The End of Fall

Fall's ending in London. It was a lovely long fall full of beautiful weather. But with Halloween comes the chilly air. Apparently, before 5 years ago London did not celebrate Halloween. However, once people started realizing how much money they could make on merchandise, it started to spread. Now, it's not to New York's psycho standard's, but but it's still got some spirit. I have to admit I did miss the pre-Halloween buzz though. The lead up to the madness.

There's still plenty to do though. Yesterday, I saw a play called Birdsong, starring Ben Barnes (AKA Prince Caspian from the Narnia move Prince Caspian). The play started out rather slowly with a look at an unconvincing love story in aristocratic France. Didn't really seem to have much heart to me. But, with the second act came World War I and a bit of a pick up in pace and intensity. Afterwards, I got to meet Ben Barnes, which was great! Then it was off to see Easy A. It was delightfully American, and overall a good job by Emma Stone (who I coincidentally saw in a Duane Reade once buying a copy of Obsessed.) There was also a cool carnival going on in Leicester Square where I got to go on this amazing ride that took you up to get an incredible view of London and then flipped you over plummeting to the ground. AWESOME.

Earlier in the week I went to a quadruple mixed bill of the Royal Ballet. I found the new piece Invitus Invitam quite moving. And the interpretation of Three Sisters, called Winter Dreams, was beautiful, but would have been better if I knew the story. La Valse was distractingly imprecise for a ballet, and Theme and Variations didn't move me like the narrative pieces.

I also saw Men Should Weep, a play about the tenements in Glasgow, Scotland in 1930s. Although the accents were a little hard to understand, overall, I found the piece very believable and moving. The family dynamic was intriguing, and it truly gave you a window into the lives those in Glasgow might have lived.

Belgium!

Guess what I did last weekend. Visited four amazing cities in three short days. Then passed out as soon as I got back to my room.

BELGIUM IS AWESOME.

First, my friends and I went to Bruges, which ended up being my favorite city. It's smaller, not as overwhelming as Brussels, but we didn't get bored at all there. It's so beautiful, quaint, and distinctively Belgian in style. We climbed The Belfry and got an amazing view of the city. Took a relaxing and scenic boat ride on a canal. Visited a brewery, and sampled some of their brewed-on-the-premises beer. Went to the stunning Cathedral where they have a Michelangelo sculpture. Ate some local food, including the AMAZING Belgian waffles. Hung out at some pubs. And, checked out the local market. All and all it was incredible.

Unfortunately, what you think of a place is often defined by the weather when you go there. And when we went to Antwerp, it rained. All day. We did try and make the best of it though. We started by getting lost trying to find these houses that were supposed to look like castles. We did eventually find a street of very interesting houses with various ornate and strange styles though. Then, after discovering that the permanent collection at the museum wasn't there, we went to check out the cathedral. It was sort of a combination of a museum and a church because it had artwork all throughout it. The main pieces were four incredible Ruebens. From there we checked out the main square and the river, and then Ruebens' house. We didn't stay in Antwerp for though night though, so we hopped on a train (part of Belgium's great train system that is really easy to navigate) and ended up in Leuven.

Leuven's a student town. There's not a lot there besides students, schools, and bars. In fact, it has what it claims to be the longest bar in Europe, as a string of bars wraps all the way around a square. We visited a couple, and it was fun to see how they each had developed their own personality. Out hostel here was also really nice, which was a pleasant change.

Our final stop was Brussels. It was obviously the most touristy of all the cities, and the most overwhelming in this way. We started by seeing the Atomium, which can't really be explained, so just click on the link to see what it is. It was nice that Brussels had a subway though, so we didn't have to walk quite as much. Then we checked out some of the main squares and markets, and of course, bought some chocolate. We also finally managed to go to a museum and saw a great collection on Orientalism featuring a lot work by Delacroix.

Tons of fun, and really exhausting. But, totally worth it.

Past Performances

Just to keep consistent, here are all the shows I've seen recently.

Faust - Same performance as previously mentioned, but I got to see the second act this time. Sadly, I actually liked the first act better anyway. The second act followed the Faust legend even more loosely than the first and was a little too hectic for my taste. Overall though I really enjoyed the show with it's net-based acrobatics and intense energy. I'd suggest seeing anything by this up-and-coming Icelandic group, Vesturport.

Krapp's Last Tape - I did a full review of this one for class, so here that is.

A study of a man’s entire life is a hard thing to do in fifty minutes, but Michael Gambon, and further Samuel Beckett, the author of Krapp’s Last Tape, do it about as well as it can be done. It’s a very particular type of play you walk into when you see this, and it’s important to be aware of that. It shouldn’t be placed next to West End musicals and be called boring, because on that scale, then yes, it probably is. But, if you take it for what it is, a snippet, a rare glimpse, at a man at his end, then you can begin to see this play for what it’s meant to be.

