OhMyMika!! Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 awwww...!!! this is like soooo old! anywayz there goes the article: Cabaret – The Musical Millicent Fawcett Hall, 11th – 14th February 2002 Lyndsey Turner’s impressive production of Kander and Ebb’s musical, Cabaret, reached audiences at Millicent Fawcett Hall after a near five month rehearsal period and endless amounts of hype. Not only did tickets for three available performances sell out within an hour, but an additional performance was added to cater for the high demand. This too sold out extreme quickly. Expectations were therefore high for this production, which gives musical theatre a welcome return to Westminster. John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical, made famous by the 1972 film starring Liza Minnelli, follows the time spent by novelist Clifford Bradshaw in 1930s Berlin during the rise of Nazi regime. Through his frequentations of the Kit Kat Klub, a sleazy night spot, he meets singer/performer Sally Bowles with whom he develops a relationship, however during the piece, the tensions of the increasingly powerful Nazi forces become apparent. Beyond its memorable tunes and witty lyrics and Broadway-esque glitz, Cabaret is a serious piece of theatre which Lyndsey Turner’s production successfully manages to highlight, as well as providing us with spectacularly good entertainment. Throughout the evening it becomes apparent that Turner is clearly at ease with the big musical numbers, from the show-stopping “Willkommen” (which starts the show) to the wittily danced and choreographed “Don’t Tell Mama” . The inventive, sassy choreography is well danced out by Kit Kat Girls, Boys and Hostesses, and their energy right through never flails. The playing space is limited, but the crowd and club scenes look very impressive too, and John Larkey and Daniel Greenwald’s lighting effectively conjured up the dark sleaziness of the Kit Kat world. The big songs, which have emerged as classics in their own right, were delivered by the large cast with punch and clarity, even though the quality of the ensemble singing sometimes dithered. One of the main problems with Cabaret as a stage musical is Joe Masteroff’s clunky book, full of duff lines and malapropisms which must be just as hard to act as they are hard to hear. Masteroff’s book is also quite fragmented so that the audience and characters are jumped around from club to bedroom incoherently and with little effect other than to disjoint the production. This is not helped by dramatic scenes which sometimes occasionally lose pace through underpowered delivery and feel under polished. Otherwise however, the well cast principals perform well. Tamsin Omond as night club gal Sally Bowles brings tremendous presence to her scenes both as an entertainer but also as a very human, fragile character lost to herself in a world of singing, dancing and sex. Her strong belter voice is a strong driving force for her club numbers, whilst her rendition of the title song in which Sally breaks down is deeply moving. As her frustrated love interest, Jack Farthing is pleasantly voiced and convincing in his character, even if his relationship with Sally Bowles is never quite believable. The evening’s events are overseen by Mica Penniman’s kooky, eccentric Emcee. His lurking presence throughout is often amusing, but grows increasingly sinister as the evening comes to its climax. Strongly sung and wittily acted, Penniman’s performance seemed to delight and intrigue audiences nightly. Also impressive were Sarah Pett and Alex Bradford as an elderly couple who’s sweet, growing relationship is inevitably torn apart. Their singing was especially good, and their affection believably sweet. Hal Brindley as Nazi supporter Ernst Ludwig also provided a suitably stern and menacing performance whilst also being very well sung. “Come see the cabaret, old chum” sings Sally Bowles, and rumour has it that by the final performance, tickets were being forged so that some old chums could come see the Cabaret; not surprising for a musical which promises memorable songs, good dancing, entertainment and spectacle, and “minimalist” costumes. However this production, despite being an impressively executed song and dance, also tackled the issues which Masteroff only briefly skims, with a sinister, darker edge which was often unsettling and very powerful. This production helps, even if it does not fully convince us, understand why Cabaret has gone down as one of the greatest musicals of the last century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avoca Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 that was precious! thx so much for finding and posting! I'd have loved to see his performance.. thx again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backflip_76 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I think I've read that before, but thanks so much for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 oh i posted this months ago lol, but AWESOME, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 that was precious! thx so much for finding and posting! I'd have loved to see his performance.. thx again! looove the quote function, I'm disgustingly lazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessa Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Cool!But hmmm I think I've read it before but thanks for posting ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avoca Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 *rises eyebrow in disapproving look* tsk tsk tsk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piperita Patty Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Thanks for posting! I'd have loved to see his performance.. thx again! and yes, it would be great.... ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngievV Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Oh is there ANYTHING this man is not good at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Thanks for posting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backflip_76 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Oh is there ANYTHING this man is not good at? *shakes head* Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhMyMika!! Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 oh i posted this months ago lol, but AWESOME, no? wooops srry! i didnt check... i wish i could find any vids or pics of his performance that would be SUPER AWESOME imagine the 19 year old miCa on a cabaret musical...that would be too sexy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngievV Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 *shakes head* Nope. Daaaamn, we're doomed:mf_rosetinted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcmlcm Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 thanks!!! i can't believe i really miss this article.................... the audience is sooooooooo lucky! He is born for the stage:thumb_yello: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Lets face it, Mika could jump onstage dressed only in a potato sack and sing the contents of the phone directory, and still be the most entertaining performer there is today. He is a natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKateisaKate Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I love Kander and Ebb musicals. They're very witty, I could see Mika in one (I don't know much about Cabaret particularly, though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soon-to-bemrs.penniman Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Daaaamn, we're doomed:mf_rosetinted: and i like it:mf_rosetinted: (thanks for posting:biggrin2: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauruslady Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 ah, I would love to see that. I wish someone taped it with a video camera or something. lol He is so talented! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicoleta Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 (edited) 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN MGAZINE - Westminster School [Mika in "CABARET"] The evening’s events are overseen by Mica Penniman’s kooky, eccentric Emcee. His lurking presence throughout is often amusing, but grows increasingly sinister as the evening comes to its climax. Strongly sung and wittily acted, Penniman’s performance seemed to delight and intrigue audiences nightly. @mikadb/kumazzz/Eriko School album http://www.mediafire.com/?qq7eltyyamlyu15 http://intranet.westminster.org.uk/documents/elizabethan/magazine/2002/p57-82.pdf 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN Magazine - Westminster School - Mika at pg.08 and pg.12 http://www.iimmgg.com/gallery/g04eb7c80d0254e6f12462feb5a45ec3c/ Download this gallery as a zip-archive Edited May 29, 2011 by nicoleta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloise.shaw Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN MGAZINE - Westminster School [Mika in "CABARET"] The evening’s events are overseen by Mica Penniman’s kooky, eccentric Emcee. His lurking presence throughout is often amusing, but grows increasingly sinister as the evening comes to its climax. Strongly sung and wittily acted, Penniman’s performance seemed to delight and intrigue audiences nightly. @mikadb/kumazzz/Eriko School album http://www.mediafire.com/?qq7eltyyamlyu15 http://intranet.westminster.org.uk/documents/elizabethan/magazine/2002/p57-82.pdf 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN Magazine - Westminster School - Mika at pg.08 and pg.12 http://www.iimmgg.com/gallery/g04eb7c80d0254e6f12462feb5a45ec3c/ Download this gallery as a zip-archive TNP So. Mika is good at acting is he? That is not surprising. I'd love to see him act some more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucrezia Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN MGAZINE - Westminster School [Mika in "CABARET"] The evening’s events are overseen by Mica Penniman’s kooky, eccentric Emcee. His lurking presence throughout is often amusing, but grows increasingly sinister as the evening comes to its climax. Strongly sung and wittily acted, Penniman’s performance seemed to delight and intrigue audiences nightly. @mikadb/kumazzz/Eriko School album http://www.mediafire.com/?qq7eltyyamlyu15 http://intranet.westminster.org.uk/documents/elizabethan/magazine/2002/p57-82.pdf 2002 - THE ELIZABETHAN Magazine - Westminster School - Mika at pg.08 and pg.12 http://www.iimmgg.com/gallery/g04eb7c80d0254e6f12462feb5a45ec3c/ Download this gallery as a zip-archive Thanks very much!!! Mika was my same age (19) in those pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy_girl_mika96 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 TNP So. Mika is good at acting is he? That is not surprising. I'd love to see him act some more +1... Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwurtie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Cooolll.... thanks for posting! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I never knew about this! But even as a youngster he was showing people what he can do! Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisam Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I wish there were more articles/pics about his earlier life. He was already so talented back then. It would be interesting to hear more about his plays etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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