Reviews of "Ballets Russes", the UK premiere of David Reiser's new musical

Perhaps the strangest and most small-scale tribute to the Ballets Russes centenary has been David Reiser’s pocket show, staged in London’s tiny pub theatre, The Rosemary Branch. Size is not, however, everything, as director Vik Sivalingam’s cast of eight tell the story with gusto of Nijinsky’s time with Diaghilev’s company. Yes, Reiser does play loose with the historical facts (prima ballerina Matilde Tchessinska [sic] danced only one season with the company), and it does, admittedly, take a little time to adjust to the idea of a singing Nijinsky and a dancing Diaghilev, but there is much to commend in this little piece. Reiser is at his best when his tongue is firmly in his cheek – the vaudeville number for Tchessinska “When you’re intimate with the Czar” and the latino-rhythmed “We’re off to Buenos Aires” (for the company’s South American tour) are pure enjoyment; when he ventures into love songs à la Disney, it is all a little more shaky. If there is one major fault, it is that Nijinsky and his oddness only come to the fore in the second half, leading to a genuinely affecting break with Diaghilev. With the minimum of props, the all-dancing, all-singing cast launch into the work with total commitment, the laurels going to Frank Loman’s measured Diaghilev whose loss of Nijinsky to the scheming Romola was keenly conveyed – he has a terrific singing voice to boot. Rapidly paced, with nothing outstaying its welcome, Ballets Russes, the Musical has secured not a little degree of success and deserves a further outing, with some work done to it and opened out somewhat. – G. Dwyer for The Dancing Times

Diaghilev's Ballets Russes employed the music of great composers and showed the work of the greatest dancers and most exciting stage designers of the time so it takes a lot of chutzpah to make a musical about them and that is something that this company and creative team aren't short of and with a little indulgence from the audience, they largely pull it off. This isn't a musical history of the ballet company, though its fortunes from its creation until the First World War are the background to the plot. It concentrates on impresario Serge Diaghilev, dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and the relationship between them.  It is a story that echoes one of those fairytale ballets that led the Russian repertoire when Diaghilev began his company: a tale of love, jealousy and power with the pivotal influence of an interfering fairy. In the boy meets boy, boy meets girl, boy loses boy simplicity of the plot there is a classic format for a traditional musical, with the ballet company itself to provide a chorus. Bernard Myers' book cuts down the characters to the bare minimum and, though it and one of David Reiser's songs remind us of the continual financial problems that faced Diaghilev, it offers little more than a glimpse of the undercurrents in that talent packed company. What we do get is a series of romantic duets and emotion packed numbers that owe more to musical comedy convention than to the psychology of the real people being impersonated. Though bearing famous names these characters are acting out a fairytale version of the complexities of what actually happened. Those who wrote about them almost all took sides. Myers doesn't, though Frank Loman's Diaghilev sometimes does look demonic there are no villains here, not even Romola (Katrina Gibson) the Hungarian aristocrat who set her cap at Nijinsky, unless you want to see Blake Askew's Baron Gunzburg as a kind of Carabosse. Director-choreographer Vik Sivalingam wisely does not try to emulate Diaghilev's choreographers, though there is some tongue in cheek reference to Nijinsky's two dimensional classical frieze images and angular port de bras in the dances he invents to suggest the first nights ofL'Apres Midi d'un Faune and Rite of Spring. (Intriguingly, though there is dialogue reference to his masturbating faun the image chosen is the cleaned up version with the scarf wrapped round his angled arms.)These are musical theatre performers, not classical ballet dancers, and though they do pose and pirouette to suggest being in class or rehearsal there is wisely no attempt to pretend they are. James Muller can sing touchingly but he is not a dancer capable of the leaps and elevation that made Nijinsky's reputation. It would be a very lucky actor who had the charisma and sexual attraction with which Nijinsky himself seems to have been endowed on stage but it would help to see Muller's eyes more often share the emotion that is evident in his duets with beautifully sung Diaghilev. On the first night some voices were not yet matched to the size of the venue and Romola was a little too insistently shrill even for her but this is a very hardworking team who give the show plenty of vitality and that carries it along. Rachel Wingate's design consists of some swirls of red cloth on the rear wall of a black box with only couple of gold painted chairs draped with a red bordered black cloth apart from the grand piano at which musical director Katy Lipson plays splendidly throughout. In an intriguing directorial touch each character is introduced on their first entrance by taking an item of costume off the wall, a dimming of the lights and then an entrance as the lights come up again. This stylization helps to set the simplicity and theatricality of the production placing the emphasis on the performers and the tuneful music. Reiser has the knack of writing new music that sounds already familiar without being excessively derivative whether warmly romantic or making clever commentary. This is an unpretentious pocket musical that on its own terms works. -  Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide 

With the jukebox musical here to stay it's heartening to know that original musicals are still being nurtured, in this case by the theatre initiative, A Stage Kindly. A tale of tantrums and tiaras, Ballet Russes centres around the world-famous Russian ballet company whose ranks were filled by, among others, the legendary dancer Nijinsky and radical composer Stravinsky. And with a bunch of big nameskys like that working under one roof, things were never going to run smoothly, especially for the precocious Nijinsky (James Muller) who through the course of the show undergoes a journey from young, gay dancer to straight married genius. As Nijinsky, Muller is enigmatic as he falls in love with ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev (Frank Loman). However, the same can't be said for the prima ballerinas around him, who hunger for nothing but applause (and the occasional glass of red wine). Part Showgirls in pointe shoes, part gossipy glimpse into a legendary part of ballet's history, Ballet Russes is at once over the top and, during scenes about Nijinsky's marriage, genuinely moving. However, putting on a big show in a small theatre presents its challenges: Ballet Russes may have benefited from a larger space; at times show-stopping notes and the company's theatrical strops are almost too large a burden for the small auditorium. Still, this original production, which melds ballet and musical theatre with artistic legend, is certainly not short on ambition. - Joseph for Boyz Magazine 

Reviews of "Bravo", a new-writing revue

 Is it really worth going to watch a show called 'Bravo', which promises to deliver a musical medley of numerous past and future musical scores with a sprained ankle? Yes, my fellow readers, I genuinely did have a sprained ankle, while I sat there in a somewhat sophisticated and jazzy atmosphere in an Italian restaurant. The answer is absolutely, it was worth every slow and sometimes painful step because the performances were so outstanding. Although all the performers on the night were stunning, despite the fact they had no props or costumes to help them deliver the song as the character in the musical, Arabella Rodrigo definitely stole the show. 'I Can Sing' from 'Tales of Tinseltown' and 'Now That He Is Gone' from 'All About Love', showed off the versatility in her singing. Having said that, it is very difficult to favour one singer's performance over another because each singer bought their own quality to the performance. It was not just a routine cabaret night, but it essentially was a small window into the soul of musicals consisting of great voices and acting skills, without a setting.  Another striking point in the show, was when Giles Howe sang 'Lost For Words', which is sung by a female in the upcoming show 'Soviet Zion' and when Charlotte Donald sang 'It's Up To Me', which is sung by a male in 'Prince And The Pauper'. I cannot be sure why they decided to do this, but it does mean that if the singing is of high quality, conviction and literally blows you away, then the audience will not care for any thing else. A great show and a great night. My ankle was very thankful. - Fozia Noreen for Remotegoat

