Chit-chat and Tea with Jeff Parry at the JukeBox Hero – The Musical press call

May 16th, 2018.

Ginger in the Theatre were very honoured to be invited along to the press call for the new Musical ‘Jukebox Hero’. Out first ever event like this and it was such an exciting experience!

When I tell you what the show is based on, I am pretty sure that most of you will draw a blank (especially those my age) BUT you will know the vast majority of the songs! This musical is based on the hits from Foreigner which span the past 40 years. They are on par with Journey, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles yet Foreigner isn’t recognised on their name alone. The creative team have the mission of changing this.

This launch coincides with Foreigners’ 40th anniversary tour and what better in celebrating such a mile stone than with a show to keep this legacy going. 

Jukebox Hero has already seen unprecedented success in ticket sales well before the show even had a cast or went into rehearsals. 

It has been revealed that the story in place to accompany the music will be a a coming of age story. When I heard this I was a little hesitant as this is something we see very often. I actually sat down with producer, Jeff Parry, to discuss this concern, I will include that part later on and some of the other questions I got to ask him! 

I must admit when I saw that the writers were Dick Clement and Ian La Fanais, some of these concerns faded. This pair have been the greats behind the successes Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, The Bank Job and a rockumentary entitled ‘To Russia with Elton’. So many of their creations have received a wide array of awards. From their successful career, I feel this story will be different to the other run of the mill coming of age pieces. I’m also really hoping the comedy timings from Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen Pet will transpire on stage! 

Jukebox Hero – The Musical is set in a fictional, one industry town in Pennsylvania where suddenly this industry closes and everyone is out of work. Prior to this, Ryan left to become a star. The town’s one hope is getting Ryan back to hold a concert to not only raise money but to also lift the spirits of the town.

The show starts its rehearsal process in July and is set to open in Calgary in August. 

After the brief conference panel which provided us with more understanding of the show and some unique insights in the initial birth, we got to sit down and chat to Jeff Parry. It was such a great opportunity. Here’s a couple of points we chatted about:

With Jukebox Hero – the musical, I was wondering how you feel it would be received by the younger audience in London when it eventually arrives over here? 

That’s a really good question. We were told that this music might not work here at all, which is why we started in North America. Now we are finding out from Royal Albert Hall etc, that it actually means a lot and a younger audience, I mean, at least at home they’ll listen to classic rock all the time. I think great songs permeate through. We were involved with a lot of classic rock type things like The Beatles, if you can call that classic rock, but great songs are great songs. I think kids listen to what they wanna listen to. I listened to Beethoven and Mozart. Great music will always stand up. Initially, it probably won’t be their thing but I think this is the kind of show where a 12-year-old can go with their mother or grandmother and everyone is going to get something out of it. There’s enough hard rock songs as well as ballads that I think it is something that everyone can enjoy, quite frankly. And the music is great music.

There has been a lot of these types of musicals around recently and the biggest criticism is the storyline. How do you think this storyline is different to the others and will actually work well with the music?

Well, you know, it’s not Shakespeare or whatever. We are not reinventing the wheel here but its a fun story. I think that people want to go for escapism so to speak. The story is a fun story like a lot of them and it will probably get criticised for just being that, it’s not Les Mis. It’s a condiment for the music and I think that it will hold up. But once again it is a fun story. The neat thing about it is, ironically, is that it’s a town going through trouble and is saved by rock ’n’ roll in a sense. The irony is that Alberta in Canada, is oil country and we are going through depressions right now. There’s 30% vacancy rate down town. There is a certain irony to what we are doing and how we are doing it. Once of the thing is Alberta is that they are trying to diversify the economy and starting up a musical in Alberta kinda goes along with that. I like the resemblance of the storyline and how it kinda fits with where we are starting it. It’s ironic because it was never an intention. 

