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prettyinpink View member profile	29th April 2008, 06:40 PM Post #41
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Whatsonstage Newsletter - not strictly a review, but what the heck The critics haven't been kind to Gone With the Wind, but you may well want to get along to the New London and decide for yourself. Having caught a post-press night performance, I must report that, in my opinion, many reviews were unduly harsh towards a show that - while admittedly overlong - is nonetheless engaging and at times very moving. Unfortunately, I missed Jill Paice, who was off sick with a throat infection, but the understudy Savannah Stevenson was truly incredible as Scarlett O'Hara, especially considering her limited rehearsal time (not to mention costume changes). If you need further help deciding whether or not to part with your money for tickets, check out our triple-whammy of first night coverage - Photos, TV and Review Round-up.


prettyinpink View member profile	29th April 2008, 07:32 PM Post #42
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Entertainment Focus Entertainment focus review Gone With The Wind - Thursday 17th April 2008, New London Theatre, London Posted: Monday 21st April 2008 Set during the Civil War of the 1860?s, Gone With The Wind follows the story of Scarlett O?Hara (Jill Paice). Beginning at the O?Hara plantation in Georgia, Tara, Scarlett is on the hunt for a suitor and secretly pining for Ashley Wilkes (Edward Baker-Duly), a man who is due to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Madeleine Worrall). After realising that she is never going to be with Ashley, Scarlett decides to marry Charles Hamilton (David Roberts) shortly before he leaves to fight in the war. Before her marriage Scarlett meets the mysterious and unpredictable Rhett Butler (Darius Danesh) and finds her life doesn?t follow the smooth path that she had hoped for. Torn between men and family drama, Scarlett?s life is about to change forever. Gone With The Wind is considered a classic movie and it?s not one we ever expected to see transferred to the West End. Directed by Trevor Nunn, this new musical version transfers the essence of the movie to the stage and gives the audience value for money with its 3 and a half hour running time. Recreated on a round stage with the audience sat in semi-circles around it, Gone With The Wind is a touching, exciting and emotional piece of theatre. Many were sceptical when Darius Danesh was cast as Rhett Butler. His reality TV pedigree may put some people off seeing this show but they?d be missing out. Danesh is both charismatic and talented and he wipes the floor with the rest of the cast. His southern accent is superb and his singing voice stronger and richer than showcased on either of his solo albums. Danesh is a bright star and he captivates on stage, making the character of Rhett Butler his own. Gone With The Wind has a huge cast and at times the stage is simply bustling with cast members. As a whole the cast work impressively well together with Jina Burrows (Prissy) and Natasha Yvette Williams (Mammy) standing out from the rest. Burrows may be a small woman but she has an incredible voice. As one of the O?Hara family servants, Prissy gets a few moments to shine and Burrows has the crowd whooping and cheering with her triumphant solo song. Williams as Mammy is both funny and entertaining. As the key servant to the O?Hara family the audience feel for her and like Burrows she has an incredible singing voice. Sadly the weakest link is Jill Paice as Scarlett O?Hara. Maybe she hasn?t settled into the character yet but her accent was all over the place. Sometimes she sounded Southern but a lot of the time her accent struggled to sound anything other than English. This became off-putting and with the show being so long it broke our concentration on several occasions. Singing wise, Paice was spot on and she had chemistry with Danesh that had us believing the romance between the two. Gone With The Wind is an enjoyable play but it does suffer from a few faults. Despite being 3 and a half hours the show feels a bit rush in the final half hour. The inclusion of original songs in the mix actually works and Gone With The Wind is a triumphant production. Some may find the pace a bit slow but we enjoyed kicking back and watching a good old-fashioned drama unfold before our eyes. The true star here is Darius and his fans will be glad to see him back on top again. If you?re after a show with impressive special effects and an affecting story then this is the one for you.


prettyinpink View member profile	29th April 2008, 07:35 PM Post #43
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Otherside Mag The Otherside review 3 Comments - Add comment \| Back to sam Written on 18-Apr-2008 by Dimitar I've not read the book, nor have I seen the movie adaptation, nor have I ever written a theatre reveiw, to be perfectly honest I didn't even know what the storyline was about. I did know that at one point during the film Clark Gable (not Humphrey Bogaert) says "Frankley my dear I don't give a damn." This was confirmed on the t-shirts you could purchase in the foyer, and by the ripple of applause given when Rhett Butler (played by Darius Danesh...yes the one off Pop Idol) turned to the audience and gave it his best. Darius had a great stage presence and the switch from half-arsed pop star belting out half-baked pap seems to suit him well. Whenever on stage you could feel him there, and his deep booming voice drew all the attention on him. Scarlett played by rising star Jill Paice (Les Misrables & Mamma Mia) was really quite sweet to begin with, desperately in love with Ashley yet in the knowlegde she could never have him. By the end with two dead husbands, a dead child and two loves lost she could have been forgiven for being a bit pissed off. But she carried on regardless (I guess that's the original story) and was there on the dying bed of her life long friend Melanie Wilkes wife of Ashley who told of Rhett's way of secretly getting money to Ashley for his work. It's long, 3 and a half hours long, but I had my eyes on the stage the whole time. The set is great and spans out into the audience, I almost tripped a man up as he burst on to the stage (I'd been extending my leg into the aisle!) and there is a lot of songs, some really great ones, the highlight being when the slaves sang about their freedom - fantastic singing and you could feel their love for what was a highly enjoyable show.


prettyinpink View member profile	30th April 2008, 09:49 AM Post #44
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Show and Stay Theatre News Review Darius's Rhett Butler Sparks Turnaround for Gone With the Wind Few shows that open in the West End today attract such a storm of controversy as Sir Trevor Nunn's adaptation of Gone With the Wind . Darius's breathtaking performance on Wednesday night however, seems to have hushed those sterner critics. It's no secret that the press previews for Gone With the Wind were not exactly everything that Sir Trevor had hoped for. The show was too long (45 minutes longer than billed), main cast members were struck down by a bouts of illness and certain staging effects went completely up the proverbial spout. Nunn even had to cancel an evening's performance so that vital revisions and repairs could be made at the last minute. With this of course, thanks to the whiff of catastrophe flaring some critics' nostrils, media interest began to suddenly balloon out of all control. Things, it has to be said, were looking decidedly shaky for the official opening night. So, as the New London Theatre began to fill with the glitterati of the West End on Wednesday, a nervous calm must have hung in the air. Though not all of it positive, one thing is certain; never has such a buzz surrounded a new show like this before: not before it has even opened. This, quite simply, was show time. Darius Danesh's electrifying performance then seems certainly to be the shot of adrenaline that the show needed. As Gone With the Wind reached its dramatic conclusion he was duly greeted with a rapturous standing ovation to rival any West End triumph. The structure of the show is said to still need some tidying up but, with Darius's spellbinding turn at the helm he may yet steer this the way of the classic Les Mirseables, which also had an uncertain start. The great Clarke Gable is clearly one of Hollywood's most iconic performers so stepping into shoes like his is not a task to be undertaken lightly. That said, it seems that with performances like the one which met the West End establishment on Wednesday night, it is clear why Darius toppled the likes of movie star Hugh Jackman to get the role. It may still be a controversial show but it's undoubtedly the production that everyone in Theatreland is talking about. And, as the old adage goes, there's only one thing worse than being talked about... Published by: Nathan Brooker loving it.."its clear why Darius toppled the likes of Movie Star Hugh Jackson to get the role.."