There’s no denying the first few absolutely silent minutes were a bit painful. Michael Gambon sat motionless while people in the audience coughed and squeaked in their chairs. It seemed more like a social experiment; see what a crowd will do if the show just never started. But, start it did, eventually. Krapp’s Last Tape examines a man as he looks back on his life through many years of tape recordings of himself. And Gambon was the essence of everything Beckett had written, a man falling apart at the seams literally and figuratively. His attire, his face, his walk, this was a man who’d let himself go. At the same time, the written actions and those contributed by Gambon were those of a man who seemed severely afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Once this thought creeps into the mind, it’s hard to ignore. His repetitive walking, his tapping of the desk, his inability to control his banana-eating, years and years of precisely catalogued tape recordings of his life - one couldn’t help but see a man trapped in his behavior, and longing to break free to find deeper meaning.

While Gambon fulfilled the requirements of the role, the audience wasn’t left with the sense of a complete journey by the end. There was no moment of understanding, when one could see this man plainly. Whether this is because of some shortcoming in Gambon’s acting or because Beckett didn’t want the audience to know the whole story is unclear. But even if one couldn’t fully comprehend Krapp by the end, it was still easy to see some of the other messages laid out clearly. When you’re at the end and the dearest thing you have is a memory of a girl one afternoon, what does that mean life is really about? These types of questions are probably what this play is supposed to inspire, and it does. But, it doesn’t rock you to your core the way perhaps it should. One is left intrigued, but not moved.

Spending a long time on the content is very necessary with this show, as everything else is rather sparse. The set consisted of a desk, disheveled, and matching the description Beckett so carefully left. The lighting is stark, one shining directly down on Gambon and two others that created “other rooms” offstage. The sound was Gambon, or rather younger Krapp, speaking, perfectly timed on previously recorded tapes. Because of this minimalism, you were forced to analyze every moment Gambon spent on stage. The play requires you to think about not only what you are seeing and hearing, but also what you are supposed to get out of Gambon’s interpretation of Beckett’s Krapp. That was a lot to ask, and I am not sure anyone who left the theater really had a good answer to that question.

Enlightenment - A play about a boy who goes missing and the trying emotional time his family goes through in dealing with this. It's marketed as a psychological thriller which does not come across at all in the first act, but can definitely be seen in the second when a different boy shows up who believes he's their son. I thought the characters were quite well done, but the show wasn't very cohesive. It felt as if it was trying to say too much about too many big topics all through this one family.

Philharmonia - I saw a concert of Sibelius, Grieg, and Rachmaninov conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. I feel like I can't really critique this properly because I haven't been to many classical concerts. The music was lovely and moving, but I definitely found my mind wandering at parts. The most enjoyable segment of the evening was during the Grieg when Nikolai Lugansky did things on the piano I didn't know were possible.

Lots and Lots O Stuff

I feel like this week has been really busy! I guess it might be because we're technically having midterms right now, even though no one really calls it that here. Let's see...

I saw the play On Ageing which was an experimental piece where a group of 7-13 year olds said the responses that elderly people gave in interviews when asked about aging. I thought it was going to be really deep and blow me away, but I can't say I really found it that moving. It's style was kind of interesting, with the design team actually forming the structure of the play instead of a plot. But, even the adorable kids couldn't quite deliver whatever message the director was trying to send. I was also supposed to see Faust, as interpreted by an Icelandic acting troupe, but after a highly entertaining first act someone came on the speakers to inform the audience that one of the actors had been seriously injured and that the play could not continue. Hopefully, I'll get to see the conclusion this week.

I also went to see The Wallace Collection, a permanent collection of art and other random doodads in a beautiful old english house. We had a delightfully British old man for a guide, and I got to see some great art. Afterwards my friend and I had tea in their charming restaurant, which was AWESOME. I love tea and I love little cakes and little sandwiches AND SCONES. Man I love scones.

I went to Cambridge today. It's very pretty, but as with many British towns, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do there. I saw the Chapel, which was incredible, and I ate at the oldest pub in town, The Eagle. My highlight was probably getting some amazing rings at the market though. Historicalness is totally lost on me.

To round this off with a couple random notes. I did some shopping this week. TopShop had a student sale where for two nights only students got 20% which was great. I also had a cooking meltdown. I had put some hamburgers in the freezer, but when I took them out, two were frozen together. I tried running them under hot water, but gave up and just threw both in the pan assuming they would come apart. They did not, so I ended up stabbing them and having beef bits for dinner. Very frustrating. Also, I got an A on my marketing test!!! Sweet success!!!

On a Better Note...

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Yesterday, a performance of Les Miserables was held at the O2 in London in honor of the production's 25th anniversary. It was simultaneously shown in movie theaters around Britain, and I went to one such showing. I think this was probably the best option at my budget because if I'd gone to the actual arena, I probably wouldn't have been able to see much of anything, but in the theater, I got a great view of the whole performance. Now, I could warn you and say that I have a strong bias towards this show, but I think that's true of the entire country of England, so oh well. Deal with it. With that said...