Bravo, presented by new musicals initiative A Stage Kindly, is a cabaret-style evening showcasing new musicals from writers around the world. Held in the basement of Freedom Bar Soho, this intimate space is well suited to an evening of musical treats. The four main singers - Charlotte Donald, Arabella Rodrigo, Adam Bayjou, and Frank Loman - generally do justice to a range of songs which covered everything from cyborgs, to prostitutes and even chiropractors. Singing without context and without the help of props, costumes or context, all the performers do well to fill their songs with character and emotion. I particularly enjoyed the naughtiness of Charlotte Donald singing "It's Not Like I Thought It Would Be" and the real emotion in "I'm Not in Love With Her" sung by Frank Loman. The group songs are also well-balanced, the pick being "Still Human Where It Counts", from musical-in-development Rock Heaven. Arabella Rodrigo's vocal range is impressive, especially in the show's opening number - aptly named "I Can Sing" - while Adam Bayjou plays timid and strong with equal skill. Only a few tweaks would improve the evening greatly. While the show is well-paced and covers a huge number of songs it would benefit from a little more information on each new musical, even if only provided in the programme. Also, while it's a nice gesture to have all the singers on stage, at times this breeds palpable disengagement among the inactive performers. All in all however Bravo constitutes an enjoyable evening and Katy Lipson and Giles Howe, the founders of this initiative, should be congratulated for providing new international writers an opportunity to have their music heard. - Laura Norman, WhatsOnStage

Reviews of "Soviet Zion", showcase of a new musical

There's something quite brave and endearing about Katy Lipson and Giles Howe's musical partnership. Firstly, it is the way they're communicating their passion for Classical Music, and Musical Theatre altogether with their strong connection to their Jewish culture: very old-fashioned, very composed, very authentic. Secondly, there seems to be a tendency, within their pieces, to manipulate creative conventions, deliberately, unapologetically, quietly. 'Soviet Zion', the latest fruit of their collaboration, is therefore no exception. Showcased at the cosy Rosemary Branch Theatre for one night only as part of their Branch Out season, 'Soviet Zion' is branded by its writers/composers as a new musical in the making. In progress it certainly was; a musical, not at all. Instead, Lipson and Howe presented with 4 of the project's cast members a very well performed recital of songs unveiling an unknown historical fact about Stalin's plans to set aside the Birobidzhan region for Jewish settlement in the 1920's. Through the lives of various families, their experiences of moving to the closer Promised Land, we get re-acquainted with universal themes of migration, displacement as well as being introduced to those of Jewish identity and the relations between Soviets and Russian Jews. Courtesy of its fascinating subject, the recital gave a clear indication of Soviet Zion's fair chances to grow into a good piece. - From a review by Alex Maluga for Remote Goat.

My dear friends ... I have heard your music from your opera and found it both unusual and lovely, of which I too have been accused! Thank you for sharing this with me and I will look forward to hearing more from you in your future projects. My best wishes to all of you. - Yma Sumac, Internationally acclaimed Peruvian exotica coloratura soprano, regarding Turkish Delight the Opera.

Reviews of "Encore", a new-writing revue

A showcase original material from New International Musicals, as well as the producers cleverly including their own material in the line-up. The songs that stood out for me were 'How Do You Make Magic', 'Be There' and 'A Revelation', all sung by Scott Armstrong, who trained at The Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. He uses his distinct, beautiful tones in 'How Do You Make Magic' and is clearly in control whilst on stage, effortlessly switching between his head and chest voice. Teresa De Gennero, who was chosen to duet with Scott Armstrong in 'Marry Me' and 'A Tenor,A Soprano', reminded me of a young Bette Midler with her stage presence, comic timing and strong voice. Both her and Scott in 'A Tenor, A Soprano' showed off their musical capabilities. And quite rightly so too! I felt the depth of feeling within the pools of Lewis Greenslade's eyes with each song that he sang, taking the audience on an emotional journey. Another of my favourites was 'Upon The Table' sung by Elise Bowd, who is clearly comfortable in making the stage her own; acting easily through the song - case in point: 'My Chiropractor's Hands', showing us her sexier side. My favourite of Nicola Henderson's songs was 'The Neon Lights' from 'Mind The Gap' written by Giles Howe, in which she sounded not unlike Liza Minelli! The chemistry could be felt between long-term friends Katy Lipson and Giles Howe in 'Every Rose', a haunting number also written by Giles. In 'Stars In My Eyes', the finale, all the voices came together - allowing every facet of each of their voices to shine through. As they sang the words ''Where can you go?'', I thought to myself 'Where can this company go?'… With the cult following they are gathering, far, I believe! - UK TheatreNet