prettyinpink View member profile	30th April 2008, 09:16 PM Post #45
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Interesting that this is based on the second wave of reviewers seeing the show - not the same show as the first lot! http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Theatre-Revie...the-wind-review Gone with the Wind - New London Theatre (review) Review by Lizzie Guilfoyle product IT WAS never going to be easy stepping into the shoes of screen icons Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable but Jill Paice and Darius Danesh have risen to the occasion and made the roles of Scarlett and Rhett their own in Trevor Nunn’s musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind. Set in 1860s Georgia, Gone with the Wind is a remarkable story, spanning 12 turbulent years in the life of Scarlett O’Hara, the beautiful but headstrong daughter of cotton plantation owner Gerald O’Hara. Outwardly carefree, Scarlett’s happiness is thwarted by the one thing she can’t have – Ashley Wilkes. An obsessive love, it endures despite Ashley’s marriage to his cousin Melanie and her own marriages of convenience, first to Charles Hamilton and later to Frank Kennedy. Even a third marriage to the cynical blockade runner Rhett Butler, with whom she shares a stormy relationship, is no obstacle. Yet the winds of change threaten everything Scarlett holds dear as Civil War sweeps into Atlanta, destroying her hopes and dreams and eventually, her love for Ashley…. I was one of a second wave of journalists charged with reviewing this epic production so, of course, I’d read the earlier damning reviews. However, I went with an open mind and was soon of the opinion that I was seeing an altogether different production. Yes, it is long – a little over three and a half hours to be precise – but, with just over a thousand pages of small print, so is the book. And forgive me if I’m wrong, but the film ran for a marathon four hours and I don’t recall anybody complaining about that. Besides, the essence of Mitchell’s enduring and well-loved story would surely be lost in a ‘cut’ version. That said, the second act which is considerably darker than the first, could be trimmed simply by cutting down the musical numbers. And yes, I know this is a musical but does Melanie really need to sing on her deathbed? I don’t think so. The music, however, is far from superfluous and catchy little ditties are interspersed not only with love songs but also with negro spirituals and blues numbers. Even so, listening to them just the once isn’t enough for their worth to be truly appreciated. As I’ve already hinted, Danesh and Paice are superb as Rhett and Scarlett – Danish is roguish charm personified, yet at the same time, he manages to expose the inner pathos of a man deeply wounded by betrayal and the death of his beloved daughter. And Paice, as pretty as a picture, eases herself into the demanding role of feisty heroine who learns too late the error of her ways. There’s an undeniable chemistry even when grief tears them apart. In fact, I cannot fault the cast in any way and special mention must go to Madeleine Worrall as Melanie, Edward Baker-Duly as Ashley, Natasha Yvette Williams as Mammy and Jina Burrows as Prissy, whose performances capture the characters they portray in a way I’m sure Mitchell envisaged them – helped in part by the rich array of costumes. Finally, John Napier’s uncluttered set that extends into and around the auditorium suits the production well. It may lack the extravagance of certain shows and be somewhat short on spectacle – the burning of Atlanta, for example – but it serves it’s purpose adequately. Besides, these are shortcomings – if you can even call them that – that work very much to the cast’s advantage, allowing them to shine without unnecessary distraction. If you love the book, you’ll love this production. And if the film was your introduction to Gone with the Wind, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I just hope critics haven’t condemned it to failure because that really would be a pity. Gone with the Wind – presented by Aldo Scrofani, Colin Ingram, Gary McAvay, Nederlander Presentations Inc and Peter Kane. Based on the Novel by Margaret Mitchell. Book and Lyrics by Margaret Martin adapted by Trevor Nunn. Music by Margaret Martin. Designer – John Napier. Costume Designer – Andreane Neofitou. Lighting Designer – Neil Austin. Movement Director – David Bolger. Sound Designer – Paul Groothuis. Musical Director – David White. Resident Director – Stephen Rayne. Casting Director – David Grindrod. Executive Producer – Aldo Scrofani. Orchestrations – William David Brohn. Musical Supervision and Arrangements – Gareth Valentine. Directed by Trevor Nunn. This post has been edited by prettyinpink: 30th April 2008, 09:17 PM


prettyinpink View member profile	2nd May 2008, 09:42 AM Post #46
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	New Statesman Going, going . . . gone Andrew Billen Published 01 May 2008 Trevor Nunn slips up with this tuneless assault on the English language It was fine, as maybe Dixie thought first time round, until they burned Atlanta. I was beginning to think that the director, Trevor Nunn, had pulled off the impossible and made sense not only of Margaret Mitchell's 1,000-page novel but the book, music and lyrics penned by one Margaret Martin, a writer hitherto best known for Pregnancy and Childbirth: the Basic Illustrated Guide (but who had somehow acquired the musical rights from the Mitchell estate). The storytelling was clear, John Napier's set uncluttered, and the central triangle of Scarlett the selfish Southern belle, Ashley the Southern gentleman and Rhett the Southern cad as robust as ever. An interesting symmetry even began to emerge, with both men agnostic when it came to the Southern cause and both fighting for a woman who believed in nothing. True, there was no dancing to speak of and no songs worth the humming, but the evening was proceeding painlessly. But once Atlanta had gone up in flames - represented by a blazing Confederate flag and a partial demolition of the set - I began to worry. Scarlett and Rhett rode out of town on a cart drawn by an invisible horse. You wanted them to go clop clop. Although Nunn was using the techniques he pioneered in Nicholas Nickleby - characters commentating on their own stories and voicing their thought bubbles - we were being pushed into the trickery of budget troupes such as Shared Experience. The first half ended with a song that, I fear, contained the lyric "The world I used to know so well/Why did it have to turn into a living hell?" I must congratulate Vanessa Feltz on her prescience. Of all the B-list celebs papering the stalls on the first night - Joan Collins, Christopher Biggins, Babs Windsor - she was the only one not to return after the interval. She would have been in for another hour and 45 minutes during which the show lost all focus. For scenes at a time Rhett, Scarlett and Ashley disappeared from view to make way for discussions, sometimes set to music, of political reform, impeachment and splits in the Republican Party. In a misguided attempt to make this story of self-involved Southern whites politically correct, attention turned to the liberated slaves and their songs of freedom. And those songs! They began to scale the depths. Refrains included "Born to Be Free", "These Are Desperate Times", "The Wings of the Dove", until the inevitable "Tomorrow Is Another Day". This was cliché orchestrated in the hope it would make it less of a cliché. It merely magnified the assault on the language. And still there was not a memorable tune, a curious crime when the 1939 film had one of the greatest theme tunes ever, by Max Steiner. The original cast recording from this stage musical would be a gift for your worst enemy. The storytelling became confused. Scarlett shot a Yankee soldier and stole his looted money and jewellery but was still so broke that when the farm got a big tax bill she went begging to Rhett, in jail, for a handout. And Rhett? How come one moment he was facing the noose and the next he was out of jail and profiteering again? Interest was captured only a couple of times: when Rhett and Scarlett's daughter was thrown to her death from an invisible horse (the mime was effective this time) and when Rhett scooped Scarlett off her feet and made to rape her. This, worryingly, got a big cheer from the first-night audience, as did, of course, his "Frankly my dear" line, though I doubt whether either of the Margarets meant Scarlett by this stage to be quite so unlikeable. I feel sorry for Jill Paice as Scarlett, who worked hard to engage our sympathy and could certainly deliver a song. Darius Danesh, him off Pop Idol, scored a personal triumph as Rhett. Admittedly his mike was turned up but he commanded the stage, kept his accent together and even found a new way to say "I don't give a damn" so as to make it his own Edward Baker-Duly brought moments of pathos and depth to Ashley. But this is where my plaudits stop, somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Funnily enough, having entered thinking a musical of Gone With the Wind utterly pointless, I left believing the right one could work very well. Not this one, however, not without a 45-minute cut and some songs. Then it might be salvageable. Otherwise, tomorrow is another play. Andrew Billen is a staff writer for the Times