It’s incredible. Like you said during the conference panel, when you mention Foreigner, not a lot of people say they’ve heard of them. But everyone knows the songs. My reaction to the vast majority of the songs that I’ve listened to was, “Hey, I know that! My mum’s played that in the car”. My real question is, how do you think you will be able to win the UK audience over to buy tickets? 

Well thats the irony. We have already sold tickets to something that we haven’t even produced. We have over $300,000 worth of tickets sold in Canada for a show that hasn’t even been created yet so that tells you something because they are already buying tickets for something which they don’t really now what it is yet. There’s a certain brand to Foreigner which seems to sell. But actually I think you have just stated the magic which is that people go to the theatre when people want familiarity, right? They don’t want to sit through songs that they don’t know. So, I think, like you just said, that people will go there and discover Foreigner even though they already know it. There will be a familiarity there that when you put it all together in one context, I think it’s really got a shot because we’re not introducing new songs. But like you said there will also be surprise, ‘Oh, that’s them?’. I’ve heard people saying ‘I thought that was Journey’, ‘I thought that was Styx’ or something like that. They know the songs but they don’t know it is their song. That will be the magic. I always use the example of Mamma Mia. I’m not an ABBA fan. I went to that show kicking and screaming but I went and I loved it. It was fun and I knew every song, whether I wanted to admit it or not. It made you feel comfortable. 

You’ve mentioned fun a lot, obviously the writers have worked with a lot of comedy scripts previously. Is there fun in the show?

Oh, yeah. They won’t do it unless there is. It’s just the way they do things. It’s gonna be fun. It will definitely be fun. 

I honestly look forward to seeing where this show goes and how it will be received once opened to the audience in August. All the best, guys! 

For more information of JukeBox Hero – The Musical check out their website: http://jukeboxheromusical.com You can even sign up to their mailing list on there so you never miss the latest updates on the show. 

And if any of this has sparked interest (or you need a little more persuading) here’s a link for the initial trailer. I do highly recommend you watch it as it’ll help you link the songs you most certainly know to the band! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRiVjOu-WHw

The Secret Letters of Gertie and Hen – REVIEW

The Secret Letters of Gertie and Hen

New Wimbledon Studios, London

 

Seen April 7th, 2018

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★

A very sweet yet harrowing tale of two ten year old girls. Two ten year old girls , very similar but worlds apart. All due to their country of origin. After years of friendship and hundreds of letters back and forth they are soon to learn this must cease. They are now considered enemies but association. World War 2 has broken out.

‘The Secret Letters of Gertie and Hen’ has finished workshopping and held two private previews ahead of their launch and short run in November 2018 at the New Wimbledon Studios.

If I am completely honest, the first act was enjoyable. I wouldn’t say that it completely wowed me but I do believe there is definitely potential. It is a rather unique story. A story which I actually really like. It is not one we hear very often. We finally get to hear from the female’s point of view. Those who were left behind. So frequently we only get to hear the male take on events. With the character list being rather extensive you do get to see a lot of other view points too.

It is also nice having such a range of topics covered in one play. It covers love, politics, loss and friendship to name a few. Yet despite the amount of topics covered it doesn’t feel crowded. There were a few scene which I felt didn’t add or detract from the story and actually dragged out the first act a little. Apart from this the other scenes were still really engaging. I was not expecting the drastic turn of events at the end of act 1. That is definitely something which I feel will bring the audience back after the interval. I personally was gutted I couldn’t stay to see act 2 and now have to wait until November to see the full thing! Once the ‘drastic change’ started it was easy to predict what would happen next. I just hope the rest of the show isn’t like that.

Script wise, it was very strong. I felt a few of the intense scenes seemed to escalate very quickly with no between group. One minute the character are just talking and the next an argument is taking place. There was no development on that showing the lead up to the that. I think in a few cases the script wasn’t the issue, it was more the direction given.

Seeing as the show will continue at the same venue in November, I feel that it is important to comment of the set up and direction. I really liked the fact that levels were used. It was nice to have each family in their own performance space. Very rarely they overlapped. It was a rather small cast considering the amount of characters and it was handled well. In November it would be nice to see a slightly larger cast so that the roles aren’t doubled up. But I can’t fault how it was handled in these previews.

