Chicago!
August 27, 2009 | Filed under Media, Uni/Work
Last night, I received what is bound to be the only perks of working in a non-profit organisation. I’ll never receive Christmases bonuses, or a company car, or anything like that – that’s not the nature of the NFP sector. We work for the benefit of our clients, not for any monetary gain.
However, last night I was invited by the Mirvac hotel chain to a cocktail party, and then to a showing of Chicago at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Our company has previously made bookings with their function rooms for events like our annual two day conference, the annual general meeting, and other seminars and lectures by visiting guest speakers – the invitation to myself and the executive officer of my organisation was really a “thanks for giving us your business, we hope that you continue to book your functions with us”. Which, fair enough – we’ve given them tens of thousands in business over the years, a couple of hundred spent in entertaining us for the evening is a good investment on their part.
We started off with a cocktail party at the Hotel Lindrum. My champagne glass was constantly topped up, and I was fed delicious canapes – oysters, an eggplant dish, an amazing fetta puff pastry, topped off with creme brulee for dessert. Transported to Her Majesty’s Theatre by coach, we received a free program (they’re expensive!), and excellent front row seats in the dress circle for the show. In the interval, we had free snacks from the concession bar, our own private entertainment room, and ongoing drinks. Overall, it was an excellent boozy evening with lots of schmoozing.
And Chicago, oh my god, Chicago. I love the movie, and I’ve seen it a million times – as a result, I was afraid that my experience would be coloured by my blow-by-blow familiarity with the film. It was to some extent; I was surprised by how musically driven the play is (there’s little dialogue), whereas in the film, the musical numbers were spectacular, but by no means all there was to the film. The set and costuming too were surprisingly spare in comparison to the movie, with no costume changes, and hardly any props other than a few chairs. The play on the whole was driven largely by its individual powerhouse performances (Caroline O’Connor is amazing as Velma), whereas the film is driven more by spectacle, colour, and visual effects – the whole experience, rather than the singular character.
I kind of want to become a theatre actress for real now.
5 Responses to Chicago!
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did you put out for your executive officer? it’s the polite thing to do
Reply: I don’t think she or her husband would have appreciated it.
matt dennis on August 27, 2009 #
Your night sounded so fabulous Amanda! *is a bit jealous* I’m a bit disappointed to hear that the theatre version wasn’t quite at par with the the film, but then again, it would be quite difficult for the producers to do so. :P
Enzo on August 27, 2009 #
Well, movies can handle that sort of sensationalism because they’re pieced together and such. As a fairly regular theater goer, most stages are pretty spare with props and rely heavily on the actors + choreography.
And I mean, Chicago IS a musical. Musicals traditionally have no dialogue at all, such at Movin’ Out, the play based on Billy Joel’s music. If you wanted dialogue, a musical really isn’t what you’re looking for.
Stephanie on August 28, 2009 #
Wow, that sounds amazing! I seriously love theater.
Caity on August 29, 2009 #
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