| re: Newbie saying hi! (And some thoughts on the show) | |
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Posted by: |
Dave_Wain 04:56 pm UTC 03/22/17 |
| In reply to: | re: Newbie saying hi! (And some thoughts on the show) - ashkent7 09:45 am UTC 03/22/17 |
| Thanks everyone! Awesome to be made to feel so welcome. > Welcome, and it's a great post to start out with. It's > like it's been building up for years. > > And don't worry I'm sure the length of your post will be > accepted - I don't think I've written one that hasn't > turned into something that could be bound and stuck on a > bookcase and they haven't kicked me out yet. It's my turn > to be the blubbering wreck tomorrow. > > > If anyone was unfortunate enough to sit by a tall guy in > > his thirties, wearing ripped skinny jeans and a Todd > > Rundgren tee last night in the front row of the circle, I > > apologise now for weeping uncontrollably somewhere during > > the second act! > > > > Newbie alert! I’ve read this messageboard every day for > > the best part of this century, but I’m just not really a > > contributor on forums of this ilk. I just don’t think I’ve > > got anything particularly interesting to say. I’m a far > > better voyeur! Having said that, somewhere in the deep > > recesses of the M56 on the journey home, I felt I just HAD > > to finally join the board and offer my thoughts, if only > > in the hope that laying them down may facilitate some > > sleep! > > > > Let’s go back to the emotion of the night, and it IS a > > deeply emotional piece of work, but there’s no doubt a > > percentage of that is just sheer relief. > > > > Not so much a relief that it’s good, just the simple > > relief that it exists at all. We’ve all been on this > > (cliché warning) ‘journey’, whereby Jim’s lifelong vision > > of a musical has always been mooted, but even despite the > > teasingly short rehearsal promo clips, there was always a > > nagging suspicion in my mind that it was some insane > > self-created fantasy, caused by an over-prescribed dosage > > of Prozac or something… > > > > Thankfully it appears my doctor won’t be up before the > > GMC, because it really does live and breathe in one > > gargantuan, breathtaking, aural and visual spectacle. > > > > I found Jim’s work through an unusual entry point. One > > album I obsessed over as a teenager, and still do now is A > > Wizard, A True Star, so with a hunger for everything that > > Todd has laid his genius-like paws on, I ventured towards > > his productions; XTC, The Band, Patti Smith, and… well, > > you know the rest. > > > > This fervent hunger to sample an artist’s entire body of > > work soon transferred onto Steinman, and before I knew it > > I’d amassed the usual suspects, as well as those early > > eighties masterpieces for other artists. Needless to say > > this caused a great deal of concern among my parents and > > friends; between asking my mother to borrow one of her > > Barbra Streisand LP’s, and insisting that my school > > friends listen to Barry Manilow between Guns N’Roses CD’s, > > my card was marked early on as a potentially unhinged > > individual! > > > > I digress. We all have our stories, but one thing that’s > > remained constant since I first found Jim’s music, is the > > fact that first and foremost, I’m a Jim Steinman fan. As > > everyone will agree, there are times when this carries a > > degree of frustration, not least (despite the great > > review) in pieces like the one from The Arts Shelf > > yesterday which carried the slightly misleading headline > > ‘In the Land of the Musical, Meat Loaf is King’, because > > if there’s another aspect that added to the emotion of > > last night, it was the sight of Jim’s name above the > > title. It felt like a perverse vindication of two decades > > of strange looks; the record shop guy who smirked as I > > bought three copies of No Matter What, or the former > > partner who cited my predilection for relentlessly playing > > “some German opera shit” as a reason for breaking up. > > > > I’m using it relentlessly too, both in conversation and on > > social media; JIM STEINMAN’S Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical. > > > > > > Prior to going, a high percentage of people I told replied > > with “Ooh, is Meat Loaf in it?”, which was fine, but once > > I strangled the seventh successive person who said that, > > the bodies were beginning to pile up. This response will > > no doubt dwindle as the show’s legacy becomes etched into > > the folklore of Musical Theatre, and to be honest, I’m > > pretty pumped at the pending reappraisal of Jim’s career > > that BooH: TM should bring, not least for the folks that > > go out and pick up the Pandora’s Box CD. Oh how envious I > > am of them being able to listen to that for the first > > time. > > > > Anyhow, I’m droning on so much I’m almost on the verge of > > curing my own Steinman-induced insomnia, but, as for a few > > random thoughts on the show, it seems redundant to add > > another orgasm to the cacophony of heightened squeals over > > the much talked about sequences that had audience members > > gasping. A few things that really caught my eyes and ears > > began with Andrew Polec. Holy cow! I saw him interviewed > > alongside Meat (post-Q Award), and he really did look like > > a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car. I > > really should have had no such concerns though, as he gave > > a commanding performance of self-assured brilliance. The > > same goes for Christina Bennington, who manages to embody > > a naïve innocence, mixed with an underlying desire to > > rebel. > > > > Jim’s script was far more intense than I expected. Naively > > I thought the narrative would be pretty filmsy in order to > > facilitate the music, but I was so wrong. Peppered with > > all the classic Steinmanism’s that we’ve become accustomed > > to – JUGULAR! – Jim visits all the themes that are > > entwined throughout his songbook. One aspect that I > > thought worked really well was the character of Tink. To > > me, there’s a real undercurrent of sexuality that really > > sparkles on stage between him and Strat, and Aran MacRae > > manages to deliver that with a subtle perfection. > > > > What Part of My Body Hurts the Most was the moment that > > really broke me, as I sobbed my way to snot-laden > > embarrassment like some kind of inconsolable fruitloop. > > The simplicity of the production on this song really > > heightened the emotion of it, while years of only seeing > > it on some grainy YouTube clip with Rob Evan singing > > proved too much to finally see it performed live. > > > > That’s all really. I hope I’m allowed back after a > > ridiculously long first post! I just had to share this > > with like-minded people as a means of cathartic release. > > Y’know, sometimes when you witness a miracle, you realise > > that it’s not much good just keeping it to yourself. > > | |
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