It was a nice touch not having a restricted performance space and various routes were used to enter and exit the stage.

I personally felt that the scene changes were very brief. At some points it didn’t feel like there was any pause. It just went from one scene straight into the other. As an audience  member I don’t feel like in those moments I had a chance to process the previous scene.

I honestly do look forward to seeing this in full come November. It definitely does have potential. A unique take on events which I believe will draw the audience in. With a little tweaking and polishing, this could be great!

Be sure to follow The Key Theatre Company on twitter for more information on their upcoming dates.

 

Myth – REVIEW

Myth

The Other Palace, London

 

Seen on March 16th, 2018

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★★

Okay, so this will have two parts. Two separate posts. One being a review of the most recent production at The Other Palace and the other being comments on the development. I managed to see the show back in 2016 at the Cockpit theatre when it was ’27’. I loved the show back then and still do today.

I will try my hardest to make this review as if it was my first encounter with the show.

This was a workshop run at The Other Palace.

For those not aware of this story, it is heavily based on Ancient Greek mythology. More specifically Orpheus and his encounter with the underworld. As the rock score would imply it is a modern rendition of this historical tale.

This is most definitely a darker show in comparison to those in London currently. It touches on the very difficult topic of mental health. It perfectly represents how mental health is overlooked and how when it is identified, all attention goes to that one person drawing focus away from those also suffering. This is something that occurs so often.

Orpheus is the lead character struggling with a huge life change, being propelled to stardom. The audience are shown his ways of coping which are detrimental to his life, health, friends and family. An even darker turn is that all of this had been decided before hand. The fates knew exactly what they were doing.

The vocals were outstanding. Oh my goodness. That cast is so talented. The harmonies and power. They tore the roof off the theatre. Some standouts were definitely Eloise Davies (Clotho, a fate), Jodie Jacobs (Atropos, another fate), Joel Harper-Jackson (Orpheus) and Zoe Birkett (Miss. M) That’s not to say the rest of the cast weren’t on fire because they most certainly were. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a cast of that standard. Not a single weak link.

Although I really enjoyed the show there were a few things which I noted which could’ve been improved and with it being a workshop feedback is needed to develop it into the wonderful show it could be. I believe there is a lot of improvement to be had with the script. As previously stated, the whole concept of the show is very unique. I just felt parts of the script fell flat. One particular scene was about halfway through act 1 when Orpheus meets Hades in the underworld. That scene was very dragged out and I even found myself losing interest and willing the next number to come along.

I really struggled with the names. I know that they are all Ancient Greek mythology related which is very in keeping. I just really struggled remembering them and therefore making connections with the characters. Obviously having such an emotional show I feel it should be important to put memorable names to faces. I had no issues with some names such as Mel, Miss. M, Pandora, Orpheus (obviously!) and Hades. The main characters. But if you were to ask me what the other minor characters were called, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

One thing I like about The Other Palace is that the performance is not restricted to the stage. Throughout the show the stairs were uses (not too great if your back was facing said stairs) and characters actually sat in spare seats in the audience. There was a chat show scene where this worked so well.

Something which really got to me emotionally was the final number. The main stage was used but also the stairs of the theatre. One was a happy image and one was sad but you could choose which one you wanted to watch. I am not too sure why that blew my mind but it was a really nice touch. This also links to the chat show scene. It is nice to have the choice in what you watch although the whole story is still present. Easily missed behaviours and actions are noticed which add so much more to your understanding of the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Outstanding music with a great plot. I really need a cast recording ASAP!

I really do think that I have found my favourite new musical. The whole concept is incredible. I can really see it being mega when everything is where it needs to be. I am beyond excited to see how this show develops even further in the future and endeavour to be there every step of the way!

