Postcard from Abroad
Guest Column WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND
Aldwych Theatre. Monday 28th February 2000.
Lloyd Webber�s newest offering, although now 18 months old, is currently running at the Aldwych Theatre and has had a few cast changes since its opening in July 1998. While this was my first visit, some of the songs have already been played (one almost to death)! and so right from the opening number, Vaults of Heaven, you are �in�. Christopher Howard lead in this song and is still in fine voice. Moving the setting from the original book and film to Louisiana in my view was a mistake. The popular reason given was that it would mean the show would not travel too well, being set in Lancashire and with the local dialects. So the decision was taken to shift the story to the Bible Belt. I have to say that the accents were quite appalling, and I found myself having to think about the words and what was being said or sung, as the inflections were so hit and miss. When you have to concentrate to hear �Do you like my new bike� when what�s being said is �D�ya lark manoo bark� it makes it doubly difficult to both sustain the story and refrain from laughing! The main question I kept asking myself was WHY? Or rather Waaah?!! Us Brits have never been that good at dialects from other countries and the cast, when they remembered to traah, were not really pulling it off that well. It became an un-needed distraction after a while and moved swiftly from being amusing to annoying. I spent the first act thinking that Swallow�s younger sister was called Spratt instead of Brat as well!
That said, the show itself perfectly OK. This is not a hatchet-job and I did enjoy it, and think that most of the audience did too. The role of The Man, the escaped convict mistaken for Jesus, who, while on the run is discovered hiding out in the barn belonging to Swallow, Brat and Poor Baby. He is currently being played by Jason McCann. Having recently lost their mother, with father Boone struggling to bring up his brood, the kids think that perhaps Jesus can bring back Ma if they pray hard enough. Laura-Michelle Kelly is excellent in the role of Swallow. Her voice is clear and strong and can be modified to be engaging and childish when necessary. Her rendition of the title song was sweet but seemed rather muted. It is after all her big number, and she never seemed to get to give it a good go? She only gets a minute or two on stage alone for the last verse and chorus, and while her voice is able to hold a note beautifully, I felt this song could have been either extended or used again. It does come back as the finale, but by then Boone and the kids are joining in again. I just think Swallow deserves more of a show-stopping number, and while this could indeed be it, she doesn�t get to sing as much of it as I�d have liked to hear.
The theme of religious fervour with echoes through the show is not fully explored, and while we don�t need things spelled out for us; it�s enough to just accept it for what it is, some things were left unanswered or just seemed weak. The Snake Charmer (Christopher Howard again) was explained away as a preacher who was going to test the Devil with the snakes. While the scenes were mildly exciting - they were live snakes after all - the point was rather lame. The object I assume was to add to the feeling that these people were God-fearing folk who truly wanted to believe, but in that case, why were the children warned to stay away? Especially when the adults turned out in force. Still, a minor point.
The two characters of Amos and his girlfriend Candy were not fully exploited either. While a sub-plot of racial discord is hinted at, the characterisation of Candy, a kind of tart without much of a heart who dreams of leaving her hometown and heading for bright lights was a frivolous extra. I think that could be because I liked neither the song (Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts) nor the actress that much. Veronica Hart plays her as a kind of Mimi in Rent Wannabe! While she looks fine, I found her voice rather nasal and the heavy rock feel of the song, although perfectly suited to her portrayal, was not to my taste. Duetting with Dean Collinson�s Amos, she infused some needed energy into the backwoods feel of the show, but her strutting and expression portrayed more a nasty smell than a feeling of needing to get away. At least Amos seemed to have some point in the story. He was used as a foil for the blossoming �relationship� between Swallow and The Man, and their rendition of A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste was one of the highlights. But I missed the point of having the Amos/Candy/Swallow triangle. It wasn�t shown that Candy particularly disliked Swallow or vice versa, so her role seemed rather one-dimensional.
OK that�s the negative bit out of the way! The sets are brilliant. On two levels, with a rising and falling platform to act as either roof or floor, the barn in shown in gloomy darkness most of the time. The lighting is also atmospheric and assists in creating the moods which go with each scene. The fire is spectacular but if you sit too near the front, it gets very hot and fume-filled. The songs encompass plenty of styles and the song Cold, lead by Walter Herron Reynolds III playing Ed, is a real winner.
This show marks Jason McCann�s West End debut and he is most certainly one to watch for the future. In the role of The Man, his is very good. His voice has a remarkable clarity to it and he didn�t seem to be struggling with either the higher or lower ranges used in his main songs. His Unsettled Scores was nicely expressive and If Only with Swallow was most pleasing. His torment concerning his feelings for Swallow was handled well and his failure to give a moral for his entertaining story (Annie Christmas) to the children was suitably expressed.
The song we all know is delivered by the local children. The lyrics are changed from the Boyzone chart-topper and are rather twee. The kids pass on the �secret� and make their way to the barn, on the way pausing to enact one of the most toe-curling songs ever! It�s called �When Children Rule the World� and I must confess I loathed it! I seemed to be in the minority I admit, but it�s just so syrupy and�.catchy! However, the kids act with conviction and are admittedly talented and all sing their solo lines with clarity and their dance routines (yes, really) in harmony, while appearing to enjoy it. When the time came for No Matter What, the children each present �Jesus� with a gift, and that seemed to be when the show really got going. The expression on Jason�s face was great here, indicating that maybe there was some redemption for him after all.
The show has an overriding feeling of deja-vu, what with an overly religious village, a man taken for someone else and the female lead falling for him. But it�s Guerre-lite. When the townspeople set out to catch the convict, armed with pitchforks and rakes, you half-expect them to burst into a chorus of Kill the Beast! The opening setting in the chapel with the frenzied congregation was duplicated almost to a man for the start of Great Balls of Fire and as I mentioned, Candy is like Rent�s Mimi crossed with Krysten Cummin�s Tina from The Fix. Christopher Howard, in one of his scenes, even wears a Grahame Chandler style leg iron!
The ensemble all play their parts with gusto and the big chorus numbers are dealt with well, but the show for me didn�t really find an avenue and go down it wholeheartedly. Even at ten minutes less than two hours in length, it still feels padded, but there are moments of great theatre. These are the scenes with Swallow, the Man and Amos mostly, and there is a truly superb moment when Swallow and Amos fetch the parcel under the railroad bridge which makes you gasp! This earned a deserved round of applause from the audience and the applause was thick and fast at the end too. The current cast are excellent mostly, the kids are all good, especially Swallow�s siblings, that evening played by Shannon Bradley-Gardner and a very cutesome Jordan Morrice as Poor Baby/Robin. It�s not a great show, but it IS good, and well worth seeing. It has the potential to become great, with a bit of tweaking here and there, which I hope will happen soon. It doesn�t have that factor which makes you want to see it all again, usually once the curtain has dropped at the end, although I plan on seeing the next cast change when it happens. Most of the songs are fine, certainly hummable and the backlash which surely surprised no-one from the critics is mis-placed and inaccurate. Again. And you will need tissues :) � Julie Meader. 2000
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