prettyinpink View member profile	2nd May 2008, 05:54 PM Post #47
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	this is better, at the same show as I was - which was full and recieved a great reaction! Spectator review How did they get it so wrong? Turning chicklit’s greatest story into a hit musical should have been a doddle. Just put the characters on stage and let the warm romantic breeze of the narrative carry you safely home. And that’s exactly what Trevor Nunn has done and yet the critics have misinterpreted Gone with the Wind and denounced it as a flop. I’m baffled. At last week’s Saturday matinée I joined a sell-out crowd and saw a handsome gutsy version of a completely captivating novel. Never mind the timeless magic of the storyline, look at the performances. Jill Paice is a brittle, beautiful cracker of a Scarlett and Darius Danesh’s Rhett has all that’s required, devilish eyes, a sonorous voice, a lot of slicked black hair and something extra too, the god-like swagger of a young Sean Connery. And Natasha Yvette Williams, playing Mammy, has a voice with a kick as powerful as Aretha’s. But not everything’s perfect. The opening song is a sluggish ensemble number so the show hits the ground dawdling. And there are too many melodies crammed into the 215-minute running time. Some should go, but which ones? Songs between the stars? No. The audience wants the stars. Songs by lesser characters? No. That’ll upset the dressing-room. Best solution is to keep it as it is and make that a selling point. Yes, it’s sprawling, it’s kitsch and it’s cumbersome but that’s the idea. So the question remains. How did the critics get it so wrong? Well, there’s slump fever for a start. The newspapers keep peddling the myth that we’ll soon be living in caves, eating grass and bartering. Then up pops this lavish theatrical gamble and it gets fed into the same blender as everything else. Gone with the Wind cannot succeed because that’s not the story. Disaster is the story so it must fail. The second oddity is that the public are now doing to the critics what the critics have done to the show’s producers: openly discrediting their expertise. Oddest of all, the bad notices have lowered expectations so audiences come out feeling not just entertained but also gratified far beyond their hopes. If this is a turkey I’d like to invest in the next one.


prettyinpink View member profile	7th May 2008, 11:14 AM Post #48
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	Showand stay indepth review of GWTW link The Wind Blows Hot and Cold The opening of Trevor Nunn's version of Gone With the Wind last week has to go down as one of the most talked about events in West End history. We sent one of our writers to see what all the fuss was about You certainly don't need a degree in Computer Science to be able to see that, of late, the internet has been positively swimming with reviews and criticisms about the new musical version of Gone With the Wind. Reports of an epic running time, illnesses in the cast and last minute cancellations have had the more spiteful critics sharpening their knives, salivating and queuing up right around the block. If anyone had tried that last night outside the New London Theatre however, they would have got pretty darn wet. Yes, our dash from the delightful Bertorelli's in Covent Garden was certainly hampered by April's most famous meteorological feature. Suitably dried off in the welcoming foyer though, we made our way through the modern concrete and glass halls of the New London Theatre to the fully decked out auditorium. Huge wooden facades, aged boards and countless flags of the Confederate were there to meet us; right from the off there was no mistaking the historical atmosphere that hung about the thrust stage. The lights dimmed, the band flared up and there we were met by the ensemble for the first time. Due to the complexities of the huge plot, Margaret Martin employs the use of many shifting narrators to tell the story. Each step forward to deliver a sentence or two and then the spotlight shifts over to the next person. This was a little confusing at first (especially when actors start narrating about their own characters in the third person) but everyone soon got used to it. Suitably enough it was Danesh's Rhett Butler that opened the play. "Eighteeeen siiixty one" he bellows in a bassy Southern drawl before the narration swiftly moves on to another actor. Hold the phone! A perceptible murmur flitted around the audience: that's not Darius 'hit me baby one more time' Danesh is it? The transformation is amazing. It's not that he looks very different at all, but it feels like you're watching a complete stranger. He's tall (very tall actually), elegant and debonair and every inch the Southern gent. No one can quite believe it. It's a few scenes before he comes back on again to reaffirm our suspicions. Yes, it's him, definitely, but not quite as we know him. Striking and dignified, Danesh glides through the Wilkes' BBQ as though the critical twitterings surrounding the show's opening are nothing more than silly hearsay. His voice, a deep and rich Southern baritone, is flawless; the accent is effortless and the singing feels just as easy. Clearly the man cuts quite the first impression. Now, if I may break off for a second here, between you, me and the proverbial gatepost, I am not the biggest fan of pop reality TV shows. No sirree! (I think all those Confederate accents have got to me) Then, when I heard that Danesh was booked for Rhett Butler over Hollywood stars like Hugh Jackman, I did question whether or not Sir Trevor Nunn had started drinking or something. I have to admit however, that (unsurprisingly) I was wrong and he was right. Musical theatre is Darius's calling; he is simply outstanding. Now, that's quite enough of that, back to the plot. Scarlett O' Hara, played tirelessly by Jill Plaice, finds out that her childhood favourite Ashley is to be married to his cousin Melanie and the whole tangled love story is kicked off. Cue the onslaught of the bloody Civil War, the odd roll on the military snare and some pretty liberal Yankee-bashing and there's no mistaking we're watching Gone With the Wind except, of course, there's quite a lot of singing The vocal performances are all strong, Natasha Evette Williams, who plays Scarlett's slave Mammy, is literally stunning. When she finally gets to open up in the second half she totally brought the house down. Unfortunately, this is also where it would seem Gone With the Wind's biggest shortfall is. Some of Margaret Martin's music and lyrics are just, well, silly. Moments before the burning of Atlanta, the frustrated Scarlett, in reference to the male wounded soldiers, completes the couplet "they might be wrecks" with "at least they're members of the opposite sex". Ouch. Once might be forgivable, but after reminiscing that the unmarried Scarlett "had it all", it seems quite a cruel move for Martin to have her conclude "Like Humpty Dumpty I had a great fall". A few seething winces shot around the stalls at moments like that but, as the night wore on, it would appear that this delicate balance of the serious and the comical is a shift that the production plays with and plays with very well. For example, echoes of those immortal closing lines pop up from time to time in the action and they receive half-cheers every time they do. That, perhaps, is where all the critical buzz comes from, the fact that the show straddles comedy and tragedy so freely. There are genuinely fantastic moments in Gone With the Wind, heartfelt and brave performances, intelligently poised cultural references and honest characterisation. There are, of course, problematic moments too. Some of the dialogue seems forced and stretched and the unpleasant attitudes to slavery in the original film and novel are roughly sanitised by the fact that the characters, without exception, condemn the practice. Even when Ashley briefly joins the Klu Klux Klan we are decidedly shown very little. Obviously we are not trusted with actually seeing one of the romantic heroes draped in the white sheets of the Klan as this would compromise our sympathies towards him. Also, Rhett is a far more likeable chap than Mitchell's novel ever really permitted him to be. In short, Gone With the Wind is quite the mixed bag. At times some of the dialogue and music falls short but, crucially, far more often the brilliantly worked set pieces and fantastic performances over shadow the failings. Clearly Nunn's version of Gone With the Wind is causing quite a stir in the West End at the moment so the only way to judge it is to see it for yourself. And, with such a huge buzz swarming around the whole thing, who wouldn't want to see what all the fuss was about? Published by: Nathan Brooker This post has been edited by prettyinpink: 7th May 2008, 09:35 PM


