15 May 2019
MAN OF LA MANCHA
So… The critics all over town have been giving it 2 stars out of 5. No argument there. As one of them said, for a musical that was last staged 50 years ago, we could’ve gone another 50 without.
The play is so boring, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Made me long for bubblegum. The actors are under-utilised. A few of them literally sit on the stage the whole show and be part of the set.
Kelsey Cramer can sing. Quite well, no doubt about it. But he doesn’t have the kind of operatic voice it takes to fill the Coliseum, even mic’d. “The impossible dream” was weak. Even the rendition from 10 feet out, let alone upstairs.
Speaking of operatic voices, Dulcinea is played by 2 actresses alternating: Danielle de Niese (famous operatic soprano) and Cassidy Janson (an actress of a few west end musicals). I paid to see the former, having looked it up in the schedule. We got the latter. Bitterly disappointed. Again, she is not half bad, but she just can’t belt it out on that scale.
Peter Policarpou as Pansa is an unlikely choice, but works well, so a pleasant surprise there. Didn’t even know he was in it 🙂
Cheapskate enjoyment value: -£5 (-£10 for the play, +£5 for the second seat, see below)
*Bonus*: Due to poor sales, top 2 tiers are closed. Watched first half in row B dress circle and second half in row B stalls. Prolly my only chance ever to sit there at the Coliseum.