The Italian Stallion Onstage. He's A Thrill.
Rocky - The Musical - Fight From The Heart
Operettenhaus, Hamburg, 22nd November 2012
Adrian: Why do you wanna fight?Rocky: Because I can't sing or dance.
A quote from the movie, how suitable for the musical. The Rocky in the show - Drew Sarich - doesn't have to dance, okay perform some choreo, but oh boy how he can sing- and act.
Well, I need to confess when it comes up to Drew Sarich am totally biased. There are other performers who I adore, who even touch me more than Drew but what is so special about Drew Sarich in any role I have seen him since seeing him "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" thirteen years ago is how he does not just feels and breathes the parts, no he literally becomes the character.
Just everything is right, so real(istic) every little movement, every gesture, even the slightest eye brow raise comes across being so true.And seeing him in Rocky is no difference - he may not have the body Sylvester Stallone had though with the wig and the outfit there is certainly some similarity and looking so fit these days but he IS the honest, simple Rocky.
He is not just simply copying Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, yes often you are reminded so well of the movie but Drew manages to give his Rocky his own touches still to make him come truly alive onstage with the wholeheartedly sweet and slightly sloppy naivety.
He alone was already worth every cent of the the ticket price, one not cheap one as I splashed out on a so called golden circle ticket for my first visit to the show.
Golden circle seats are in the first few rows in the middle section which you have to leave for the final as the box ring of the big fight is moved into the auditorium overlapping these seats and people sitting there have to climb up onto the stage where there is a stand behind the ring to sit on which is quite an experience.
Okay, better start at the beginning though I just had to get the raving about Drew out of the way. Well the show, the storyline is very much that of the movie from 1976 which won three Oscars including best movie.
A lot of people said before that Rocky cannot work as a musical.
Plenty of musical fans said on forum etc. they would not want to see such a movie as a musical (have the ones moaning actually seen the movie?), plenty of fans of the movie would not want to see a musical. this kind of entertainment certain snobs turn up their noses at.
I personally loved the idea of it as I adore the movie (but only the first part of the Rocky series) telling a perfect story of an underdog who finds his way in (t)his world combined with a not too complex love story (and while Rocky is a boxer, the movie is not a boxer movie, it just so happens that the protagonist is one) and musicals in general.
Okay the movie is not one with the smartest most perfect dialogues but it is full of ordinary people, ordinary people watching can relate to and care for - just perfect for a musical.
 |
| Stage Entertainment/Morris Mac M |
There is Rocky in the slaughterhouse, him eating raw eggs, the ice-skating, Rocky running up the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum, the famous fanfare theme "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti, Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" (though not 100% correct in this show as actually from Rocky III, but here used when Rocky is training for the box fight, and hell how greatly is that scene choreographed with ensemble members dressed as Rocky and constantly someone moving, running around, training etc.) and so on.
Of course all these scenes (set design - Christopher Barreca) are a crowd-pleaser but what makes this stage show a fun night out is HOW they are done. Budget was totally blown on the set, the lighting and FX effects using projections of scenery as e.g. Rocky runs around Philadelphia, all seems to work more or less automated when Rocky's apartment comes on the stage from the left, the pet shop from the right, Pauli's apartment from both sides, the ring from everywhere constantly floating around not just being an ordinary box ring but also e.g. a ceiling of Rocky's apartment.
(Artificial) Carcasses in the slaughterhouse fly in from the top, other set revolves around being lockers on one side and a door on the other etc. - so much steel etc was used that the theatre apparently even had to strengthen the foundation of the theatre. Plus an apparent unique sound system was built in to create especially for the final a special box fight atmosphere.
All seems so well timed and co-ordinated and floats very well - as long as it works.
At the show I went to there were two interruptions as first the lockers in the box gym would not move into the right position and Rocky's apartment was only 2/3 onstage with the box ring not floating on the walls but very much crashing on it so that Drew had issues opening the front door plus other things seemed not to work as normally. It was certainly funny seeing Drew slightly improvising (sound was having issues too so you could not hear him properly and someone from audience screamed "Louder" and he reacted to it shouting his next two lines so cutely, made me giggle) and trying not to laugh.
Well hopefully the show will outgrow out of these teething troubles to not leave a bad aftertaste - I heard people after the show who rated act 1 as rather poor but that was partly due to the technical interruptions.
The highlight of course is the final, with it, as much as I can say, giving a rather realistic impression of a box fight.