SpamFritter View member profile	8th May 2008, 07:16 PM Post #49
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/05/0...l_does_it_blow/ Frankly, my dear, I suspect most theatergoers still won’t give a damn! News on the Rialto is that the new “Gone With the Wind” musical is battening down the hatches, people. After weathering a storm of critical scorn, producers of the London tuner have announced that the musical will be trimmed by 15 minutes, which brings it down to a brisk three hours 45 minutes. Hardly fleet enough for our ADD-age, if you ask me! The $9.5 million show, directed by Trevor Nunn, is of course based on Margaret Mitchell’s magnolia-soaked Civil War epic novel. Still, “GWTW” remains most beloved for the sumptuous 1939 movie version, which starred Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable in one of the most swoon-worthy romances ever to burnish the big screen. Sigh! But I digress. So, if there are any hardy souls out there who have experienced the gale forces of “Wind” for themselves, I’d love to know: just how hard does it blow? Category 4? (photo credit:ap) [You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.] 2 Responses to “Gone with the Wind musical: does it blow?” John Says: May 7th, 2008 at 2:20 pm I attended opening night (April 22) in London. Actually, the production already has been cut from about 4 hours to 3 hours and 10 minutes. The further trims will bring it to about 3 hours, not an unreasonable length for an epic novel. And remember, it’s based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel, not the movie. With that said, I enjoyed the production! It is a fresh take on a beloved story, and includes characters and scenes previously seen only in the reader’s mind’s eye. The sets are great, and I think the entire cast does a good job, with the leads — Darius Danesh and Jill Paice — due special praise. Several tunes have stayed in my head, including the powerful “Wings of a Dove.” I saw it a second time the following day, and I’m happy to report the story stands on its own; one does not need to know the book to understand. And the matinee audience gave it a standing ovation, so maybe the public is refuting what the critics said. (I did feel the critics were competing to come up with the cutest take-offs of “damn,” “gone” and “wind” in their reviews!) I would encourage everyone to give it a chance and decide for yourself. Karen D'Souza Says: May 8th, 2008 at 12:19 am Hey John, thanks for sharing about the GWTW musical. It is indeed impressive that you went back to see the show the very next day. High praise! And I fear you may have a point about tendency of theater critics towards irresponsible punning…speaking of which, anyone else out there swept away by “Wind?” from San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA


prettyinpink View member profile	16th May 2008, 02:48 PM Post #50
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	http://members.aol.com/mouseuk/stage/west.htm And, being the Deep South, Scarlett has a series of dashing beaux, the best of these by a very long country mile being Darius Danesh's Rhett Butler. Blessed with matinee idol looks, a deeply-mellifluous baritone voice and most of the (few) good lines in the show, he is rivetingly engaging as the arrogant, supercilious and amorally ambitious charmer who captures Scarlett's heart. But, by the end of a long evening, even he cannot save a show whose difficult birth bodes ill for a healthy long-term life in the West End.


prettyinpink View member profile	16th May 2008, 04:14 PM Post #51
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	musiccomb.com review from press night I think, Again Darius gets praised link Well, here it is. Trevor Nunn’s musical staging of the Pulitzer Prize winning Margaret Mitchell novel. The book has been read by over 30 million people since being published more than seventy years ago and more people have seen the multi award-winning film than any other movie. But how will it fare on the stage? Not very well it turns out. What could have been one of the most ambitious and successful West End hits of the year tragically crumbles under the weight of its own ambition. Set in Georgia, before, during and after the American Civil War, the story – as most people know – concerns the volatile relationship between Scarlett O?Hara and Rhett Butler. The production is the work of first time writer, lyricist and composer Margaret Martin. She attempts to pad out the, already narrative-heavy, story with musings on the trials of love, the hardship of war and the ingrained racism of the South. But in trying to say and do so much, she soon loses focus. The audience finds it difficult to concentrate on, or even to care much about, everything they are presented with. The length doesn’t help: even with substantial cuts having been made during the preview period, the musical still runs at just over three and half hours. The plot becomes little more than a memory test. There is so much narration to cram in the show begins to feel like an extended episode of Book At Bedtime. Perhaps the theatre should provide a designated communal napping area for those members of the audience who are tired of feigning interest. Martin, who had never written for the stage before, has been incredibly fortunate to land herself in such an astonishing and privileged position. It is puzzling that so much faith and investment, of time, of money, has been put into this work. I suppose that Trevor Nunn, as a revered, though not flawless, director, could have been expected to bring with him a great weight of experience to bolster this new voice. But it hasn’t worked. The story of the novel has simply been shoe-horned onto the stage with little thought as to the needs of theatre. And what of the score? Though at times weakly written, with lyrics that are occasionally laughably, its biggest sin is that it is so forgettable. The music simply doesn’t have the power to excite or move. It is middle-of-the-road in the very worst way. To be fair, this doesn’t apply to everything: the few songs performed by the black characters are infused with a spiritual, bluesy, gospel air. Jina Burrows and Natasha Yvette Williams, who play Prissy and Mammy respectively, successfully elevate their designated songs into something greater than the material suggests and in turn elevate the production as a whole. Rather surprisingly, Darius Danesh as Rhett Butler, acquits himself admirably. His hammy antics as a pop star may not been a commercial success but his Rhett combines the perfect blend of stature, tone and egoistic confidence. He has never been more fun to watch. In comparison, Jill Paice is a rather under par Scarlett. But though her voice is not the strongest, it has a certain charm. The set is also a let down. The demands of the narrative would always be difficult to meet on stage, but this borders on the shoddy. Set-piece after set-piece fail to make much of an impact: Atlanta’s fiery fall, Scarlett’s spectacular struggle towards Tara, or indeed the supposed hundreds lying dead in the streets. None of this convinces or packs any kind of visual or dramatic punch. Though at times well polished and adequately presented, this is a show that screams of opportunities missed. It’s difficult to think how they could have better approached the material but it’s clear that this was not the way to go about it. There are some very talented people in the cast, but they are done a disservice by the production and long before the end most of the audience were struggling to give a damn. - Shaun Newport


