The Woman in White

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:29pm

How does everyone feel about this show? Like? Dislike?

Personally, I hate Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I really like it for the most part (except I really don't care for "Lost Souls", and I don't feel like Laura's song, "I Could Only Dream This World Away", I feel it as well drolls on and is not particularly memorable). On the other hand, Walter, Marian and Fosco all have realtivley good songs (with the exception of Fosco's "Gift of Living Well), wheras Fairle and Percival Glyde have barely anything.

It seems like it would be really good. I can see where it can be critized; it was trying to be like POTO...but I almost think it's better.

Thoughts?

[Musical-Matt]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:52pm

im a west end poster hey :) i saw the show when it was at the palace theatre in london and although not his best it was quite enjoyable! when anna sung/screamed "i could save her life" i thought oh dear this is going to be awful but frankly the show was pretty good :)

[once a month]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:57pm

Looking around the orchestra right before opening on Broadway, I had NEVER seen so many people sound asleep...think rows. I wanted to like it, but I found it hard to care.

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:52pm

I admit, I like how it plays on CD a lot though it isn't a show I pull out often.

What's interesting is when it opened in London initial word of mouth and reviews were largely really good--lotsa predictions of ti being a big hit, even on the Sondheim forum I post on (which isn't too ALW friendly) some said they really liked it, etc, and then opinion on it seemed to get worse and worse.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:56pm

I happened to really like it, as did my parents.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:59pm

If someone wouldda just smacked that damned screeching maniac and asked, "Who the eff are you? And SHUT UP!" I wouldda been a whole lot happier.
I hated just about everything about it. The set made me want to vomit.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:00pm

It wasn't nearly as bad as Starlight Express.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:13pm

It also wasnt as bad as "Aint Broadway Grand", but that aint sayin' much.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:20pm

I liked Fosco and his songs (of course, I always like Michael Crawford, so that's no surprise). But as for the rest, I found a lot of it too shrill and shrieky. Too bad, because it's a good story and could have been a good show.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:30pm

I am a big ALW fan and WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND is one of my favorites, so I am certainly not above looking beyond the faults of a show or production for the score or a few songs. That being said, I hate this show and it is by far my least favorite ALW score. I really, really don't understand what he was trying to do. The orchestrations alone are just atrocious... I really don't get this show or the score. At all. It's almost intentionally stupid, completely dramatically inert, and emotionally vacuous. This is all particularly strange because ALW usually has a few moments of excitement in his scores, if nothing else, and all he could come up with for this was a lame "Macarena" rip-off and the umpteenth Puccini plagiarism for MC. Weird.

P

[philly03]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 5:31pm

One of my favourites; my second favourite Lloyd Webber piece! A tad boring, but I love the book and the story so I found myself being interested.

[iamchanging9]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 5:34pm

The Woman in White is my favorite show. Had it not closed before the tonys, Maria Friedman would have most certainly won.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 5:57pm

I saw the show in London and didn't like ANYthing about it, which is unusual for me. I can usually pull at least one positive thing from a show, but not WIW. I was amazed when I heard that it was going to transfer to Broadway and I predicted that it would flop, probably even here on BWW. :)

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:02pm

Pgenre what's the song you think sounds like Macarena?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:03pm

"Lammastide". I'm not the first to point that out, btw.

P


Updated On: 12/14/09 at 06:03 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:07pm

I don't really like the ensemble songs -- I wish plans for a tour went through over in the UK with just the 8 principles-chamber-esque version. "Evermore Without You" is perhaps my favourite showtune!

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:57pm

HAHA Id never noticed that before--I can kinda hear it! Anyway I actualy quite like the score though I get what you mean about the orchestrations. Anyway it's at least ALW making some attempt to be interesting, I suppose.. (It's true though that it's not the guilty pleasure score WDTW is for me, which I genuinely like) What really confounds me though is why they made some of the changes they did from the original novel.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:01pm

I liked the show but absolutely despised the design. The moving projections gave me a headache and at times were quite silly. I did enjoy much of the score. I don't think the show was nearly as bad as some made it out to be.

I didn't see Freidman, but instead got a fabulous performance from Lisa Brescia. In fact, the night I attended they announced prior to the show starting that she would be performing the role with "very limited rehearsal." She was absolutely fantastic, limited rehearsal or not.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:14pm

Lammastide was my favorite number too. They also sang a reprise of that song in act 2 if Im not mistaken.
I loved the show the 2nd time I went to see it, the 1st time was quite dissappointing for some strange reason, maybe it's one of those shows you need to be familiar with the music in order to enjoy it.

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:06pm

DUmb question, but what made you return for a second time?

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:11pm

Interesting to hear so many opinions.

Unfortunately, shows don't always internationally translate well. (For instance, Blood Brothers has done terrible in the US, Rent has done terribly in the UK).

It does play beautifuly on CD, but I think I'd have to see it live--which imposes the question: is it not licensable for the sake of ALW's embarassment?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:32pm

Hahah, good question, I started listening to the CD and I kinda started to enjoy the music. LOL!

[kec]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:36pm

I saw it both in London and NY and very much enjoyed it. I didn't like some of the changes made to the NY production (the pop-up gravestone for one) but overall I liked it a great deal.

[BroadwayBound92]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:37pm

I've rarely been able to enjoy Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals (With the exceptions of 'Phantom' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar'); still I must say that Woman In White is a fantastic show, with an equally amazing score. Plus, it did succeed excellent in one area: it made me hate Count Fosco even more than when I first read the classic novel.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:28pm

What happened with The Woman in White was that the show went through some seemingly minor, but altogether fatal changes after the Original London Cast left in July 2005. The first season sold exceptionally well, and word of mouth was good. It was never going to be 10-year success, but it seemed to have a few good, solid years in its future.

The Second London Cast opened in July 2005 to a packed theatre that suddenly became quite empty within three months, bringing the show to a close in February 2006. The show had changed its ending to be more "light and happy," and the subplot with Marian and Walter had been altered as well. Many fans of the show were quite angry.

The NY production furthered changes by cutting out loads of lyrical moments to shorten the piece, but in a way that was obtrusive to any form of poetics.

Also, marketing for the show in London after the original cast left, and the marketing for the NY production, were abysmally executed. The NY production had literally one TV plug-in (not counting Maria's illness coverage on NBC) on "Breakfast with th Arts," and very little Internet and media advertisement.

ETA:
I MUST mention (because, honestly, I've tried for years on this board to see if anyone else agrees)...Maria Friedman not being nominated was foolish and shocking. That season, Chita Rivera was nominated for playing herself in a revue, and Sutton Foster for what should have been a supporting role in Drowsy Chaperone.

Also...I really like this show, for the record.

Updated On: 12/14/09 at 10:28 PM