MovieChat Forums > The Woman in White (1998) Discussion > Who's seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber music...

Who's seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

posted 18 years ago by Celebrian11241
24 replies | jump to latest

It just opened up on Broadway. I saw last November in London, it was totaly amazing, I have never seen anything quite like it (that was a musical).

The music was OUTSTANDING, I loved every seconed of it. You HAVE to visit the website,

www.womaninwhitethemusical.com

Buy the soundtrack on eBay, I promise you wont be disapointed! Michael Crawford is in it, along with Maria Friedman.

It's a lot like the book, just a WHOLE lot more condensed. (I mean, come on, my copy is 648 pages, it could never adapt properly). It's got a different ending, (For a play, it's a much better end.)

It's eery, freaky, and beautiful. It sends chills up my spine whenever I listen to it!

"You have kept us both a prisoner, but now the truth has set us free. It will lock you up and damn your soul for all of eternity."

[–] JFP56md 18 years ago

I saw it a week after it opened on Broadway.I loved it.I saw the understudy for Maria Freedman and she was just as good. Michael Ball was hysterical as Fosco and the rest of the cast was phenominal

[–] Celebrian11241 18 years ago

Cool!

[–] cranfan4 18 years ago

Could someone please tell me whether or not it is a ghost story? I really would like to know. It's important.

[–] Celebrian11241 18 years ago

(spoilers kind of)

....well, that would kind of ruin it... but if you really want to know the only answer I can give you is that it is and it isn't.
sorry I couldn't be of more help!

"...so strange and yet so true, I see my soul in you."

[–] true-covenant 18 years ago

Well, I haven't seen the show, but I do own the original London cast album.

I think the show is very good. However, not as good as The Phantom of the Opera, merely because I found the score to be a bit strange. However, The Woman in White is a definite second to Phantom

"You alone can make my song take flight"

- The Phantom of the Opera

[–] dont_call_me_dave 18 years ago

I saw it on the West End and thought it was a little disappointing after Phantom and Superstar. The beginning was odd. It has some good songs in it, such as "Evermore Without You" and "I Believe My Heart". I also found the projection effect to be distracting and was left feeling a little cheated. As an director/actor myself i enjoy finding and seeing innovative ways to represent a time or place. Having projection to represent everything seems a little like the easy way out to me.

[–] sharlazoe 18 years ago

I own the CD also. Another beautiful score from Andrew Lloyd Webber, hes a genius!

[–] pltca 18 years ago

I too felt cheated. The projection way of staging just did not seem to be up to par with Lloyd Webbers other work. I was also looking for a signature song but did not hear it.

[–] whitelilacs07 18 years ago

I saw it in London a year ago. Really enjoyed it, but also felt mildly cheated, like you guys said. I have to say, the train at the end blew me away though! But now seeing this movie version, I kept wanting to hear the songs again, and felt that the musical did a better job at some points at telling the story (like Anne's "I've got a secret" refrain and the song at Laura and Sir Perceival's wedding, just haunting). Now I'd love to see it again! (and get the music)

Can words go straight to the heart?...Can words be as direct as the scent of roses?

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] BirseysGirl1986 18 years ago

Yes I saw the WestEnd performance in London in Dec 2005 when Ruthie Henshall played Marian Halcombe...IT WAS SOOO AMAZING!!!!!! I love Ruthie Henshall and i love The Woman In White....i've got the OLC soundtrack but I prefer Ruthie being in the OLC....cuz i think she's better to play Marian than the girl who does it on the cd!

