger vocally. However, they did a great job casting everyone else. The ensemble was fantastic, but the main reason I had come to see this show was Cassidy Janson, who was playing the role of Aldonza/Dulchinella. She is sharing the role with the opera singer Danielle de Niese, but because I have seen CJ in many roles (most notably as Elphaba in Wicked and in Chess last year as Florence) I really wanted to see her play this role. It worked out well because CJ does all the matinee performances and it's currently half term. She was brilliant - she truly is a superb musical theatre star.
The plot of this show is a little... Mad. It's set in a prison where the prisoner is putting on a play. The play is about a man who is mad and believes himself to be a knight (Don Quixote). So it's a play about a delusional man within a musical. Luckily this works because the songs and lyrics lean into the crazy and the show as a result was much funnier than I expected, with funny songs as well as lines. I did enjoy the plot as I didn't know what to expect and I think that was a positive for this show.
The real highlight for this show was the music and the orchestra. Being a musical about a Spaniard, the music is very heavily flamenco inspired and the Coliseum really took advantage of that by using a 40 piece orchestra to play... And they were fantastic! A sweeping score with trumpets and multiple guitars to really enhance the Spanish flavour of the show. I love a show with a full orchestra.
So this show was a lot better than I expected. The reviews I read implied it would be kind of a train wreck, but I found great music played by a beautiful orchestra, a funnier than expected plot, an incredible supporting cast and a fabulous lead female performer. I just wish that Kelsey Grammar had been stronger vocally.
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