Unfortunately, they did not make it clear which of the main stars were actually performing in each show, but I've listed those on the tour...
Cast: José Tirado/Alan Vincent (The Swan/Stranger), Neil Penlington/Simon Wakefield (The Prince), Saranne Curtin/Oxana Panchenko/Nina Goldman (The Queen), Leigh Daniels/Agnes Vandrepote (The Girlfriend), Alan Mosley/Peter Furness (The Private Secretary), and an amazing ensemble
Note: Alan Vincent, Neil Penlington, Saranne Curtin, & Nina Goldman were all part of the original Broadway cast, whose info can be found at the IBDb's Swan Lake page.
Before I begin my review, I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions both Renee (my sister-in-law, who I saw the show with) and I had read online about Matthew Bourne's version of Swan Lake.
First of all, his Swan Lake is NOT performed with an all male cast. All the swans are male, but that's a different statement entirely and not the one I had read about this Swan Lake.
Secondly, the roll of Odette does not exist. It is NOT played by a man as I had seen reported.
Now that those items are cleared up, I can get on with my thoughts.
I was so happy that Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake was a part of the Ahmanson Theatre season this year. I had heard many great things about it, and knew that it won three Tony awards. For a ballet to win that many awards (and be nominated for 5) was impressive enough, since the Tony awards tend to shy away from ballets.
The touring production of this show is truly amazing. The cast we saw (whoever they were) really did a fantastic job. I don't think I've ever seen a standing ovation so fast in the Ahmanson Theatre (a location that does not give standing ovations for every performance regardless of the quality).
In spite of all I had read before going to the theatre, I was very happy that I read the summary of Swan Lake, since it was very different from the standard Swan Lake ballet I know well. It was so interesting to see an entirely different story (including some pretty contemporary locations) with the same beloved Tchaikovsky score.
I expected to be impressed with Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, since I really enjoyed The Car Man and Play Without Words. However, I really did not expect it to be so funny. The audience was laughing throughout the show and it was really amazing how many things were going on at a time. I clearly missed a few things, since there were times when many people were laughing and I had missed the joke.
As always, Matthew Bourne impressed me with his study of movement. The choreography of the swans was absolutely amazing. It was very clear that they were swans from the movements. Renee and I would both like to see the tapes that he studied, since it would be interesting background information.
I am looking forward to the Edward Scissorhands at the Ahmanson even more now than I was before seeing Swan Lake. The 2006 Ahmanson season really has some interesting offerings from what I've heard already.
If you enjoy dacing, you should definitely see this if you can. Matthew Bourne even manages to incorporate other kids of dance into his version of the classic ballet. Swan Lake is not all ballet, which is even more interesting if you know the original ballet pretty well.
This would even be a good intro ballet to those who tend not to be interested in the genre, since it isn't "just" ballet, though ballet would have been plenty for me.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, ballet, dancing, Matthew Bourne, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams