Customer Reviews

The Woman in White (2004 Original London Cast)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

...but flawed, as most of Lloyd Webber's scores since "Sunset Boulevard" have been. Granted, every score, regardless of the composer, has its flaws, but I have noticed a trend with Lloyd Webber, starting with "Whistle Down the Wind," that continues here, where several strong songs are diminished by lesser ones and occasionally dull recitative dialogue sequences.

"The Woman in White" is in some ways the most complex and interesting score composed by Lloyd Webber since "Sunset Boulevard," which I found as thoroughly enjoyable as "The Phantom of the Opera" in many respects. Here, we have a dark setting, an air of mystery, quite a few intriguing characters and many opportunities for dramatic scoring and romantic performances, all of which add up to a generally winning end result. The opening sequence is memorably spooky, and the cast's vocals shine throughout, particularly on songs like "I Believe My Heart," "Evermore Without You," and my personal favorite, "All For Laura," which is absolutely electrifying.

There are many more good tunes in the score, as well as plenty of skillfully executed recitative dialogue, but there is also quite a bit of bland recitative (the kind where you can't really put your finger on any melody, a situation not helped by occasionally medicore lyrics) and less memorable songs.

Also, it's impossible not to notice that Lloyd Webber has (yet again) ripped off his own "Jeeves" score ("By Jeeves" to those who know its reincarnated version better) as well as "Whistle Down the Wind." Numerous times you can hear the original bridge section of "Half a Moment" from "Jeeves" (a.k.a. the introduction to "Half a Moment" in "By Jeeves"), a clear and direct lift. This is made worse by the fact that Lloyd Webber had already stolen it and used it as the bridge to "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from "Sunset Boulevard," and made even worse, yet again, by his turning around and stealing it back for a revised "Half a Moment" in "By Jeeves." In other words, this melody has been recycled twice too many times... time to dig up a new melody! You will also hear, several times, a musical passage from "Whistle Down the Wind" (it's the one near the climax of "Whistle" where Swallow sings to the pseudo-Jesus/escaped convict: "No one's ever looked at me... the way you're looking at me now..."). And I cannot put my finger on it (yet), but you can definitely hear one or two "inklings" of "Aspects of Love" in this score, although these instances are less obvious than the others.

Maria Friedman gives a stellar vocal performance on this recording (and given her rather excellent track record on the stage, might she soon inherit Elaine Paige's throne?), as do the other female principles. Michael Crawford is good as Count Fosco, but his role is not as juicy as it could have been and he seems to have far too little to do. The male villain and male romantic/hero lead handle their roles well.

In all, I very much like the score to "The Woman in White." It's not as satisfying as I had hoped, but considering the hit-or-miss nature of the scores to "Whistle Down the Wind" and "The Beautiful Game"--both strong scores I liked--where a few gorgeous songs were surrounded by somewhat lesser material, this seems like a step in the right direction.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals have never been popular with the critics, but as box office records show, audiences eat them up with a spoon. They are meant to serve as entertainment, and entertain they certainly do.

"The Woman in White" is not much different from standard Lloyd Webber fare, as the dialogue is still sung through and filled with melodies that repeat over and over and over again. While this might seem annoying, Lloyd Webber manages to get away with it because if there's one thing he can do, it is create pleasant tunes that you don't mind encountering more than once. There are not as many memorable melodies as you might find in "The Phantom of the Opera", but the "Woman in White" theme, "I Believe My Heart", and "You Can Get Away With Anything" are definitely standouts.

The plot is "freely adapted" from the novel by Wilkie Collins, and is very easy to follow. Though it's a touch simplistic and perhaps even a wee bit predictable, it is executed in such a way that it propells you on to see what the outcome will be.

The performances on the CD, recorded live on opening night, are perfect across the board. Michael Crawford, who originated the title role in "The Phantom of the Opera", is at his villainous best as Count Fosco, the obese Italian who pairs with the sinister Sir Percival Glyde (Oliver Darley). Marian and Laura, the half-sisters caught in the middle of the mystery (Marian Friedman, Jill Paice) are wonderful to listen to, and the eponymous Woman in White (Angela Christian, "Miss Dorothy" in the OBC of "Thoroughly Modern Millie) simply breaks your heart.

The musical is expected to make the leap from the West End to Broadway soon. Hopefully "The Phantom of the Opera" will continue to run for years, but if not then "The Woman in White" looks to be a worthy successor.

