Inclined to Opine

I have loved Amélie the movie and been obsessed with its soundtrack since the film came out 2 decades ago, so when I first heard that a musical version was in the pipeline, I was elated. However, when catching a teaser trailer online, my excitement came to a crashing halt: it wasn't Yann Tiersen's music! This last year, at the request of some of my students, I looked into the musical again and ended up working on one of the show's duets; I was perhaps not in love with it (yet) but I had gotten over the shock and started enjoying the material. All of this to say that, by the time I walked into the Criterion Theatre in July to watch Amélie live, I had already ran through the whole gamut of emotions! As mentioned in previous reviews, I am always wary of adaptations, perhaps because what I consider essential to ensuring they are successful is often overlooked. While keeping the story and characters is of course a must, the most important aspect to capture is the feel of the ori...

As I enjoy doing, I came to Be More Chill utterly in the dark; other than having read the brief synopsis on the ticket website, I knew nothing of the musical beforehand. In stark contrast to Anything Goes, which I had watched the night before, I was one of the older members of the audience and clearly one of the few who had no idea what I was about to watch. It felt like being on the outside of a cult phenomenon. The premise of the musical is both interesting and original, if yet another iteration of the well-worn story of discovery that being yourself is what you need. I have to say, something about the musical brought out the crotchety old lady I’m sure I will end up becoming, and I found myself wondering why I should be interested in yet another retelling of teenage angst trying to be popular in school. Be More Chill felt like it was trying to do what Heathers the Musical does but missed the memo on what makes the latter great. Heathers works because of its catchy music paired with ...

I have long been a sucker for the swing era songs, growing up on Berlin, Porter, et all. But this was my first time actually hearing them in context and watching a non-Gershwin full musical of that time. I’ll start by saying that, while highly enjoyable, this won’t become a favourite I return to repeatedly. Unsurprisingly, the plot is full of shenanigans and confusions, a heritage that clearly harks all the way back to  opera buffa . And the characters are almost stereotypes, no real depth to any; all to be expected. So if this is your cup of tea, then Anything Goes will be nothing short of a delight. However, though the material may not have always managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, not so the production. Rarely have I seen such quality across the board: the sets, costumes, transitions, all top-notch and gorgeous. For once, I found the sound balance to be just right: I could hear the singers perfectly without the band being compromised at all, and everything at a volume th...