This show was incredible! Even from the cinema, and not the actual arena, the energy was electric. I wanted them to do the whole show, and not just a concert version. But, even the music alone was enough to take your breath away. And all the singers certainly did their fair share of acting to make sure the show was complete, and not just a dull rendition of a great work. The casting was flawless, with talent hailing from various countries. The one weak spot in the show was Nick Jonas, as Marius, who try as he may could not keep up with the seasoned musical and opera singers on stage. He did however give an enjoyable performance, even if it wasn't the strongest. All the others received uproarious applause at the end of their solo numbers (in the arena and in my movie theater). Simon Bowman was the most confident and quite frankly best Jean Valjean I've ever heard - bringing the crowd to its feet after his perfect "God on High." Norm Lewis was dignified and pitch-perfect as Javert, and gave him all the depth the character is meant to have. The true standout to me though was the young Samantha Barks, a relative unknown, who was simply incredible as Eponine. She not only sang the most beautiful "On My Own" I've ever heard, she made her duet with Jonas, "A Little Fall of Rain," absolutely touching. The Thenardiers were humorous, as is expected of them, and kept the show going when it started to become too heartbreaking. There were a few too many endings, similar to LOTR Return of the King, but bringing back the original 1985 cast was a nice touch. All and all, one of the best nights I've spent in the theater here in London, and I wasn't even in a theater.

On a side note, did you know that Pizza Hut is a sit down restaurant here? A pretty good one too. It's very casual and relaxed with yummy American style food.

Jersey Boys Review

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Please note that this is a review for the Jersey Boys now showing in London. I've never seen it anywhere else, and feel it would in fact be very different in New York.

Jersey Boys Review

I blame you. Yes, you. All of my trusted friends and the many random acquaintances who went on and on about Jersey Boys – “The best musical I’ve seen in years!” You told me that I was so lucky to have the amazing opportunity to see such a great show, in London nonetheless. You told me I’d love it.

You lied.

Of course, I had good reason to believe you. Everyone raves about this show. Everyone goes to see this show. There are numerous tours on multiple continents, and it’s still going strong. But, as I sat watching it, all I wanted to know was “Why?” Do not mistake me; I thoroughly enjoy the music of The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (which the musical goes to painfully great lengths to distinguish between) for that matter. So don’t assume that I disliked it just because the music wasn’t my taste. The music is my taste; the performance was not.

There is no arguing with the fact that there’s an incredible amount of talent on the stage. Ryan Molloy, playing the incomparable Frankie Valli, does in fact “have a voice like an angel” and a devil of a supporting cast. There was not a single note out of tune all night. But, candidly, that just made this show more like a technically proficient, but nevertheless boring, concert instead of a truly captivating musical. Sure, the songs you love are sung accurately, but where’s the real entertainment?

It certainly did not help that when these guys sang, not one of them smiled, ever. Maybe they thought that was supposed to be a “Jersey” thing, or maybe the originals didn’t smile either so the cast thought this was true to life, but for me, it sucked the life out of their performance. Well, with the possible exception of Stephen Ashfield, who played Bob Gaudio, and actually did smile on occasion, which is probably why he seemed like the only one with any life in him.

These four seemed to be trying so hard to play their parts that they forgot to make sure to let these characters be real people as well. There was no breathing, no scratching, no natural guy movements of any kind, just choreographed dancing across the stage and singing on cue. This was particularly obvious because of the bland performance sequences, but also because of the extreme effort that was going into talking with a Jersey accent. Three of the four leads were able to keep it up for most of the night, but Eugene McCoy, who played Nick Massi, was truly horrendous. I couldn’t concentrate on anything he was saying because he was so obviously and terribly straining to try and say it with the correct dialect, and failing miserably. Though autumn is one of my favorite seasons, that night I couldn’t wait for “Fall” to be over.

The performance left so much to be desired that it even made the plot seem weak as well. This is a history that has fascinated audiences around the world. But this cast made the story of four Jersey boys’ improbable rise to fame into a dull caricature. It seemed like a mere outline, rather than a gritty reenactment of what their lives were, what went right and what went wrong. Sure, the important events were there, but the details that made their lives so interesting were not. Just like the flat and lifeless comic strip-type projections behind them – the story came across as two-dimensional.

Perhaps you’ve seen the movie Across the Universe, a story about American youths in 1960s where the plot is based around Beatles songs. Perhaps, like me, at the end of it you thought, “I would have much rather just listened to the album.” Don’t know why that came to mind…

Let's Ruck!

And ruck we did! I had the enjoyable experience of going to a rugby game yesterday, and it was certainly the most incredible rucking I've ever seen. Okay, so I didn't really know what was going on. But, I think it says something for a game when it's still really fun to watch even when that's the case. My friends and I eventually figured out some of the rules, but many of the aspects still remained a mystery by the end. The whole kicking and running with the ball combination was confusing, but the figuring-skatingesque lifting of one of their players into the air when the ball was thrown in from out-of-bounds provided endless entertainment. The crowd was probably the best fun of all though. There were so many different and very strange calls that one person could start and then have the whole arena join in on. And we yelled and booed and cheered and grunted with the best of them. Often the crowd would make a noise and it was very unclear whether they were happy or upset, so we would make similar excited grumbling sounds. The half-time entertainment consisted of little kid rugby players going at it on the field below. This was just... awesome. Oh the circles they ran in. At the end of the day the home team, the Harlequins (the ones wearing the multi-colored jerseys as we eventually figured out) won, and the crowd left the stadium quite jolly, until the next rucking day.