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EVALUATION OF A PRODUCTIO.On I attended a performance of "The return of Return to the Forbidden Planet" which is a comedy musical by Bob Carlton. It is based loosely on the William Shakespeare play "The Tempest" but has touches of many of Shakespeare's works. The story of "The Tempest" has been fused with the idea of 50's B-movies to create and original musical, full of 50's and 60's rock'n' roll songs. My seat was located in the upper circle, front row, very near centre, which would have been a perfect view if it were not for the metal bar. The metal bar is in place for safety reasons, for example to stop people falling into the dress circle, but it also obstructs view to actions which may be happening on stage. Although it is only a small barrier, it is a nuisance and forces people to either stretch up and look over the bar or sink low in the seats and look under. This causes discomfort which can spoil your enjoyment in the theatre. There really is not much that could be done about this as it is an important safety feature in the theatre. In removing the bar, all that could be done is heightening the wall, causing more of an obstruction..
As the introduction stated, "Forbidden Planet" is based on "The Tempest" with hints of other Shakespeare plays. The show begins the moment you walk into the theatre. As you take your seat and look down at the stage you see the set as there is no curtain down. Then members of the cast (in full character) begin to enter the various seating areas and speak to the audience and go over safety procedures. A special safety procedure is then shown Reversing Polarity. Polarity needs to be reversed when the "Klystron Generator" fails. There was audience participation involved as the cast went to the front of the stage and the Captain, Captain Tempest, went over the procedure with the whole audience. When this was done the show got to a start with the narrator setting the scene..
Captain Tempest welcomes the audience on board'The Starship Albatross'. The captain informs his crew that they are getting a new science officer. The new science officer then enters the ship through the air lock and is revealed to be a woman. This shocks the whole of the crew. The science officer then explains that she can do the job just as well, or maybe even better, than any man can. In a short space of time the whole crew warms to their new science officer and accepts the fact that she is a woman. Everyone is getting on fine and a happy atmosphere has been created.Buy custom Evaluation of Return To The Forbidden Planet term paper
Suddenly, the ship runs into trouble and they crew find themselves being pulled, as if by magnates, to the nearest planet. As the captain is telling the crew that there is only one escape pod, the science officer is busy getting herself to it. She escapes leaving the rest of the ship's crew behind. This is shown by using a small model spaceship zooming across an aerial line positioned in the air above the stage. The ship prepares for a crash landing on this mysterious planet..
A man then requests to speak to the ship on the large monitor. They accept and the man introduces himself as Doctor Prospero. The crew wander how he got onto the empty planet, which does not even appear on the ships radar. He recalls a story he and his wife Gloria were scientists who discovered the formula to a drug named "The X Factor". It gave man the ability to create matter using the mind. But, Gloria ran away with the formula and locked Prospero and there infant daughter, Miranda, in a space capsule and send them off. Dr Prospero requests to come aboard the ship and after some hesitation, the captain agrees. Prospero, Miranda and their friendly robot, Ariel, board the spacecraft. Immediately, Cookie, the ships cook, falls in love with Miranda, now 16 years old. But just as quickly Miranda falls for Captain Tempest. Tempest is also very much attracted to Miranda but realises that she is only young and that he cannot follow these feelings for her..
Captain Tempest explains that their science officer has ran off in the escape pod. Ariel offers to help. He beliefs he can locate her and gravitationally pull her back to the ship. He does so and the science officer re-enters the ship. Prospero is shocked to find out that the ships science officer is actually his wife Gloria. The other crew members are shocked to learn this..
Miranda returns, having changed herself from a young looking woman in her own style of dress into a Marilyn Monroe style dress and wig, so as to look more mature, hoping that Tempest will find her more attractive and mature. Cookie also falls for her more and is upset when he learns that Tempests is indeed starting to fall her also.