SpamFritter View member profile	17th May 2008, 02:06 AM Post #52
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	http://www.curtainup.com/gonewiththewindlond.html A CurtainUp London Review Gone With the Wind the Musical by Lizzie Loveridge Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn!— Rhett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were two things which prevented me from seeing Trevor Nunn’s new musical Gone With the Wind in its opening week — I had a nasty bout of bronchitis and Jill Paice, the leading lady had a throat infection so that Second Night critics were cancelled. The result was that I saw the show a week after the original press night where many of the critics had been underwhelmed with the exception of Paul Taylor in The Independent. Expectations may have a lot to do with enjoyment but I also subscribe to the body of opinion that says that the newspapers should send people who love musicals to review musicals. Most theatre critics will admit to being lovers of plays but how many of them would pay, and that is the real criteria, to see a musical? I remember enjoying We Will Rock You after a universal panning from the critics, and I know that longevity and critical acclaim are never the same thing, but that show is this month celebrating its sixth birthday. The other uphill climb that Gone With the Wind the musical has to make is the revered nature of the film which many critics are old enough to have fallen in love with in their youth (well maybe not in 1939, but at one of the two further relaunches of a film, which has to be in the top ten movies of all time). So if you have bought tickets for the musical in advance of the critical notices, despair not. Yes the show was long, coming in at three hours twenty five but the seats in the New London are so comfortable that the time for me did not drag. Darius Danesh is magnificent. He is handsome, can both sing and act and his speaking voice is in the deep registers and is very sexy and commanding. His singing voice, essentially a baritone, did seem to have a higher range as well. In his opening scene he is well groomed and every other male member of the cast (with the exception of Edward Baker-Duly as Ashley Wilkes) is having a bad wig day so that Rhett stands out for his height, his wonderful tailoring, his hair cut and his gorgeous sense of style and wry humour. I liked Jill Paice as well. She captures the desperation of Scarlett, sings feistily but is perhaps light on Scarlett’s ruthless, nasty streak. Scarlett gets an ensemble song about how much she is disapproved of , with "She’s No Lady" while she flirts with all the men in an attempt to make Ashley jealous. Natsha Yvette Williams as the capacious Mammy is sensational as is the musically experienced Ray Shell as Pork. Julian Forsyth as Scarlett’s father Gerald underlines the importance of land to his family, and his wife Ellen (Susannah Fellowes) leads the Catholic O’Hara family prayers. Madeleine Worral plays plain but good Melanie who marries plain but good Ashley (Edward Baker-Duly). Susan Jane Tanner as Aunt Pittypat looks like a Dickensian aunt and lends character. The songs are pretty enough, maybe a tad derivative (but derivation has never stopped ALW having hits!) and some familiarisation would obviously increase one’s enjoyment. The songs from the black slaves and ex-slaves are tremendous in power and evocation; for example, the opening "Born to be Free" and, after they have achieved their freedom, the soulful, soaring "Wings of a Dove". I also liked some of the jaunty upbeat numbers, like the one set after the Civil War where "Reconstruction Planning" is the theme and there is some dramatic and fun choreography as everyone pulls together for the rebuilding effort although we know the South never really recovers. Other critics have focussed on a few silly lyrics but there are many that are sensible and any lyricist who can fit in "to claim that war is deleterious to trade" into a song is doing well! There are some good contrasts between the society ladies of Atlanta with their silver tea services before the war "The Very Best People" and after the defeat of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysberg, where as widows, the women face the poignant prospect of bringing up their children alone, "The cost is more than I can bear" The main love duet, "Gently, Softly, Deeply" smacks a little of "Truly, Madly, Deeply" but gives us the opportunity to see Scarlett and Ashley observed, from where he is lying on a sofa, by the amused Rhett. This isn’t a show that you see for the choreography much of which concentrates on the period dances which were a part of society then, but the crinolines are spectacular and no cost has been spared on costume including Scarlett’s famous red silk frock and Rhett’s snakeskin shoes. If I have a design criticism, it isn’t the atmospheric auditorium decorated with Southern flags and old Slave auction posters but the lack of grandeur of the ante-bellum southern plantation mansions, which a little more investment could easily improve. The burning of Atlanta is very well staged with real flames and collapsing "masonry", the whole stage lit red and here we see Trevor Nunn at his dramatic best. The circular space at the New London is used well by Nunn to give the audience plenty of involvement with the cast as they pop up all over the place. Bringing vast pages of descriptive text from novel to stage is always a problem and Nunn uses the whole cast (I counted 33) narrative style he developed years ago for Nicholas Nickleby where each cast member delivers a little gobbet of the story. It is quite a rapid delivery but should serve to fill in those who are hazy about the story, without creating tedium for those who know it all. The awkward Klu Klux Klan incident is glossed over with Scarlett being attacked by some white men rather than ex-slaves but it cannot be cut altogether because it features Rhett’s ingenious rescue of Ashley from the army and Scarlett’s re-entry into widowhood. I’m sure Rhett must have so enjoyed explaining his alibi ruse that the well behaved Ashley was drunk and had been frequenting a brothel. We see the tragic side when Rhett cannot give up the body of his beloved daughter Bonny. As far as I can remember the story has been true to the book. The author of the music and the lyrics is Margaret Martin, a Californian lecturer in Health Education, although she has studied music, and her remarkable achievement is developing this musical on her own. She identified with Scarlett whose life reflects her own as a single parent looking after two children. Nunn applies what he calls the Volvo test to sample CDs sent to him. He plays the tunes to his children in the car and sees if they are catchy and popular and Ms Martin’s tunes passed first time! The night I saw GWTW there was a good reaction from the audience and no obvious gaps in the audience of those disappearing in the interval. I was fortunate enough to speak with a lady from Georgia who had liked it and was looking forward to seeing the show in New York. I am confident that many people who love musicals will enjoy Gone With the Wind and Darius Danesh’s all round performance is very memorable —and yes, you may well give a damn! Gone With the Wind, the Musical Music by Margaret Martin Book and lyrics by Margaret Martin adapted by Trevor Nunn Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell Directed by Trevor Nunn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Starring: Darius Danesh, Jill Paice, Natasha Yvette Williams, Ray Shell, Edward Baker-Duly, Madeleine Worrall With: Jina Burrows, Julian Forsyth, Susannah Fellows, Jacqueline Boatswain, Leon Herbert, Chris Jarman, Susan Tracy, Jeff Shankley, Kathryn Akin, Susan Jane Tanner, Alan Vicary, David Roberts, Alan Winner, Gareth Chart, Tom Sellwood, Emily Bryant, Gemma Sutton, Kirsty Hoiles, Laura Checkley, Lorraine Chappell, Savannah Stevenson, Jenessa Qua, Derek Hagen, Tober Reilly, Iam Conningham, Horace Oliver, Chloe-Jean Bishop, Nolan Frederick, Rosalind James, Christopher Ragland Movement Director: David Bolger Musical Director: David White Orchestrations: William David Brohn Musical Supervision and Arrangements: Gareth Valentine Design: John Napier Costume Design: Andreanne Neofitou Lighting: Neil Austin Sound: Paul Groothuis Producer: Aldo Scrofani and Colin Ingram Running time: Three hours 25 minutes with one interval Box Office: 0844 412 4654 Booking to 27th September 2008 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 29th April 2008 performance at The New London Theatre, Drury Lane London WC2 (Tube: Holborn)


SpamFritter View member profile	18th May 2008, 03:01 PM Post #53
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Link Here Darius - a West End star is born By Simon MeadowsLast updated 4/23/2008 8:26:07 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He's taken more than his fair share of flak over the years – but never lost his resolve to become a star so the standing ovation which greeted Darius Danesh's West End debut is long overdue. There's something utterly charming about the relentless ability of Darius to pick himself up and try, try again. In his part as Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind, he may just have found his natural starring role. Suave, super smooth and disarmingly dashing, it's a dream-casting for Mr Danesh, who first came to public attention on the ITV reality show Popstars. His infamous audition of Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time – more cheesy than a bucket-full of brie, yet clearly revealing musical potential - was the stuff of TV legend. He didn't make the grade, but you can't put a good man down and he returned, bold as brass, for the follow-up, Pop Idol. Again, Darius didn't win but he surprised many with his staying power and natural star quality finished a very respectable third, to Will Young and Gareth Gates – and quickly established himself as a household name. A string of hit singles followed in a relatively short-lived pop career – and when the hits dwindled, it seemed that he might just have enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame. Not a bit of it! He's back - and the star attraction in this new production of Gone With The Wind – a musical adaptation of the legendary 1939 movie. And the audience at the New London Theatre lapped it up, jumping to their feet to show their appreciation at the show's curtain call. The reviews were mixed. The Telegraph described lead man as giving a "stilted impersonation" of Clark Gable. But The Independent said: "The diabolically dashing Darius Danesh brings a seductively insolent charm, a dark velvet voice and a genuine fugitive pathos to the cynical blockade runner." The Daily Express was also fulsome in its praise of him. "Only his performance saves this show," it concluded. And Darius, with his typically upbeat approach to life, was taking it all in his stride. "I had a blast," he said.


