re: Was this review posted here? | |
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Jsteinfan 12:34 pm UTC 03/28/17 |
In reply to: | Was this review posted here? - Jacqueline 10:12 pm UTC 03/27/17 |
No.... but it's a good one > REVIEW: Bat Out of Hell at the Manchester Opera House > > In the late sixties the first rock musical Hair defined a > genre in an innovative and compelling form that has seldom > been surpassed. Perhaps only the staging of the Who’s rock > opera Tommy has really combined successfully rock music > with a strong story line and its influence is hinted at in > the criss-cross pattern around the proscenium arch which > echoes the Tommy album cover. > > But here in Bat out of hell we have a potentially game > changing rock musical that combines strong rock anthems, > innovative staging and a large talented cast to produce a > genuine modern rock musical for today. Jim Steinman has > created a wonderful dynamic show around the music made > famous by Meatloaf. There are strong allusions to Peter > Pan in the story created to link his songs. We have Peter, > here called Strat, leading the lost with his special > confidant , Tink and falling in love with Raven (Wendy ) > while being pursed and at war with Falco (Hook) .But at > its heart are the love stories between Strat and Raven and > between Falco and Sloane (his wife and Raven’s mother). > > From the moment Strat, played by Andrew Polec, climbs on > stage to polish his beloved Harley Davidson and delivers > his menacing opening monologue the tone is set. He is a > leader, a rock star and his lost tribe will follow him > against the police state lead by Falco. Raven played with > youthful innocence by Christina Bennington is locked away > from him in her 1st floor bedroom but she breaks free to > meet him. She is embarrassed by her own parents’ > passionate love making played with amazing stage presence > and powerful voices by Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton. > > The relationship between these two couples is supported by > a wonderful cast of 26 (perhaps at times too many) with > standout performances from Danielle Steers as Zahara and > Dom Hartley Harris as Jagwire. Their duet of “Two out of > three ain't bad” is exciting and, but they surpass this > with a thrilling “Dead ringer to love”. Throughout the > songs are backed with high energy modern tribal > choreography which features an excellent Michael Naylor > and Phoebe Hart. > > The staging is grandiose and multi layered with amazing > automated scene changes, multiple projections and some > stand out special effects to create the post-apocalyptic > city of Obsidian. While this amazing staging keeps the > show > moving slickly forward it also creates a number of sight > line problems for those in the front stalls which detract > from the overall visual impact of the production. > > Of course at the heart of the show is the music with > classic rock anthems such as “Objects in the Rear View > Mirror”, “Dead ringer for love”, “Bat out of hell”, “I'd > do anything for love”, and “All revved up with no place to > go”, sung with great musicality and energy the show builds > to an exciting finale which is certain to produce standing > ovations night after night. > > Review by Nick Wayne > > Rating: ★★★★★ > > http://www.pocketsizetheatre.com/2017/03/review-bat-out-of-hell-at-manchester.html | |
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