-- Posted by mmebahorel on 5:57 am on April 27, 2002 I want everyone to keep in mind that these comments are based on the first performance (Monday night), that I have not seen it again since then, and that if I did not like a person's performance, the comments here are the result of agonising for days over how to phrase (and at one point, how to define) what I found wrong.  It's all just my opinion, and I'm desperately trying not to bash any of the actors.  If you're offended, I'm truly sorry. First, a warning:  if you are a fan of Mark Umbers, Nicholas Le Prevost, and/or Jonathan Pryce, you may be very disappointed. The new principles seem to be playing Pygmalion rather than My Fair Lady.  Over all, the characters are far more proper, stiff, and uptight.  This may be because they are new, but I find Peter Prentice in particular to be cringeworthy.  It's a case of what works for Mark doesn't necessarily work for everyone else. We'll start with Alex Jennings.  I love the man.  He feels more like Shaw's Higgins and he doesn't go over the top the way Pryce did.  I'd kill to see Jennings with Le Prevost -- those two would be a very interesting team.  Jennings has problems with the singing -- I miss Jonathan most on the songs.  I never thought it would be possible to say this, but Jennings isn't up to the role vocally.  He hit several notes flat (I think -- they were out of tune, whatever they were, at least to my very bad ear), but this is perhaps something he is working on.  Most annoying is that he sings too much.   But that's just my opinion -- I prefer that certain song lead ins be spoken, not sung, such as "Look at her", then sing "a prisoner of the gutters".  It's just personal here.  Something that may get on people's nerves is his habit of pulling into falsetto randomly in his spoken lines.  He'll be going along just fine and all of a sudden he sounds like a refugee from a bad production of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.  And in spite of all that, I really like him.  I like his facial expressions, and the emphasis he puts on his lines, and just overall the character he creates.  The difference between Jennings and Pryce is like the difference between Frasier and Niles Crane.  Bear with me here.  Frasier appears far more pompous than Niles -- Niles has the funny, slapsticky bits.  You can like both, but you don't expect the one to be the other. Malcolm Sinclair is just far too stiff to make the dialogue work as Pickering.  The dialogue is innately funny (�Incidently, they weren�t playing Aida . . .�).  Lines such as that, however, fall completely flat.  Sinclair is a much more military gentleman than le Prevost was, but it doesn�t work with the script.  And of course the dress scene has been completely killed off.  The attempt is so blah that it could be cut altogether and no one would notice.  Towards the end, the script is better suited to him � �Well, I�m dashed� does work quite well, and the conversation with �Boosie� is amusing because Sinclair *isn�t* as over the top as le Prevost was.  But the script, with Pick�s tangents, calls for more of a bumbling type, and Sinclair just doesn�t cut it. Dilys Laye is a much more stiff Mrs Pearce, which works quite well.  You can actually see her walloping someone with a broomstick � it isn�t quite the idle and amusing threat that it was with Patsy Rowlands.  The difficulty, however, is her voice.  It�s so rough.  As if she has a smoker�s cough and has just come down with a head cold.  It is really that throaty and it honestly sounds painful.  But her character is excellent.  Her liking for Eliza comes on slowly and predominantly remains hidden.  However, when they leave for the ball, you see her crossing her fingers, and when the boys leave her alone, having gone to look for Eliza, she breaks down and has a little cry.   It�s very well done. I wish I could say the same for Peter Prentice.  He�s playing Pygmalion, and that isn�t a good thing.  Freddy in the play is detestable � it isn�t that I like Freddy in the musical, but the boy can�t be odious if one is to truly like �The Street Where You Live�.  But Prentice makes me cringe.  He absolutely lacks charm.  While perhaps textually correct � I�m more apt to believe that this one �couldn�t get a job as an errand boy even if he had the guts to try for it� than I could with Mark Umbers � it is hardly a pleasant thing to watch.  His voice is fine � I hate to say it, but if he would quit acting, I would find him tolerable.  The problem is simple:  whoever decided that whatever Mark can do, anyone can do, was quite simply wrong.  Mark�s fumbling had an innate charm to it that can�t be recaptured except by someone with his stage presence.  You couldn�t lose Mark on stagge no matter how hard you tried, and that meant Eliza would have noticed him beyond just his attention to her.  His �sniggering� at her was cute because the rest of his behaviour was.  But with Prentice, it feels as if it is all fawning and it makes my skin crawl at times.  It doesn�t feel natural, for one thing, and for another, it puts me in mind of John Hinckley or someone equally freaky.  I�m dead serious.  Prentice is not amusing in the blocking and character that worked so well for Mark Umbers.  He might be tolerable in a different production.  Freddy has to be somewhat likeable or else the audience will be freaked out by the fact that he was, in fact, stalking her.  And unfortunately, that�s what it feels like with Prentice.  The actions that made Mark a loveable buffoon are completely out of place for Peter.  What he needs to be successful is to be allowed to be more of a Jeremy Brett type. The ensemble is up to the job and doing well, but I nearly cried during �A Little Bit of Luck�.  It was not a good time for me to learn that Valerie Cutko was the best part of the section inside the pub � I had thought it was brilliant direction, but apparently it was all Valerie.  I sincerely hope she was noticed by more people than just me � the battered wife who, in a daze, tried to use the dregs of customers� glasses to drink herself into oblivion, only to get fed up with the work and start slapping the table with her washrag.  