When in September 2001 Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical "The Beautiful Game" closed after only a year's run in the West End, people began to wonder has he completely lost his touch. The general opinion was that he needs to get back to the form he knows best: blockbuster productions interwoven with the lush and catchy tunes; a formula that proved magical for the most part of his long career and thus provided him with two of the longest musicals in the history of the theatre (i.e., "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera).

Hopes ran high when it was announced that his next project was going to be based on Wilkie Collins' famous novel "The Woman in White". This book was a smash hit after its first release in the 1860-is and its dark, gothic and mysterious story seemed a perfect challenge for a man who demonstrated he can successfully tackle similar subjects, as proven with the Phantom. The show opened in London in September 2004 and will have its American premiere in Chicago this year. Despite the fact the audiences are pouring into the London's Palace theatre to see it, this double CD recording of the show will not be totally satisfying for many ALW's faithful fans.

The CDs capture most of the show and this is actually the live recording from the opening night performance, with the audience's noises and applauses cut out. The problems of "The Woman in White" stem from several facts. First, there is the score. One cannot deny the fact there are some lovely melodies here: the haunting title's character leitmotiv; a powerful love duet `I believe my heart' (released as a separate pop single), the poignant `All for Laura; big ensemble numbers like `Lammestide' or playful `Lost souls' and a vivid comic number called `You can get away with everything. They are all decent, if not exquisite musical peaces with the familiar ALW signature. The problem is, there are too few of them to keep the whole score together. The rest follows the pattern from `Aspects of love' by setting the dialogue to music. This, in turn, means that there are only few real songs here and that makes things difficult for the plot, for one gets the feeling it is dragging on with a very slow pace. On the whole, the score is not altogether bad, but it does not hit the target and grabs only sporadically.

On the other hand, the story, set in 1860-is, does have some potential. Some things have been changed, but the basic plot of the book is retained on the stage. We follow a young drawing teacher Walter Hartright, who is on his way to Cumberland to become an art tutor to two half-sisters, Marian Halcombe and Laura Farlie. Before he gets to his destination, Walter has a chilling encounter on a foggy train station with the mysterious young woman, all dressed in white. She is desperate to share her secret with someone. When he finally meets the two sisters, Walter is amazed how much one of them, Laura, resembles to the woman in white. After a while, Laura and Walter fall in love, but she is already promised to a young aristocrat, Sir Percival Glyde. Marian, herself keen on Walter, is determined that Laura should marry Glyde so the two of them could have a secure future. Before she sends Walter away, he has another encounter with the woman in white, who warns him Laura mustn't marry Glyde under any circumstances. Marriage does take place and Marian finds out too late that Glyde was only after Laura's money. With the help of the mysterious woman in white's secret, Marian and Walter now must work together to save Laura from the evil plan Glyde has formed. Besides the mystery of the secret in question, we are also intrigued by Glyde's charming Italian friend, count Fosco. Is he, with his unusual taste in white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison, a friend or a foe? Overall, the story has its merits, since when listening to the recording you really want to find out what is the big secret. Hence, despite slow pacing, the plot's main question will occupy the listener's mind.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the cast; for most of them do not stick out. Maria Friedman, who likes to be thought of as a current big name in the West End, lacks a good vocal power. Her voice is at times too thin at the lover tones and when it tries to reach highs it becomes unpleasantly husky, despite her passable rendition of the Act One big number `All for Laura'. The rest, Martin Crewes, Jill Paice and Oliver Darley do their best but rarely evoke passion. Only one name is of the top quality here and that is Michael Crawford, the man who rose to stardom by being the first and overall the best Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera". His tenor hasn't lost any of the charms it had during the time he wore the Phantom's mask. However, his potential remains vastly unused here, mostly due to the fact count Fosco is only a supporting one and second; Crawford has only one big tune to deliver - quite a waste for both his name and voice. His big number, "You can get away with anything", especially its opening night version at the end of disc two, shows what a talent he is, plus it's a very nice, Italian-flavored tune. Thusly, the way Crawford plays this interesting character is one of the rare highlights on this recording.

David Zippel's lyrics tell the basic story, but nothing more. They can be terribly predictable at times and for the most lack inner depth. The CD package comes with the full libretto and a couple of production photos.

So in the end, "The Woman in white" comes as a bit of a disappointment, since it could have turned out to be a much stronger, better written piece.

"You can get away with anything", sings Michael Crawford in his big number. Alas, I am not too sure that Andrew Lloyd Webber can get away on the whole with this one.

