i'm off to see "Seriously" !

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Enrique · #16 Post by **Enrique** » Sun 05 Feb 2006, 4:19 pm

thanks for the review Steve

Pani · #17 Post by **Pani** » Sun 05 Feb 2006, 6:26 pm

Steve Fett wrote:The 5 singers were all very different, and complimented each other perfectly with their different ranges and vocal styles.

The show opened up with a medly of "A Red Letter Day" then moved on with "Flamboyant", "Email" and "Love Is A Catastrophe".

The other songs performed were (if I can remember them all, and not necessarily in order !!) :

a medley of Miracles and Love Comes Quickly
Liberation
Rent
Nervously
So Sorry I Said
To Face The Truth
a medley of To Speak Is A Sin and I Want A Dog
Tonight Is Forever
Tall Thin Men
One In A Million
What Have I Done To Deserve This ? (sung by all 5 singers, each doing different lines)
Between Two Islands
How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously
Dominoe Dancing
I Can't Say Goodnight
Left To My Own Devices
Its A Sin
a medley of You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk and I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore
Jealousy
Here
Decadence
The Survivors
and then closed with Being Boring....

Sounds very very interesting, thanx a lot for
your review! Let's hope the show will be per-
formed in other locations as well ...

TrasTornado · #18 Post by **TrasTornado** » Sun 05 Feb 2006, 11:24 pm

Thanks for your review!

mindboy · #19 Post by **mindboy** » Mon 06 Feb 2006, 2:36 pm

Steve Fett wrote:
Naughty Zoot wrote:THANKS, Steve. It sounds like a great time. Maybe, if it's a hit in OZ, it'll get done elsewhere, too.

Did they really perform Tall thin Men ?
Yes !! Although I don't think many people knew it - only went for about 2 minutes as well ! Was sung by the gay guy to his boyfriend....!

I just wonder if Tall thin men has ever been released by PSB?

psb-freak · #20 Post by **psb-freak** » Mon 06 Feb 2006, 4:59 pm

mindboy wrote:
Steve Fett wrote:
Naughty Zoot wrote:THANKS, Steve. It sounds like a great time. Maybe, if it's a hit in OZ, it'll get done elsewhere, too.

Did they really perform Tall thin Men ?
Yes !! Although I don't think many people knew it - only went for about 2 minutes as well ! Was sung by the gay guy to his boyfriend....!
I just wonder if Tall thin men has ever been released by PSB?

Not officially. It´s just been spreaded on the internet. Fabulous song.

Pertan · #21 Post by **Pertan** » Mon 06 Feb 2006, 5:31 pm

Steve Fett wrote:oh, totally !!!

Hearing tracks like To Speak Is A Sin, Here, To Face The Truth and The Survivors performed live was like a dream come true !!

I am really hoping they are able to release a cd, without too many legal problems....it was just perfection.

please inform us if a CD or DVD will be released...

jmh · #22 Post by **jmh** » Mon 06 Feb 2006, 6:29 pm

what are the chances that neil and chris think " hang on, this sounds like an ideal suport act fo the new tour..."...?

sadly few, but it would be great...

Steve Fett · #23 Post by **Steve Fett** » Mon 06 Feb 2006, 10:50 pm

Pertan wrote:
Steve Fett wrote:oh, totally !!!

Hearing tracks like To Speak Is A Sin, Here, To Face The Truth and The Survivors performed live was like a dream come true !!

I am really hoping they are able to release a cd, without too many legal problems....it was just perfection.
please inform us if a CD or DVD will be released...

if there will be, i'll be sure to let you know !! I've asked the shows musical director about it, and he says that he's hoping they will be allowed to release a cast recording, granted Neil and Chris give them the go ahead !

And "Tall Thin Men" demo has been around the internet for ages now. Its on the "Closer To Heaven" demos....

Rusty · #24 Post by **Rusty** » Tue 07 Feb 2006, 2:02 am

I am SO regretting not flying to Melbourne to see this now! I just knew it would be bloody brilliant! Damn!
Hey Steve, did the director say anything about a national tour? And what was the audience reaction to the show? Hey, and thanks for the review, you've made me totally jealous

Technotrancemix · #25 Post by **Technotrancemix** » Tue 07 Feb 2006, 2:08 am

mindboy wrote:I just wonder if Tall thin men has ever been released by PSB?

Only on CD-R I'm afraid

Naughty Zoot · #26 Post by **Naughty Zoot** » Tue 07 Feb 2006, 3:16 am

Here's another review I found @ broadwayaustralia.com:

Seriously
Chapel off Chapel; Midsumma Festival
Wednesday, January 25, 2006. Opening Night Performance. Review by MICHAEL MAGNUSSON.