My favorite song from WIW is All For Laura, because it makes me feel warm, safe and happy inside!!!

xxxx

[–] ninalb 18 years ago

I just saw it today. It was much better than I thought it would be.
I had gotten the CD a few weeks ago, two things. 1) The music makes no sense when you have not seen it, this is the only sound track where I had NO clue what was going on. 2) The synopsis (sp) in the booklet gives away WAY too much. If you have the CD and are planing on going to see it DO NOT READ THE SYNOPSIS!!!!
The set is amazing. It is not physical set, it is like a movie projected onto this really cool background thing that can move. Sorry, that made no sense but it is really cool if you see it. The only bad thing about this, is that it sometimes moved quickly in like a circular motion and I got a bit dizzy
The cast was very good. Sometimes I think they scraficed the sound of the music for the clarity of the words, but over all they sounded great. The acting was awesome, espeically Angela Christian. Unfortunatly I didn't get to see Michael Ball, I saw his understudy Norman Large. He was awesome though (just thought I might add that he was in Phantom at some point as the title role ). Count Fosco does practicly a whole song holding a rat, not fake but a real live rat, and it was HYSTERICAL!! Most of the show is a hardcore drama but there are at least two songs that were hilarious.
The music in general was alright, much better actualy seeing it than on the CD, but the story really outshined the music. It was so intricate and involved that you really had to pay attention but it drew you in effortlessly.

[–] nattizz87 18 years ago

How did it end? Did Walter marry Laura?

[–] ellendisney 18 years ago

They changed the ending after a few months. Walter marrys Laura and Marian is left alone at the grave of Anne Catherick. If anyone has seen it in West End, then the Broadway version is the same. Sadly, the Woman in White on Broadway closes at the Marqies Theather on Febuaray 11 (I not so sure, but I check it). It opened Novenber 18, 2005.

I haven't seen the show, but I have heard reviews and visited musical website to get information on the show.

[–] ellendisney 18 years ago

Actually, the date they closed on Broadway is Febuaray 19.

[–] batey_boodle 18 years ago

What was the original ending?
xx

[–] Rainbow123 18 years ago

The original ending had a stone cutter changing the name from "Lady Glyde" to "Anne Catherick" on the tombstone. That would've been very powerful. But alas, they changed it.

[–] Celebrian11241 18 years ago

Wow, seriously? So do they say different things and stuff? I liked the gravestone part, where the chipping is kind of going along with the music... Why did they change it?

Hey, I need to know. Is it true that they closed it on Broadway early because the cast developed medical problems (I heard Maria Friedman has breast cancer) and that nobody went to see it because the understuddies wern't famous? It sounds kind of snobbish, I know, but this is what I've heard.

I can get away with anything, it all comes down to style. You'll have a captive audience, as long as you beguile..

[–] outofcornflakes 18 years ago

i personally, didn't like the show, but i seem to be the only one.

[–] Celebrian11241 18 years ago

Thanks for your input. :)

[–] kec10 17 years ago

Hey, I need to know. Is it true that they closed it on Broadway early because the cast developed medical problems (I heard Maria Friedman has breast cancer) and that nobody went to see it because the understuddies wern't famous? It sounds kind of snobbish, I know, but this is what I've heard.

I don't believe the health issues involving both Maria Friedman and Michael Ball (who had developed a viral infection and lost his voice) were the main reason for the show closing. Neither actor was that well-known in the U.S.prior to the show's opening, although the publicity surrounding Maria's breast cancer diagnosis, coming as it did three days after the show started previews, helped increase her public profile. Many people found the show difficult to follow -- not sure why, as I had not read the book when I saw the show for the first time and had no problems following the plot. It was a show that people either loved or hated -- there was no middle ground.

The strange thing is they had announced that Judy Kuhn was going to take over the Marion Halcombe role while Maria Friedman was out for chemotherapy. Ms. Kuhn is a well-known, well-liked Broadway performer and I know of several people who were going to see the show specifically for her. For whatever reason, they decided at the beginning of February to close on the 19th of that month, so Ms. Kuhn never got the chance to play the role.

As for the ending -- when I saw the show in London, they had already changed the ended from Marian standing in the graveyard with the stonecutter changing the name. Instead, we saw Marian alone at the train tunnel, singing "I close my eyes, and I still see his face..." By the time I saw the show in London for the last time, they had changed the ending to the one that they used in the Broadway production, which I saw six times.

[–] deadpan_diva 17 years ago

Is the quote in your signature from the musical? I love it.

"I must go til ends my rope who from my birth was cursed with hope."

[–] Celebrian11241 17 years ago

Indeed it is.

[–] 17 years ago

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