๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐จ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ก๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ด๐๐ฑ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
Jewish Telegraph, March 2024
In the days before social media you would have to wait for theatre reviews to be printed in papers or just take a chance and see the performance without knowing anything about it.
But theatre groups on Facebook have been in meltdown these past few weeks as Opening Night, starring Sheridan Smith, had its previews.
And the word wasnโt good. There was talk of a confusing storyline, people walking out before and during the interval, and poor songs.
But previews are there for precisely this reason. Changes can be made, ready for the official opening.
It was reported that 20 minutes was taken out of this world premiere of Opening Night, which has a book by Ivo Van Hove and music and lyrics by Rufus Wainwright.
Nevertheless I was still worried about what to expect โ although also quite curious to see if it was really as bad as it had been made out to be.
But I enjoyed it. There are problems with it, but none that get in the way of enjoyment.
Iโm a big fan of Rufus Wainwright. His Want One album is one of my all-time favourites, but I was a little disappointed in some of the songs in Opening Night.
There are a few great one which I will be streaming once they are recorded, but I need to give many of the others a few more listens to see if they grow on me.
The musical is adapted from John Cassavetesโ film of the same name which follows a theatre companyโs preparations to stage a major new play on Broadway.
It focuses on Myrtle โ another excellent performance from Smith โ as she has a breakdown. She is badly affected when she sees superfan Nancy, played by Shira Haas, killed in front of her.
Nancy continues to haunt her โ allowing pixie-like Haas the opportunity to have fun with the role as she dances around the stage.
All the cast give their best, including Hadley Fraser, Nicola Hughes, Amy Lennox and Rebecca Thornhill.
The constant filming of the production with it being shown on screens on stage and in the audience is a bit distracting. Although there are some clever uses of it, including when drunken Myrtle is outside the theatre, stumbling around.
I hope people arenโt put off by social media posts as Opening Night is a brave piece of theatre. It may not have mainstream appeal, but there is plenty to delight in it.
It is pretty thought-provoking and shows once again, if proof was needed, that Sheridan Smith is one of the finest performers this country has produced.