Confessions first. I managed to avoid Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe's band the Pet Shop Boys most of my life so the songs in Seriously weren’t familiar. But to just about everyone else hearing them reinterpreted as scenes emerging love or love in crisis, the familiar music and lyrics increased the impact.

Having resuscitated the career of Dusty Springfield (as anyone who has seen Dusty will know) and having worked with Elton John, Madonna and Kylie Minogue, The Pet Shop Boys have a big gay following. Having a gay following never hurt a music theatre composer and, with the built in theatricality of the Pet Shop Boys, it's hardly surprising to see a music theatre piece using their songs headlining this year's Midsumma Gay & Lesbian Festival.

Like its predecessor I Should Be So Lucky, by the same director/producer David Cox, which did the same thing with the equally iconic songs of Kylie Minogue, Seriously is a handsomely produced and stylishly performed piece. The show itself is selection of Tennant/Lowe songs with the famous deadpan, mildly camp and melodramatic hallmarks performed as self contained scenes for solo voice, duet, trio or full ensemble. One a stage swathed in flowing white silk curtains in homage to the Pet Shop Boys' chick visual style this lineup of singers is the main attraction. Five of the key players in the contemporary music and theatre scene who have worked in what seems to be half the major musicals performed in Australia over the last five years.

The younger men, Paul Ross and Anthony Costanzo, play out a developing romance between two young men. With their youthful voices and assured singing style, Ross and Costanzo transform these songs about budding love. Coming from a pop band background closer to Tennant and Lowe's own world Tania Doko brings these descriptive songs a pop ballad style light-years ahead of the empty 'Australian Idol' style that usually tackles songs like these. Without dominating the show the scenes of love gone sour are delivered by Maria Mercedes and David Gould like genuine excerpts from a major musical. These scenes are examples of how far these seemingly simple songs can take a dramatic situation without needing to be re written into overly complex accompaniments. Mercedes can really find the soul of these songs and turn them into big emotional statements.

With his matinee idol looks and suave, well-schooled bass baritone, David Gould can't help but dominate the proceedings. Hearing him in this, or any other show, must be what it felt like hearing the luxurious voiced opera singer Ezio Pinza in the original Broadway run of South Pacific. And like Pinza, Gould should be singing Mephistopheles in Faust not Mr. Mistoffolees in Cats, and in the world's great opera houses at that. But opera's loss is music theatre's gain and voices like his are rare in any field.

The songs have been arranged by Dean Lotherington for a classically elegant piano and string quartet always emphasizing the clever and important words (that everyone in the audience except me seemed to know by heart). The sound of the show is also excellent, with subtle amplification that allows for the voices and instruments to sound natural and immediate. As a show Seriously falls somewhere between review, cabaret and full-blown music theatre but whatever this hybrid is it is a refreshing shot in the arm for our local theatre scene.

Seriously plays until February 12. Bookings: (03) 8290 7000.

seriously · #27 Post by **seriously** » Tue 07 Feb 2006, 9:37 am

I wonder what N+C thought about Tall Thin Men, as there is really no legal way to get it (as it doesn't officially exist)

Steve Fett · #28 Post by **Steve Fett** » Tue 07 Feb 2006, 12:57 pm

Rusty wrote:I am SO regretting not flying to Melbourne to see this now! I just knew it would be bloody brilliant! Damn!
Hey Steve, did the director say anything about a national tour? And what was the audience reaction to the show? Hey, and thanks for the review, you've made me totally jealous

hey, you've got till Sunday to come to Melbourne !!!

Apparently the show's producer said that after the Melbourne run, there will be talk about maybe taking the show around....fingers crossed for you guys - it ws just THE best !

mindboy · #29 Post by **mindboy** » Wed 08 Feb 2006, 2:59 pm

Technotrancemix wrote:
mindboy wrote:I just wonder if Tall thin men has ever been released by PSB?
Only on CD-R I'm afraid

All I wondered about was if it can be performed by the others since it´s just the unreleased demo.

RaciePSB · #30 Post by **RaciePSB** » Thu 09 Feb 2006, 3:21 am

Rusty wrote:I am SO regretting not flying to Melbourne to see this now! I just knew it would be bloody brilliant! Damn!
Hey Steve, did the director say anything about a national tour? And what was the audience reaction to the show? Hey, and thanks for the review, you've made me totally jealous

Steve shame on you for not pre-warning me about this!! You are going to get such a spanking when I see you!

OMG I would have so been there with you (yeah, squooshed in the middle of you and Tim and going wild with excitement)! Your review totally did it for me - I am beyond envious!! (Btw, I think you should dump your dayjob and take up a possie as an entertainment reviewer - twas a good read!) Having never actually been to a PSB concert it would have been the closest thing. Is it not coming to Brisbane for godsakes??