Gloria strikes a bargain with Cookie. If he can get the "X Factor" formula she will help him get Miranda. Cookie gets the formula, which results in a hilarious comedy sequence with Ariel and Miranda together trying to get the formula from Cookie. It exchanges hands several times before Ariel chews it up and consumes it. Prospero, unaware that the formula is missing, drinks the last of his "X factor" drug to gain strength..
The ship is then attacked by an evil monster which, we discover, Dr Prospero created by his subconscious. He has to go out and destroy it as he created it. The ship then prepares to leave the planet. Captain Tempest and Miranda finally get together and Gloria is forgiven.
I feel that all of the actors were very good musicians but not many actors got the chance to show acting ability also. I will now evaluate some of the actors performances..
My favourite character of the night was Cookie, the ships cook, portrayed by Philip Reed. Cookie was a very loveable character as he reminded me of the pantomime character Buttons very funny, generally in a happy mood and the character that the audience warms to most. Cookie was also like Buttons, in that as hard as he tries, he never gets the girl in the end. Philip Reed did an excellent job portraying this character as he was full of never ending energy. He had very fast, yet relaxed bouncy movement which showed the type of character that Cookie is. I feel he could have improved his American accent as he change occasionally from a northern American state dialect to a southern American state dialect. Other than this his voice had clarity and diction so it was easy to understand the words he was saying. He had a very relaxed tone to his voice, which is also a good way of portraying Cookie. He also knew his surroundings very well which is a great advantage as he is constantly bounding about the set. Philip Reed is also an amazing musician. He effortlessly drifts from instrument to instrument but is more than likely to be found playing his dark blue standard 6-string Ibanez (if I'm not mistaken) guitar as if it is second nature to him. He showed great skill as he performed a mainly improvised guitar solo which included pieces of various songs which, on the night I attended, included a section of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. During this guitar solo Philip Reed successfully attempted such acts as playing while holding the guitar upside down behind his head, strumming the rhythm to a particular part of the tune with his teeth and playing notes by only hitting the string, at the correct frets, with his fingers and not picking it with the plectrum. Philip Reeds singing voice was amazing as it was very strong and all of his words could easily be made out. Other than his accent letting him down at times, Philip Reed put on a great performance which kept the audience at all times entertained.
Another character I was particularly fond of was Ariel, who was portrayed by Fredrick Ruth. Fredrick Ruth also portrayed his character very well. As he portrayed a robot you would expect very static, robotic movements. Also, an added feature to the character of Ariel was that he was on roller skates. This was a good idea as it gave his character something special, to set him apart from the rest of the characters but it also restricted movement on the stairs as he had to skilfully balance on the end of the skates to walk. The roller skates also had great comedy value during the sequence where Ariel and Miranda had to get the "X factor" formula from Cookie, as it allowed him to move very quickly. Many references are made to Shakespeare with lines from his plays being used, but in a way that would suit the particular time period. I found that a lot of these references came from Ariel. Fredrick Ruth's voice was also great. As he was a robot he could not speak in a fluent American accent as the other characters did. He did string words together though but they still had a broken up pattern to them. He had a mainly high pitched voice but it varied, sometimes it even varied during the course of one sentence. At times I found this annoying as I could sometimes not make out words. Being a robot, he didn't have much of a distinctive accent or dialect but with the varying pitch his voice sometimes lacked clarity. He was very humorous and kept the audience in stitches when he made jokes constantly..
My favourite female character was Gloria, the science office, portrayed by Diana Croft. In what may have been just another Shakespeare reference, Ariel said the line "Ill met by starlight, proud Gloria". I feel this is mimicking Oberon from Mid-Summers Night Dream when he said "ill met by moonlight proud Titania". Ariel's line gave me the impression that he is comparing the character of Gloria to that of Titania, as they share qualities such as being power-hungry but not meaning to be bad, and still loving her husband. Diana Croft obviously had an amazing singing voice, with a big problem being her lack of effort to concentrate on words and to just make a good sound. I could hardly understand a word she was singing for example when a song was sung after arrival and it was discovered she was Gloria. At times I am sure she should have been singing when she was making very good little noises!!! Her singing voice lacked clarity but her speaking voice did not have the same problems. She had a very convincing American accent which she kept up the whole way through. Her movement was fine and I also admire her ability to play instruments.
Other characters included Captain Tempest, the Starship captain, portrayed by Ian Conningham. Captain Tempest views himself as a bit of a hero, who holds the crew together. Unfortunately, it is usually Tempest causing the accidents and going into a panic when things are not running smoothly. Ian Conningham was very good at portraying this type of character. He used his facial expressions well, to convey the fact that he is in charge, in a smug but lovable way. His movements were well suited to Tempests nature. As he walked around the stage you could tell by his facial expressions and gestures that he was in charge. This was not abused, as he still had a loveable, approachable personality. Tempest is also a humorous character, which showed at many different places. For example, when he was assuring his crew that everything was going well, as he was holding everything on the Starship together. Tempest was unaware that behind him a series of different disasters and mishaps and disasters were occurring. Ian Conningham was extremely good at this and his timing was perfectly synchronised with what was happening behind him. He used his voice well during the performance. Conningham was another actor with a good American accent which remained constant throughout. He used the tone and pitch of his voice well, as he changed from many different emotions throughout. These include an almost stern tone and lower pitch when he is giving his crew instructions, a softer tone when he first sets his eyes on Miranda and a higher pitch due to shocked when the science officer is discovered to be Gloria. There is also a humours low pitch, husky toned "Barry White" style voice, which Conningham uses when he tries to impress Miranda. Overall a very strong performance.
An actress I was not too fond of was Sarah Beaumont who portrayed Miranda, Prospero and Gloria's daughter. In act one Miranda was a young 16 year old girl who, other than her father Prospero, had never met a man. In act two, the sight of Captain Tempest and Cookie had driven her man-crazy. Sarah Beaumont was great as Miranda's nature changed. She changed from fast paced movements, suited to Miranda's character and age, to be more slow, sexy and seductive movements, suited to an older, mature woman. This was emphasised by gestures she used while trying to seduce the reluctant Captain Tempest in act two. Although there was nothing wrong in her voice, singing and speaking, it just annoyed me - and I'm sure many other people - with its pitch. She had a very high voice which just got on my nerves when she sang songs, such as "Teenager in Love". I found it hard to enjoy Sarah Beaumont's overall performance with her voice. It was very squeaky but other than that, good diction and lots of clarity.
Some of the smaller parts could not be fully evaluated as they did nothing to evaluate in detail other than play music and act as crew members. They include Axel Dent, Health and Safety Officer, portrayed by Aberdeen born Scott Finlay. Cutie Cull, Nail Technician and Beauty Consultant, portrayed by Ally Holmes. Andy Sceptic, Ships Medic, portrayed by Cameron A Gordon and Dee Tergent, Ships Cleaner, portrayed by Wendy Parkin. They each play a variety of instruments including saxophones, keyboards, bass and drums. None of these actors look out of place on the stage as they all did a good job of being part of the ships crew. No one stood out in particular, though..
One of the most unexpected performances of the night was that of famous astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore! Sir Patrick Moore acted as a narrator at the beginning, middle and end of "Return to the Forbidden Planet". He sets the scene then later recaps the story and in another reference towards a Shakespeare play he recites a variation of Pucks closing speech in "Mid Summers Night Dream", but altering it to relate it to "Return to the Forbidden Planet". He was not required in this musical but did make a welcome addition to the "cast".