ALW, one of mine and many other's favorite musical composer, has written a new, but not completely original, mega-musical. First of, if you did not like the Phantom of the Opera, JC Superstar, Evita, and/or Aspects of Love, this is not for you.

Many of his songs here are derivative of his other musicals, most notably from Aspects of Love. "I Believe my Heart, "for instance, though beautiful, is reminiscent of Aspects of Love's "Seeing is Believing," but the score is nonetheless quite good (especially if you don't think about his previous works as you listen). Many parts (as the Prologue) are dark and mysterious, which add to the drama, as does POTO's "I Remember There Was Myst..." It is almost entirely sung, as is POTO, which draws the question whether ALW is too shy to compose operas, for many of his works can easily transfer to the lyric opera genre. That, however, is beside the point, but is part of another relevant inquiry.

The character development in this musical is considerably better than in other ALW works. We really learn the motivations of Marian, Laura, Fosco and Walter. The music conveys each character, and there are leitmotifs (sort of) for certain characters and themes; therefore, in the sense of putting the right music to the right context, ALW does a superb job.

The singing could almost not be better, considering this is still technically of the "musical theatre" genre. The strongest singing comes from Jill Paice's Laura. Maria Friedman's Marian and Martin Crewes's Walter are not far. Oliver Darley as Glyde has a beautiful tenor voice but a small role in comparison with Michael Crawford's Fosco. We remember Michael Crawford, with his nasal and technique-lacking singing, as the first Phantom. Here he is better vocally (but not close to the others) and very good dramatically (or comically), as always.

My only real complaint is the choice of instruments for this recording. The electric keyboard dominates many parts of the score, with "I Believe My Heart" first coming to mind. It makes those parts sound popish, dull, childish, and just weird. Otherwise, however, this particular recording of this musical (currently the only one) has interesting and catchy music, a very good plot, and very good singing and acting. I give it a 4.5 due to its derivative composition of Webber's earlier works (at least they are HIS own works he is copying!!!). If you are Webber fan, you won't be disapointed but rather pleased with this new soon-to-be mega-musical.

I hope someday that there will be an Original Broadway Cast recording with Michael Ball as Count Fosco. Michael Crawford sounds too much like he is reprising the Phantom here. He can't quite produce a believable or at least comical Italian accent. After seeing Michael Ball on Broadway in the role, he is absolutely the definitive Count Fosco.

See video clip of The Woman in White at Broadway.com:

http://www.broadway.com/gen/pop_Restaurant.aspx?ri=521558

This is ALW's comeback, to try and capture some of the glory of his shows (such as "The Phantom of the Opera", "Starlight Express", "Cats", "Evita" and anything prior to Sunset Boulevard).

The cast here is perfection, simply put, in my humble opinion. Although this show certainly has its detractors, and even the cast has its detractors (or haters, if the word shall be put); for me, this is brilliant. At times, the repeative music gets boring (but not stupid or crap, like one reviewer bashed), but it really flows well and the cast and the music make up for it. :D

Michael Crawford as Count Fosco (indeed this is probebly where the harshest of the cast criticism comes from, and especially no less from the composer himself, Andrew Lloyd Webber, although not in a professional manner, but we will leave that bit of news there) is just, simply put, IMHO, phenomenal and astounding!! :D Although indeed, having heard the show live, myself (and I assume that the USA detractors, who so cruelly bash this show and Michael Crawford, get upset with this and I will say, at least on the later songs after the gambling scene, are right), Michael does not do as good on this as he does live. In the live show, after the cautious premiere, he does a brilliant crescendo in "You Can Get a Way with Anything" <unlike both the tracks on here, which coincidentally were both recorded live, and on the same day, but just minus the audience on one> and Michael took off with the role; combing the perfect elements of subtlity and geniality as he had with Erik (only in this... well best not ruin it for those who never saw the show). Although he is no longer in the role; which is tragic and he no longer will associate with the role (due to the fact that the rubber suit he wears made him physically sick. Apparently Mike Myers had this trouble also, when he did "Fat Bastard" in the Austin Powers films), he is the BEST Fosco, I have ever heard. And I have heard Michael Ball, Steve Vernon, Anthony Andrews, and, surprisingly, Simon Callow (from the 2004 TPOTO film, he also, let it be known, already did the role of Fosco for the PBS Masterpiece Theater, and he praised MC's work in this. Both are brilliant acting wise, but singing wise, MC beats him to the punch.)