SpamFritter View member profile	20th May 2008, 01:31 PM Post #54
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Link here Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind swept onto the stage with high hopes of taking the West End by storm. With the dashing Darius Danesh as the handsome hero, a gorgeous leading lady on his arm and a huge supporting cast, all directed by the illustrious Trevor Nunn, it should have had a head start. At first, there was a flurry of advance bookings - but the star-spangled flag which flaps so jauntily on the publicity posters is now flying at half mast. The reason? a fierce savaging by the critics who whipped up a frenzy of wind-related metaphors to voice their chorus of disapproval. To make things worse, Jill Paice, playing the lead role of Scarlett O’Hara, came down with a sore throat just after opening night, temporarily requiring understudy Savannah Stevenson to step into her dainty shoes at short notice. With a marathon running time of three hours 45 minutes, “long-winded” has been top of the list of criticisms of this musical re-working of the American classic. The Pulitzer prize winning novel by Margaret Mitchell is of course, a weighty tome, but can be read at leisure: the movie was long too, but managed to carry it off due to the strength of its plotline and performances. The musical version simply doesn’t have the weight to support the length. The plot follows the fortunes of feisty Southern belle Scarlett through the American civil war, charting her on-off affair with the rugged Rhett Butler. Clark Gable starred opposite Vivien Leigh in the 1939 movie - a hard double act to follow. Jill Paice has a strong voice and looks lovely, but is a little too sweet to portray such a vicious vixen, while ex Pop Idol Darius might not seem man enough for the meaty role of Rhett. Actually, he’s not that bad, and his performance is one of the few things which earned some praise from the critics. To his credit, he’s matured into more than a one hit wonder. Growing away from his pop background over the past couple of years, Darius has branched out into musicals like Chicago and Guys and Dolls and can belt out a tune like a trouper. Captain Butler is no gentleman, as he acknowledges, pointing out to the capricious Scarlett that she is no lady – so the couple seem made for each other. But Scarlett is blinded by her crush on golden boy Ashley Wilkes (Edward Baker-Duly – otherwise known as Joe Fisher in Emmerdale and sports master Mr Malachay from Grange Hill) – whose marriage to the safe and saintly Melanie (Madeleine Worrall) makes him out of bounds. As the love-hate relationship between Scarlett and Rhett plays out against an equally stormy backdrop, there are some humorous touches along the way. At times the dialogue crackles with witticisms and one-liners worthy of Oscar Wilde. When one self-righteous woman denounces the renegade Rhett as “a viper in our bosom”, he laughingly retorts that he could find more ample refuge elsewhere. While wooing Scarlett he impatiently insists: “I can’t wait all my life to catch you between husbands.” And his legendary parting shot: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!” is delivered with enough panache to merit a round of applause. The script is faithful to the original book – perhaps a little too faithful in places, as writer and lyricist Margaret Martin tries to cram in all the key scenes from the Pulitzer prize-winning novel and sometimes risks overloading her script with historic detail. The result is an over-long second half which sometimes loses momentum. It could certainly do without the death bed singing scene. Bursting into song with your final breath might work in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, but not here. There are a number of deaths along the way and some are handled more effectively than others. Still, it’s not all gloom and doom, there are plenty of lighter moments, plus a few toe-tapping tunes as well as more poignant passages. One Gospel style number, Wings of a Dove, stands out above the rest. The signature tune should, by rights, be the one entitled Gone With the Wind, but this, like much of the score, is just not memorable enough. Costume designer Andreane Neofitou rustles up a rich seam of colourful crinolines, including a witty little number for Scarlett, who, when times are hard, has to supplement her wardrobe with a pair of curtains … (pull yourself together woman! there’s a war on!) The imaginative set design serves well to take the story through its changing moods. There was one slight technical problem (put it down to teething problems during the preview) which was hastily fixed and taken in good part by the audience. If only the rest could be so easily fixed, with a few cuts, changes and just one song good enough to get the audience humming the tune on the way out. For now, the show goes on, although, like its fiery heroine, it’s far from perfect, as the critics have been at pains to point out. So will the bad reviews kill off this musical, or will it find a willing audience regardless? At least there's a cult fan base and a market for all those tee shirts with slogans like “Fiddle-de-dee” and “I don’t give a damn!” As the winds of change sweep the past aside, Scarlett is a survivor, living to fight “another day”. Only time will tell whether this show has the fighting spirit to survive the storm of protest provoked by its debut. Angela Lord Gone with the Wind, New London Theatre, Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PW OpenTickets Special: Get the best available seats for just £30. Offer valid for weekday performances, until May 31st. Click here for details:


prettyinpink View member profile	3rd June 2008, 09:02 AM Post #55
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 15 March 2006 Posts: 4,844 User: 225	thanks to BT for finding this piece amongst the closure notices, We have the knowledge at least that Darius has been recognised for his role of Rhett, recieving much praise fomr even the harshest media critics and has shown a great number of people that he does have the talent. http://sftw.typepad.co.uk/something_for_th...ly-my-dear.html Frankly my dear, I do give a damn Gone With The Wind, The New London Theatre Darius Danesh receiving a standing ovation in a Covent Garden theatre? Not even Simon Cowell could possibly have dreamt that one up. But he got one last night, and it was a big one. More importantly, he deserved it. Taking up the vaunted mantle of Rhett Butler was never going to be easy, but Darius has taken up the challenge with gusto. He’s bigger than you think and he needs his massive shoulders to fill the uniform of one of the world’s most famous characters. This new, musical, production of Gone With The Wnd has arrived with bucket loads of publicity and on last nights evidence delivers on it’s promises. The large cast are almost constantly on stage and there are some great new songs to help the plot along. From spotlight solos to full cast numbers, there is plenty for the audience to get their teeth into. One of the great tricks of this show is that you forget the parts of the story that you have heard so many times and become involved with the plot in a different way. You almost seem to attach yourself to a particular favourite character and follow their trials and tribulations throughout. It’s defiantly better not to read up on the plot before you go as there are genuinely unexpected moments spotted throughout. Despite the great performance of Natasha Yvette Williams as Mammy, Scarlet’s constant companion, the night really does belong to Darius. His singing voice seems to have come on leaps and bounds from his tv trials and attacks on the charts. The deep range of his voice perfectly suits his role as the roughish southern gentlemen, while he has also mastered that most difficult of tasks – singing in character. His Glaswegian roots were completely put aside for the night and he delivered his lines with an unexpectedly good sense of comic timing. The crowds were of course, waiting in great expectation for the most famous lines of this much famed love story. Darius didn’t disappoint on this either, cheers echoed around the theatre as he left Scarlet in no doubt of how much of a damn he gave. In fact, neither Scarlett or Rhett disappointed in this respect, with the audience audibly pleased with their delivery. The setting of this latest show at the New London Theatre was a masterstroke .The audience is so close to the stage that fewer effects are needed, helping you feel closer to the lonely southern plantation. It’s also close to shops, restaurants and plenty of public transport. While the show is long at just over 3 hours, there are plenty of places to eat afterwards close to the main entrance. I didn’t even need an extra seat cushion as the action grabs your attention both before and after the well placed interval. Sean Collins


SpamFritter View member profile	29th June 2008, 02:53 AM Post #56
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Thanks to BT:- Link for MetroLife Gone With The Wind is too blustery Keith Watson - Thursday, April 24, 2008 Tomorrow, as Scarlett O'Hara likes to remind us, is another day. But there are times during Trevor Nunn's exhaustively epic musical account of Margaret Mitchell's novel when you fear that day will never come. Hidden amid all the historical bluster, Gone With The Wind is actually quite a simple story: girl wants the one she can't have, which blinds her to the merits of her true soulmate. So soulmate eventually legs it, thus proving that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. The fact that it takes nearly four hours for the dime to drop is down to Gone With The Wind's sweeping backdrop; spoilt Scarlett's love traumas are caught up in the turbulence of the American Civil War. Key events rattle past in a time-warping blur; the plot is thrust forward by narrators scuttling across stage like Pony Express messengers. As an exercise in efficient stagecraft – the famed burning of Atlanta is neatly handled with a giant blazing flag – it ticks all the boxes. The polished ensemble cast shift slickly from character to character and adapter Margaret Martin does an even-handed job of condensing Gone With The Wind's major themes, thrusting the emancipation of slavery centre-stage and catching the spirit of tumultuous times. But it's all too much for one musical to hope to contend with. None of which would matter two shakes of a Confederate's tail if Gone With The Wind came stacked with big tunes. But Martin's Les Mis-lite score is more workmanlike than inspired, clunky lyrics and second-hand tunes serviceably pushing the story forward but failing to stop the show. Tellingly, it's the gospel-influenced slave songs that pack the most emotional punch. That's because, while it's easy to feel concern for the slaves' plight, Scarlett is a hard heroine to warm to. Her journey is essentially from spoilt brat to hard b**ch, so an actress needs to harness real charisma to stir audiences' hearts. While Jill Paice is sharp and sassy (and, at times, painfully shrill), crucially she can't make Scarlett sympathetic. So it's hard to give a damn about her baffling infatuation with the drippy Ashley, particularly when her Rhett is such a catch. Against the odds, the true star of the show is Darius Danesh, who banishes all memories of his ludicrous Pop Idol buffoonery with a performance of subtlety and roguish charm as Rhett Butler. His deep, velvety voice is ideally suited to Nobody Knows You, one of the rare moments when Gone With The Wind transcends musical cliché. You just wish he had more to do, for while Gone With The Wind huffs and puffs, Darius aside, it never comes close to blowing the house down. Until Sep 27, New London Theatre, Drury Lane WC2, Mon 7pm, Tue to Sat 7.30pm, Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm, £27.50 to £60. Tel: 0844 412 4654. Tube: Covent Garden