Her replacement (Kate Dyson?) is the complete opposite:  a genial tippler who is chastised by her husband (I am glad Mark Frendo stayed) for drinking instead of washing up.  The hard edge in the details has been lost.  I also miss Simon Coulthard � he was so cute!  (the one with the crush on Eliza)  Not that there is anything wrong with Michael Cotton, but I really liked Simon � something about those big eyes.  Michael is more generically handsome, and it just doesn�t make the same picture, that�s all I�m saying. The rough spots in the cast may just need more time to be smoothed out � a first performance isn�t always the most fair judge of characterisation, after all, and I hope that Peter Prentice, in particular, will get better with time.  I do like Alex Jennings very much, and that will be enough to pull me back to the theatre a few more times in the next couple months. -- Posted by Kathryn on 6:41 pm on April 27, 2002 Thanks, mmebahorel, for your very detailed crit of the new cast. I've been waiting with bated breath to hear how it went! It's really difficult for a new cast to step into established roles and make them their own, I hope that those you criticised will manage to do so, in time. I thought Jonathan Pryce, Nicholas Le Prevost and Mark Umbers were just perfect so I'll savour the memories of their wonderful performances for a bit longer before going to see the new cast. You don't mention Joanna - I hope her Eliza was up to its usual standard. I noticed Valerie Cutko on all the occasions I went to see the show. It was a marvellous cameo, totally convincing, funny but also very poignant. I love the way she slowly slid into complete drunken oblivion in "I'm getting married in the morning" . I tended to wach her rather than Dennis Waterman whose interpretation of Doolittle I didn't really like. -- Posted by mmebahorel on 7:44 pm on April 27, 2002 All the carryovers were up to their usual standards -- Jo is so adorable as Eliza :) Oh, Caroline Blakiston is staying, but the understudy (and at this point, I'm confused, because it should be Kate Dyson, but I don't think that was the name they said, and it definitely *wasn't* Jill Martin because my heart sank at the announcement -- I love Jill Martin) was on.  Whoever it was seemed rather shrill, and I wasn't overly fond of her, but she wasn't damaging, either.  I didn't catch it in time to write it down, unfortunately. Jill Martin is excellent as Mrs Higgins, btw.  Anyone who sees her is very lucky. -- Posted by Jo C on 10:35 am on April 28, 2002 Mmebahorel, I whole-heartedly agree with your posting about the new cast. I was at the show on Friday night, and am sorry to say that I didn't come away feeling very happy. First of all, I saw Jill Martin play Mrs Higgins three times, and I think she's fantastic in the role. My heart sank too when I heard she wasn't going to be doing the role on Friday. Yes I noticed Valerie too. I always thought that touch was absolutely inspired. I often found myself watching her rather than the action, which has to be a compliment to her, because there's so much going on. It just looks so good, such a wonderful contrast. I really noticed that it was gone and it saddened me somewhat. I nearly cried with joy though when I saw that Terry Kelly and John Stacey have stayed with the cast. I so love their interplay with Doolittle. I'm glad they are still there. Unfortunately for me, I am a big fan of Mark Umbers, Nick and Jonathan and you're right-I was disappointed. I won't go into detail because you basically covered everything I was thinking. I too, don't wish to offend anyone and I'm keeping in mind that I caught the new cast on their sixth show so they're only just beginning to grow into their characters. There were times though, that I couldn't watch Malcolm Sinclair and Peter Prentice. You're utterly right, they seem to have gone for a much more Shavian angle on their characters which I don't think works. Thank goodness for Jo Riding, she was my saving grace throughout the whole show. She's so funny, and yes, adorable is the word! I too miss Jonathan on the songs. However I think Alex will grow into this part, just as Jonathan grew into it all those months ago. I noticed that a few lovely touches in Jennings' performance which I hope he works on. But anyway, only time will tell. Thanks mmebahorel for what you said. Like you, I don't want to bash any of the actors and this is only my opinion. Plus I'd grown so used to the old cast after seeing them so often and I'd come to be very comfortable with their performance. I will go back to see the show again, but I want to wait a while now. I'm not tripping over myself to see it anymore, because I'm going to give it time and let the actors grow into their roles. Anyone else seen the new cast yet? What did you think? -- Posted by dom ohanlon on 1:35 pm on May 16, 2002 I am going to see the show ith the new cast in a few weeks, and i cant wait! Thank you for the very detailed account of the new cast, i am sure they are just nervous, and get more and more confident each night. -- Posted by Judith on 9:53 am on May 18, 2002 I saw the new cast a couple of weeks ago and I thought they were very good. Maybe Dilys Laye's voice could be better and Malcolm Sinclair is no Nicholas Le Prevost, but apart from that I enjoyed the performances of all the new cast members. Alex Jennings was fantastic, considering how short a time he has played the role and, personally, I liked Peter Prentice's Freddy. Of the old cast, Joanna Riding is very polished now and Dennis Waterman gave a fine performance in trying circumstances for him - Chelsea was losing the Cup Final at the time. It's definitely still a show worth seeing. -- Posted by mmebahorel on 5:17 pm on May 18, 2002 For the record, I liked Dilys Laye.  Odd to listen to, but an excellent actress who suited the role.  I'm glad someone liked Peter Prentice.  I hope it was just a first week difficulty and interpretations have been expanded.  I am going back next month, once I'm done with exams, because I do love Alex so :)