The music is even more creepy and dark toned that its predecessors' were (including "The Phantom of the Opera" respectively) and the style of the show and the plot is brilliant. (Whoever does not like, at least, the plot, that is their personal business but let it be known that the story itself of "The Woman in White" written by Wilkie Collins is brilliant, although indeed, this version, like ALW has a habit of doing, is not in line with the story itself ("The Phantom of the Opera" is a huge testament to that, but with that said I am not knocking TPOTO, it is still my fave show of ALW's, with TWIW a close second), although some of his other shows like Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Techincolor Dreamcoat, and <more or less> Evita; follow the stories or real life plots more exactly.

If anyone saw the show, this really is a breakthrough in that, although there are physical sets, this uses a highly techincal projection system to project a broader scope of scene onto the back of the stage. The costuming was really quite period and nothing, date wise, was out of league, except in perhaps some points of style in music.

The cast, as I said, was brilliant and Michael Crawford, who was the reason why and how I got interested in the show , being, already a favourite cast member; I also love Angela Christian's "Anne Catherick" who really outshines, with the exception of Michael and Oliver Darley (who plays the dark Percival Glyde, whom I love also), the rest of the cast, although Maria and Martin hold their own as well, as does Jill.

This show deserves to be heard and understood, at least, or seen and heard, at best. But with that said, every show has its detractors but as far for me, this show really "haunts you". :D

Andrew Lloyd Webber is a very excellent composer of musicals, Phantom being the best. This relatively new musical is absolutely superb! The musical is loosely based on the Wilke Collins mystery novel of the same title. Unfortunately, I have not read Collins' book, but the musical tells an emotionally stirring story with humor, romance, and suspence.
The primise of this drama concerns a young drawing master or instructor, Walter Hartwright, who is going to Limerage House in England to instruct two young women, Marian Harcum and Laura Fairley, both half sisters. Walter encounters a slightly insane, very frightenend woman dressed in white on the train platform, who tells him she has a secret, and that she seeks to save a life by revealing it to the appropriate person. The rest of the plot concerns the growing relationship between Walter, Marian, and Laura. It also concerns an evil yet carismatic pair of fortune hunters, including and obese aand hilarious italian, Count Fosco.
The cast on this recording is beautiful, foremost being Michael Crawford who portrays Count Fosco. This role is vastly different from the Phantom, whom Crowford originally portrayed, and he obviously has more fun and enjoys this role more. Maria Freedman is excellent as Marian, and her bantering with Crawford is a delight. Her capacity for believably portraying the whole gambit of emotions from downright hilarity to heartwrenching sadness is truly remarkable. All the other actors/actresses are excellent.
The musical score is filled with memorable songs that range in emotion. Among my favorites are: "I Hope You'll Like It Here," "Trying Notice," "I Believe My Heart," "Lammastide," and "You Can Get Away With Anything." This song is also included as a live bonus track, hilariously rendered by Crawford at the conclusion of the play. I absolutely recommend giving this musical by a master composer a chance. Happy listening!

One of those stars came soley from Michael Crawford's performance, or what he could do with his material. Unfortunately, one actor's performance can't save an entire show.

There's really nothing that great about this show's music. The music on the whole is bland, and half the time the female singers were dreadful to listen to. Excuse the shrieking mess as part of the acting if you want, but it IS possible to be 'angsty' and still sing decently at the same time. Considering how this IS a musical, that fact should have been taken into special consideration.

On the upside, some good acting performances came through on the soundtrack, 'Fosco Tells of Laura's Dream/The Funeral/London' and the 'Finale' particularly coming to mind. The exception to this is again Michael Crawford, only because he's great at portraying his character AND singing at the same time. Imagine that!

Still, a few decent tracks here and there don't justify the other twenty-plus that don't really amount to anything. Just get the live "You Can Get Away With Anything" for your MP3 player, and you should be set.

I loved this recording of Woman in White, and I would like to also see what it would sound like as a studio recording. I definitely could tell that this was a live recording. I understand that they were trying to capture the "passion" and "drama" of this work, and it did work, but I definitely like the old fasioned way of recording musicals - in a studio. Even if it takes Take after Take to get a perfect recording. I hope this does not become the norm, but rather, it becomes an option for the buyer of the recording. Maybe they can have the live recording, with some of the songs recorded in a studio to give it a "clean" listen. I still give this recording a 5 - star rating, but I want people to be aware that this is a live recording, recorded in a studio built in the theater where Woman in White was performed for the opening night performance in London (very, unique and special). I love it, I just wish there was more.

I love Andrew Lloyd Webber- and so I got this not knowing anything about it. It's ok, but I wish the songs had more of a tune. It was not my favorite of his.