After my initial preview ticket was cancelled (thanks to COVID), and my second nightmare £28 ‘restricted’ seat-in-the-Stalls, (with only a side view of the front apron), this Welsh Cinders finally got to appreciate the entirety of the Ball!
The much-hyped new Lloyd Webber show finally opened (to full capacity) at the recently renovated Gillian Lynne Theatre. At first glance, it’s impossible to see any renovations to this well-loved space, which housed the Jellicle Ball for Cats, for many years. Since then, under its more recognisable name of the New London Theatre, I experienced many spectacular shows such as the short-lived adaptation of Gone with the Wind, the Jewish epic saga Imagine This, the award winning National Theatre’s adaptation of War Horse, and more recently, Daniel Evans’s lavish production of Showboat.
But back to its current sensation, Cinderella, which wows the audience, as they enter. There’s no doubt that Gabriela Tylesova’s stage and costume design is spectacular, framed in its elaborate (and blatantly redundant) gold proscenium arch (my nemesis for the failure to see 70% of the stage, from my side stalls seat).
A word of warning, beware which seats you book. Seek advice. Although heavily reduced, and sold as having a ‘very restricted view’, I’d question the definition of ‘restricted’ in some seats, as there was no view at all of the the main stage. It was only when I was compensated and treated to a VIP package experience, with ‘the best seats in the house’, (centre stalls) that I could appreciate the beauty and theatrical magic, that lies within this show.
There is no doubt that a new Lloyd Webber musical is an occasion, but it comes with the usual pitfalls. Both Stephen Ward and Love Never Dies had their issues, along with the unfortunate similarity of the melodies, repeated from other shows. This isn’t a negative occurrence, as Messers Rodgers & Hammerstein and Mr Sondheim all share the same issue. The only annoyance for me, is Lord Lloyd Webber’s tendency to create rather simplistic musical motifs using a limited range of notes. Think of the limited musical phrases, constantly repeated in his much loved songs like Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, High Flying Adored, Starlight Express, Memory, Love Changes Everything, Close Every Door and Music of the Night, to name but a few.
Unfortunately, this is painfully obvious from the overture of Cinderella, which can only truly boast two good solid songs (one in each act) and an annoying repeated ‘Call me bad Cinderella’ musical motif. The majority of the music was bland and boring, with shared lazy similarities from Phantom, Evita and Joseph. But somehow, he gets away with it, thanks to the lavish orchestral arrangements, and a very suspicious pre-recorded musical accompaniment.
The traditional rags to riches Cinderella story has also been given a transformation, which is rather confusing at times; two mothers, two Prince Charming’s (well, one is billed as Charming and the other more timid); two palatial homes, oxymoronic ugly step-sisters and a cocky, gothic Cinderella!
The Disney-esque opening number is again borrowed from Beauty and the Beast, introducing quirky inhabitants of this provincial town. This scene also introduces the main thrust of the plot, and the town’s necessity to re-gain its respect and good name.
So a wedding is planned, where the younger Prince Sebastian (Ivano Turco) is to be wed. Blackmailed by Cinders deep-voiced Stepmother brilliantly portrayed by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, through a beautifully point-scoring duet, with the Queen (Rebecca Trehearn) the plan is hatched to get the young Prince married to one of the ugly sisters.
In an attempt to bring this well-known and much loved fairytale into a conceptual modern context, it’s obvious that the ugliness of the step-sisters Marie (Georgina Castle) and Adele (Laura Baldwin) lies within. The same can be said of Cinderella’s beauty, although her appearance at the Ball clearly shows how stunning Carrie Hope Fletcher, really is. The unfortunate paradox of this modern concept is that she has to undergo some cosmetic surgery, carried out by her surgically qualified Godmother (Gloria Onitiri) in order to achieve her dream of beauty. This attempted modernist twist is also prominent in the second act, but you’ll have to attend the Ball itself, to witness that.
Was it a success? Well, oddly yes. It’s certainly spectacular, and well-worth seeing; more for the theatricality of the production (especially at the beginning of the second act). Musically, it was a let down, apart from the two previously mentioned songs - ‘Only you, lonely you’ by the Prince in act one, and ‘Far Too late’ by Cinders in the second act. There is no doubt that certain individuals carry the show, primarily the ironically named Carrie Hope Fletcher in the leading role, as does Rebecca Trehearn, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Caleb Roberts, right at the end. From my side seat view, I was lucky enough to hear the newly graduated Ivano Turco portraying the Prince Sebastian, with short glances of his brilliance presence on stage.
But on my second, fuller experience, the Sebastian was competently portrayed by his understudy, Jonathan David Dudley, which changed the dynamic of the character, and the whole feel of the production. These two actors have differing qualities, characters and looks, and unfortunately will change the essence of the main story.
I’m glad I experienced this spectacle, but as Cinderella was pre-warned, before her outing to the Ball, I doubt whether this experience has the longevity to survive past midnight of the New Year.
Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre, ★ ★ ★
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