SpamFritter View member profile	17th December 2008, 10:46 PM Post #57
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Thanks to Meg for finding this... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...h-The-Wind.html How they turned Pop Idol loser Darius into Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind By NICOLE LAMPERT Last updated at 10:54 18 April 2008 Opening night is just days away, and make-up are trying to work out how they can stop Rhett Butler giving Scarlett O'Hara stubble rash. Jill Paice, who plays the feisty heroine in question, is also trying on different lipsticks to see which is the most kiss-proof. ("Scarlett gets kissed to within an inch of her life in the first act," she says). She is hanging on for dear life to the sofa in her dressing room as she is laced into a corset that looks small enough to belong to Barbie. Swept off her feet: Jill Paice, who plays Scarlett O'Hara, and Darius Danesh as Rhett Butler Like Vivien Leigh, who starred as Scarlett O'Hara in the acclaimed film, Jill's waist measures just 22 inches when she is trussed up - although she gets an extra inch-and-a-half breathing space to allow her to sing. Jill, from Ohio, nabbed a role in the West End that many leading British actresses would have given their eye teeth for, but she's unrepentant. "Vivien Leigh was English and she went over to the U.S. and trumped all the Hollywood stars of the time so this is payback," she says. The previous night's preview performance of Gone With The Wind lasted for nearly four hours, with Jill on stage for practically every second. But with director Trevor Nunn determined to cut half an hour before opening night - and the cast in a tizzy that someone's going to lose a solo or two - there is no time to rest. "We've been rehearsing non-stop for weeks," says Jill, 28, who will be doing eight performances a week. "When I'm not in the theatre, I'm in bed. I have to pace myself. I should be exhausted but I have got such a passion for this show that it fuels my energy. "I have an unnatural obsession for Gone With The Wind. I've seen the film more than 30 times and read the book at least five." The original: Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh Gone With The Wind is nothing if not a story about passion. And it has taken immense passion to bring this musical version of the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel to the West End. Putting on a production, any sort of production of Gone With The Wind, would frighten even the most assured of playwrights. The 1,000-page novel - which still sells thousands of copies a year - has already spawned the classic Oscar-winning film which made a star of Vivien Leigh and a hero of Clark Gable. But none of that deterred Margaret Martin, a Los Angeles doctor of public health who has no track record in music or theatre. Like the force of nature that is Scarlett, Margaret decided she wanted to write a Gone With The Wind musical and nothing - neither sneering New York critics, nor rejection of her first attempts by the estate of Gone With The Wind writer Margaret Mitchell - was going to stop her. Margaret Martin saw many parallels of her own life in that of the ultimate Confederate heroine. A spoiled and somewhat wild Southern beauty, Scarlett is an early victim of the U.S. Civil War when her first husband (who she marries when the man she secretly loves, Ashley Wilkes, gets engaged to someone else) dies shortly after she has become pregnant. She sees her beloved home of Tara laid bare by Yankee forces and her father turned mad. Desperate to keep the homestead going, she marries her sister's sweetheart. Rhett is a constant figure in her life - the man who knows her best. And he becomes her third husband when the second dies. Lucky boy: Darius with his glamourous girlfriend, actress Natasha Henstridge Similarly, Margaret Martin was a single mother at the age of 17, and sees Scarlett as a mother determined to fend for her babies. "I had finished my doctoral studies and was working in a publishing house when I decided I wanted to do something really fun," she says. "I have always loved musical theatre and my parents were involved in it when I was growing up. "I looked at a few novels before I re-read Gone With The Wind and realised this was the one. As I was reading it, the songs wrote themselves. "Scarlett was a stressed-out single mother, trying to look after a family and doing what she had to do in order to survive. "I have personally experienced being a single mother - my first husband was abusive and I lived in poverty." Margaret, now 54, worked for two years on the musical, recording demos in cheap studios in her time off, before taking things forward. "When I told people what I was doing they would give me a mildly amused look, like I must be joking." Certain that she had written something good, however, she applied to the estate of author Margaret Mitchell for the rights to perform her musical. The first Margaret, like both her heroine Scarlett and the Margaret that followed her, was an independent, stubborn woman who wrote her first and only novel while bed-ridden with an ankle injury in 1926. For nearly ten years it gathered dust on a shelf in her house until a talent scout from the publisher Macmillan was tipped off about it and granted a look by Mitchell. Before he had finished reading the novel, however, she had sent him a telegram. "Send the manuscript back," she demanded. "I've changed my mind." Pop idol? Darius sprang to fame when he sang an embarrassing acapella version of Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time But by then he realised the treasure in his hands and convinced her to sign a contract. Within the first six months of publication, the book sold more than one million copies. It topped the bestseller lists for two years, and the film of the novel only increased its popularity. But despite pressure to write a followup - to reveal whether Rhett and Scarlett got back together again - Margaret refused to write any sequels or spin-offs, and never finished another book, dying at just 48 after a car accident. The novel still brings in $500,000 a year for the trust, who are known for being difficult when it comes to adaptations. The trust referred the second Margaret to their New York literary agents, William Morris, in front of whom she performed an impromptu version of her show. They were not impressed, calling her production "sincere but inexperienced" and she was denied the rights. "I cried, of course I cried - I had been working on it for two years," she says. But after a further two years and countless re-writes, she was finally given permission by them to stage her musical. After that breakthrough, she had to find someone to produce and direct it. By coincidence, she saw an interview with British director Trevor Nunn in the Los Angeles Times. He was talking about his passion for American history and the U.S. Civil War in particular. "I saw his interview as a personal letter to me," she says. "It told me to look no further." Just two-and-a-half months later, she had Nunn - one of the most acclaimed theatre directors in the world, with Cats, Les Miserables and the Royal Shakespeare Company on his CV - on board. The pair held their first workshop for the production in London in 2004. Darius Danish: He was a controversial Popstars and Pop Idol contestent but director Trevor Nunn was 'bowled over' Jill, who was then starring in Nunn's production of The Woman In White, played Scarlett. But it has taken another four years of hard work to get the show in production. Producer Aldo Scrofani had to find the £4.7million needed to put it on. Scrofani, whose productions have included the National Theatre's Carousel and Broadway hit City Of Angels, says: "Every production is a risk but this is the most important work I have been involved in. "We've had to combat a lot of cynicism - particularly in the U.S. - about why we should do this musical and how we can compete with the film. But this is based on the book, not the film, and is very different." The only concession the producers have made to the film, he insists, is Rhett's line: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," which cost them a small royalty payment. "It's just a few words but they are worth the expenditure," he says. More than a year was spent getting the cast together. After auditioning in London and the U.S., Jill was chosen to play the role she had long dreamed of. The actress, who was starring in a Broadway production at the time, says: "I was always desperate to get this role but I knew they might need to get a Hollywood name because of business. "Getting this part was just an incredible honour. It was really intimidating, but now that we are doing it, I just love it." Veteran actor Jeff Shankley, who plays John Wilkes in the show, says of his leading lady: "Jill carries such a huge lead on very slender shoulders but she makes it look effortless. "I'm not sure whether the audience can appreciate how much she is on stage. She is absolutely integral to the show." Finding someone to play Rhett was more difficult. Darius Danesh, the man who succeeded, was a surprising choice - being best known as a reality TV show loser (he failed to win either Popstars or Pop Idol). But 6ft 4in Danesh, 27, impressed all when he auditioned for the role after being recommended by people he had worked with on the musical Chicago. "We had been auditioning for weeks in England and America when in walked somebody I had never heard of before," recalls Nunn. "He was dark and handsome with big brown eyes and a mischievous expression. I was bowled over by his appearance and his magnificent voice." Scrofani insists: "People will not worry about Darius's talent when they see him. He is extremely serious and extremely talented. He is wonderful." The cast is huge, even by West End standards, with 35 people playing 90 roles. There is a huge room at the back of the theatre where the wigs are kept, and another for all the different beards and moustaches. Much of the action takes place among the audience - although this has already proved potentially dangerous. "People have to scoot their feet in to avoid getting tangled in our huge skirts," says Jill. "One of us nearly tripped up because a guy had taken his trainers off and left them where we were dancing." The fashion in Civil War America was for tight dresses with huge skirts, which means the female cast have to watch their weight. "If the clothes do become too tight I will have to tell them to stop eating," says wardrobe mistress Mhairi McKechnie. Right now, it seems, everyone is too nervous too eat. There is a lot riding on this show, which needs to play to audiences of 80 per cent capacity for nearly a year to make its money back. But, typically, at least one person is not brooking any idea of the show's failure. "There is a reason this book resonated around the world - and we have done an amazing job on it," says Margaret Martin. "I expect we will move a lot of people." • Gone With The Wind opens at the New London Theatre next Tuesday. A behind-the-scenes TV documentary will be screened on the TCM channel this Sunday.