Part two of this post is linked here were you can see some of my thought on developmental changes which have been made since 2016.

From Numbers to Words: the development of ‘Myth’

I saw Myth back in 2016 at the Cockpit theatre under its previous name, ’27’. For those not aware of this story, it is heavily based on Ancient Greek mythology. More specifically, Orpheus and his encounter with the underworld. As the rock score would imply it is a modern rendition of this historical tale. Over the past two years it has gone back into development. Here, I will be making a note of the changes I notices and whether I personally feel that they were beneficial for the shows development.

–Keeping in line with my other posts, I shall be keeping this very honest.–

I do have to say this right off the bat before we go any further  – I don’t like the new name. It is so generic. My response to the name change was ‘myth, of what?’. 27 was much more catchy and more unique. It gave the insight as to what the show was about without revealing too much and was still enough to spark people’s curiosity. Having spoke to Sam Cassidy after the 2018 show, I still stand by my view. His reasoning behind the name change is valid however I feel it could have been executed in a better way. I don’t feel that Myth markets the show as it should do and is actually underselling it currently. If I hadn’t have previously seen 27 and I had stumbled across Myth’s page on The Other Palace’s website I would have been, “Okay, if I get around to seeing it, I’ll see it”, It wouldn’t have gone straight to the top of my theatre list.

When I saw the show back in 2016 the only real criticism I had was the script. It had a real amateur feel to it. Something which I would have expected to see from a GCSE candidate. I was very pleased to see that the 2018 production had had a lot of work done on it script wise. It seemed so much stronger. Back at the cockpit it wasn’t until act 2 that you actually realised the story whereas now it is made clear from the onset. The script seems a lot more engaging with quick little one-liners throughout. Those did make me chuckle. It was a nice touch having these as the show is very dark so it was almost a relief to be laughing at moments. There was one scene in act 1 where Orpheus meets Hades for the first time in the Underworld and for me that was the weakest part in the script. It seemed incredibly long winded for what was happening. I actually did lose interest and was willing for the next number to start because I knew how great the music was! But to only have this in one part of the show was a great step up.

Side note on the script – I adore the fact they kept the section on “hey, boy. What are you thinking about?”. My heart melted. “You, my favourite thing” Gone. Love it.

I really like the fact the ‘fates’ had more of a presents this time. It felt like they did anyway. It was great seeing a deeper characterisation of them. Atropos being the ‘mummy’ fate and keeping the other two in check and then jumping to the other extreme with Clotho who seemed to be the youngest with a purer heart.

I understand that this was a workshop production so the budget was very limited however I would definitely like to see more of a difference in the reality and the underworld. Just to make things a little clearer on the audience’s side. Same goes with the character appearances. I loved the way the ensemble were predominately in black but I did think Orpheus and the other band members didn’t have a real rock look. They could have easily passed for a mediocre pop group (which, I suppose, is what they are to start with!). I just wasn’t getting that rock star vibe especially from Orpheus.

This 2018 version had a lot of new songs added. Some I was able to catch and noted that they were the new ones but they all blended in so well. Went so naturally together. So much so, some I completely believed had already been in the show. Once again, the music is just incredible. It is always a positive when you come out of the theatre singing the songs. One of the new editions which actually closed the show was great! Definitely the anthem of the show. I mean, it was rather cliche. I really up beat, feel good song but it is a well justified remedy after a show touching on some depressing elements.

The characterisation of Hades definitely changed but I appreciate this will differ from actor to actor. Ryan Malloy gave it a more edgier feel whilst portraying the sinister side. After all, he is the devil! Whereas this time around it was more…annoying. It was the very typical *insert British accent* “proper British devil!”. You didn’t want to hate or like him, rather ignore him.

I know this post seems incredibly negative however I really do want the best for this show. I absolutely adore it and will continuously be raving about it. It has such great potential and I cannot wait to see it blossom into the next West End hit!

I did review the workshop production at The Other Palace is you are interested in reading that too!