The whole getting onstage is a bit like a cattle drive and some FOH staff seriously need to work on their customer service skills being rather rude but then sitting up there onstage behind the box ring with view into the audience seeing the fight so well choreographed (boxing choreography by Steven Hoggett, other choreography by Kelly Devine) and the audience's reaction to it you can only believe that it really must feel like that at a real box fight (not that I would go to one not really a fan of that sport) besides the feeling being under constant supervision, not only by the FOH staff near you but by some of the cast as well. :S
The fight is also played not only towards the main audience but also to us people on the stand on the stage (so is the curtain call). The fifteen rounds are perfectly staged and choreographed with some slow motion moments. Not all rounds are shown properly but the odd skipped, others only indicated so that it all feels quickly moving and entertaining and the touching final after the fight when Rocky screams his "Adrian" with her coming through the auditorium to the ring and both declaring their love for each other it is most heart melting.
In regards to the story the only annoying thing in this show are the bits with Gloria, Adrian's boss, who has turned into Paulie's on/off girlfriend in the stage show who also has two friends performing two numbers which are nice but so unneeded for the show and add to the length of the show (regular running time of around 2 hours and 50 minutes incl interval, nice idea of having text on the closed curtain telling us how many days till the fight there are counting down - though it is a bit off as it starts with 39 days till fight and ends with 33 at end of interval. Interestingly Thanksgiving in 1975 was on 27th Nov so 35 days till fight from that day and the final scene of act 1 is placed AFTER Thanksgiving).
Okay, it does not help that am not too much a fan of Alex Avenell as Gloria who is a bit too shrill for me though I am pleased that Franziska Lessing as one of her two friends is finally back on a stage in this city. Saying that though she is totally wasted but then a large number of ensemble are with being more decorations in a lot of scenes.
Of the main/larger roles besides Drew Sarich as Rocky especially Uwe Drewes as Mickey impresses. Being so different than the Mickey in the movie already from his looks he can nevertheless give the part another right quality to be convincing and touching.
I am not a fan of Wietske, as be can read >> here and with this show it hasn't changed. I cannot stand her speaking and her singing voice, the only moment she shines as Adrian when she has her big number arguing with her brother but that is more technical skills. As in figure skating where there was once the 6.0 system - technical merit 5-6, presentation max. 2. She just simply is not an Adrian for me. True, THE Adrian was, is and will always be Talia Shire but there is so little of the sweet shy vulnerable character as in the movie for me but too much affectation and too much brittleness, it also does not help that she reminds me a lot of her portrayal of "I" in Rebecca, the role she originated in Vienna and which I did not like her in due to exactly the same reason missing what the character is for me. Others reading reviews must have seen it, I haven't.
Terence Archie as Apollo Creed most probably would be the perfect casting with the right looks (what a body) and voice - when performed in English.
Unfortunately he has a massive accent and his articulation and his emphasis are way off, sometimes I even cannot understand him at all, and it impacts his performance for me massively. He gives me goosebumps when he sings his lines during "Eye Of The Tiger" when he can show off his excellent vocal capabilities but as long as he does not improve on how he presents the dialogues he is a bit of a disappointment.
In general accents are again getting on my nerves, same applies for e.g. Apollo's manager played by Christopher Hayes Hemmans or Darryll Smith as Dipper.
Others though leaving an impression on me are Robin Brosch as loan shark Gazzo and Frank Logemann as slimy Miles Jergens, the fight promoter (why is he actually called Miles in the musical?? :S ). Patrick Imhof as Paulie, again rather different as the movie Paulie, is great to watch.
The music (by Stephen Flaherty) is a bit of the weak link in the show, yes, as said, you have "Eye Of The Tigher" excellently performed by the cast and the orchestra (conducted by Tobias Vogt that night) and the scene it is featured in so well staged and the "Gonna Fly Now" but the rest is largely just of average standard. Saying that with the character of Rocky being an underdog, Adrian of shy character etc. massive belt outs and rock songs just do not seem right for me anyway.
Especially the songs Drew Sarich as Rocky sings suit the character as when Rocky hopes of just surviving all rounds just before the fight. What though is most disappointing are the lyrics (by Lynn Ahrens, translation by Wolfgang Adenberg), I can live with some of the dialogues (book Thomas Meehan, translation by Ruth Deny) being a bit simple as they underline again the characters but some of the lyrics are so ridiculous as when Rocky sings that he is pleased that as sad as his life is that at least his nose is not broken yet, not that the German translations are that great either. And it continues throughout the show.
Well overall the show delivers a good package with the weaker bits being evened out by the good ones and it is great entertaining night out, what a spectacle. I certainly will return especially to see the divine Drew Sarich again.