SpamFritter View member profile	14th January 2009, 07:35 PM Post #58
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Thanks to BT for finding this from Entertainment Focus UK Link Here Gone With The Wind - Thursday 17th April 2008, New London Theatre, London Posted: Monday 21st April 2008 Set during the Civil War of the 1860’s, Gone With The Wind follows the story of Scarlett O’Hara (Jill Paice). Beginning at the O’Hara plantation in Georgia, Tara, Scarlett is on the hunt for a suitor and secretly pining for Ashley Wilkes (Edward Baker-Duly), a man who is due to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Madeleine Worrall). After realising that she is never going to be with Ashley, Scarlett decides to marry Charles Hamilton (David Roberts) shortly before he leaves to fight in the war. Before her marriage Scarlett meets the mysterious and unpredictable Rhett Butler (Darius Danesh) and finds her life doesn’t follow the smooth path that she had hoped for. Torn between men and family drama, Scarlett’s life is about to change forever. Gone With The Wind is considered a classic movie and it’s not one we ever expected to see transferred to the West End. Directed by Trevor Nunn, this new musical version transfers the essence of the movie to the stage and gives the audience value for money with its 3 and a half hour running time. Recreated on a round stage with the audience sat in semi-circles around it, Gone With The Wind is a touching, exciting and emotional piece of theatre. Many were sceptical when Darius Danesh was cast as Rhett Butler. His reality TV pedigree may put some people off seeing this show but they’d be missing out. Danesh is both charismatic and talented and he wipes the floor with the rest of the cast. His southern accent is superb and his singing voice stronger and richer than showcased on either of his solo albums. Danesh is a bright star and he captivates on stage, making the character of Rhett Butler his own. Gone With The Wind has a huge cast and at times the stage is simply bustling with cast members. As a whole the cast work impressively well together with Jina Burrows (Prissy) and Natasha Yvette Williams (Mammy) standing out from the rest. Burrows may be a small woman but she has an incredible voice. As one of the O’Hara family servants, Prissy gets a few moments to shine and Burrows has the crowd whooping and cheering with her triumphant solo song. Williams as Mammy is both funny and entertaining. As the key servant to the O’Hara family the audience feel for her and like Burrows she has an incredible singing voice. Sadly the weakest link is Jill Paice as Scarlett O’Hara. Maybe she hasn’t settled into the character yet but her accent was all over the place. Sometimes she sounded Southern but a lot of the time her accent struggled to sound anything other than English. This became off-putting and with the show being so long it broke our concentration on several occasions. Singing wise, Paice was spot on and she had chemistry with Danesh that had us believing the romance between the two. Gone With The Wind is an enjoyable play but it does suffer from a few faults. Despite being 3 and a half hours the show feels a bit rush in the final half hour. The inclusion of original songs in the mix actually works and Gone With The Wind is a triumphant production. Some may find the pace a bit slow but we enjoyed kicking back and watching a good old-fashioned drama unfold before our eyes. The true star here is Darius and his fans will be glad to see him back on top again. If you’re after a show with impressive special effects and an affecting story then this is the one for you.


SpamFritter View member profile	9th August 2009, 01:32 PM Post #59
Take me as I am.... Joined: 31 March 2006 Posts: 9,947 User: 321	Thanks to BT From The Sunday Times April 27, 2008 Gone with the Wind, New London - the Sunday Times review Gone with the Wind is nothing more than a flatulent raspberryChristopher Hart Recommend? The siege of Atlanta lasted four months. This new musical extravaganza, directed by Trevor Nunn, lasts four hours. Oddly, though, the musical feels longer. I suspect the siege of Atlanta had better jokes, too, and surely better music. Margaret Mitchell’s squillion-selling American civil-war block-buster, so famously filmed with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, has been turned into a show by Dr Margaret Martin, a Californian expert in maternal, child and family health. Which can only prompt the response: don’t give up the day job, honey. Because this Gone with the Wind is one big, windy, flatulent raspberry. The key to any good musical is the music, and, though Dr Martin studied music theory at the Colburn School of Performing Arts,LA, it doesn’t show. This is depthless pap, boasting every cliché. The live band reaches an identical brassy climax every time Rhett and Scarlett kiss. Or a telegram arrives. Or a child dies. Or at any other point when the audience apparently needs to be told: “This bit’s dramatic, okay, dumb bums?” Only occasionally are there hints of gospel or good ol’ cotton-field blues. Most of the songs hint at nothing but other bad musicals. When you think what influences Martin might have been open to - when you consider that the same period in the South produced the sublime soundtrack for the film Cold Mountain, with its astonishing sacred-harp songs - it’s an abysmal disappointment. Then there are the lyrics. These have been “adapted” by Nunn, which only makes you wonder what they must have sounded like before. At one point, I think my ears deceived me. Rhett Butler apparently sang: “The fog was thicker than pasta, just inches from disaster.” Maybe the fog was thicker than plaster, I’m not sure. Either way, you feel embarrassed for all concerned. The reprises don’t help, when the first time was more than enough. Every number bulges with earnest, depressingly aspirational sentiments. People kneel on the ground, gazing heavenward, vowing to be strong: “I will survive. I will go on. I will spread my wings and fly.” That kind of thing. “All men fight for freedom, from the moment of their birth.” Eh? No, they don’t. The emancipated blacks? They sing “Now we are freeeee! Free to live our lives, the way we want to beeeeee!”, or something like that. My ears kept tuning out. The performers cannot be blamed. They bawl along with genre-appropriate quavering emotion and end-of-line whispers, and always pronounce it “Gone with the Hwind”. An intriguing array of accents suggests everywhere from Bantry Bay to Santa Fe. Jill Paice is a perfectly credible Scarlett. In other words, you frequently want to slap her. In the movie, she slaps her slaves. That’s cleaned up here, even though portraying racism is not, duh, racist, and its excision only adds to the pervading blandness. Bestriding this shallow world like a colossus, and the only reason this gets two stars rather than one, is Darius Danesh, commanding and charismatic as that “insufferable peacock” Rhett Butler. Left hand in his pocket, right hand sweeping wide in manly gestures, eyebrows tauntingly cocky, voice like molasses, he perfectly suggests a cavalier (and possibly clap-ridden) Southern gent. Nunn seems to have directed sleepwalking. John Napier’s design has grandeur, encircling the auditorium with picket fences, trees that, on closer inspection, turn out to be made of stacks of old muskets, and vast flags of Old Glory and Bonnie Blue. Yet it’s curiously static, allowing for no changes, and, after four hours, your eyes are as bored as your ears. This epic of love and war is reduced to a series of interminable tiffs and tantrums between Rhett and Scarlett, expressed in limp, forgettable songs, the aural equivalent of chewing cotton. Will they, won’t they? Will she recapture him? Will he stay with her? Frankly, I fear, you won’t give a damn.