Through out the whole show only one set was used, the Starship. It was very well designed. Up centre was the air lock which was in three parts one lifting up, two opening out and had stairs inside for easy access to and from the stage. Under the lifting up section was the rotating Klystron Generator. There was a very large walkway along the top where many characters were to play instruments and a drum kit at centre stage right. There were two transporting pods at either side of the stage which formed two other entrances and exits, as opposed to the air lock. The instruments were each placed along the back of the walk way, or in a convenient place to where the actors would be able to quickly pick them up or get into position unnoticed . This was obviously very well planned and worked to the actors advantage. The set also consisted of many knobs, buttons, dials and other items which may be found on a Starship in the future. Most of these were never used or even acknowledged, but all added to the effect of a Starship. There were also many metal objects, such as bars and rails etc. This agrees with the stereotyped "Futuristic" world, where all things will apparently be metal, silver and shiny. This is possibly the reason the colour scheme is mainly made up of space age, futuristic silvers and metallic blues, with one of two touched of green. The backing of the ship was a curved pale silver material along the back of the stage. All of this worked very well as it added to the futuristic effect which I'm sure Bob Carlton, the Artistic Director and Rodney Ford, the Head of Design/Set Designer, were going for.
The lighting was used effectively at many points during the production. Most notably when the ships shields were in use. This was shown with circular shaped Gobos in purple coloured profile spots on the backing materials. Spotlights were used effectively when Ariel was singing solo and when Miranda and Tempest were on the raised platform singing. When the Science Officer made her escape the lights on the stage went to almost blackout, as spotlights were on the small model space shuttle zooming by in front of the stage. This was humorous and was emphasised by the clever use of lighting. Colours used in lighting were much the same as the set colours. When the ship was being attacked by the green monster, green lights were used to help the effect of the monsters presence. Other colours, such as red gels, were used mainly to give atmosphere throughout.
The music in "Forbidden Planet" was sensational. All music was live but unusually each and every instrument was portrayed by members of the cast on stage. The music portrayed was all rock'n' roll music of the 150/60's. Song included popular hits such as "Great Balls of Fire", "Monster Mash", "Good Vibrations" and "Johnny B Goode" to name but a few. For me, the most impressive musician of the night was Philip Reed, who portrayed Cookie, for his stunning guitar solo which I earlier described in detail. It was so amazing that it rendered me almost speechless. His skills had obviously been perfected over a number of years. Cookies praise does not diminish the performance of any of the other actors/musicians. Each drifted seamlessly from playing one instrument to another. This worked well as it gave variety in the performance and showcased the performers talents in other ways than acting and singing..
The costume in "Return to The Forbidden Planet" was very simple but effective. Each member of the starship's crews costume was in a style suited to "Star Trek". They each had blue uniforms, with the starship's logo on them. The only exceptions to this were Cookies apron, as he is the chef, Miranda and Prospero, as they are not part of the ships crew and Ariel, due to the fact that he is not part of the crew and he is a robot. When Gloria returned to the ship, her uniform had cuts and rips over it and her hair was ruffled . This gave the impression that she had been travelling roughly. Miranda went through her transformation from a "girl to a woman", so to convey this she had a hair and costume change and returned looking very much like a young Marilyn Monroe. The make up and costume job on Ariel must have been the most extensive. He had a silver robot suit and was painted with a metallic silver paint on every visible part of flesh on his body. Each of the actors make up worked well. For example, some of the more manual workers of the ships crew had dark colours on their face to represent dirt. Miranda's "transformation" was made much more effective due to the use of make-up. Bright red lipstick and a beauty spot were applied which added to the Marilyn Monroe, seductive image. Prospero's make-up made him look old, and as if he has been living on a deserted planet for years, using heavy shading around the eyes. The old image was enhanced with a long white realistic wig, which gives the impression that his hair has not been cut in years. There was very little in the way of detail to the other characters make, just basic stage make-up to give the face colour under the lights. The costume, hair and make-up overall worked in the actors favour, as well as in the shows favour.
There were numerous props used during "Forbidden Planet". Each of these was used well throughout. The monsters arms were a great idea. This consisted of two inflatable green arms which came through windows in the ship. They were controlled by members of the cast who looked as if they were struggling against the arms, but were actually covering the fact they were pulling ropes to make the ends of that arms come alive. All of the instruments were on stage, acting as props, as they were played by the actors. The starship's crew had ray guns which were realistic looking because the colours, shapes and styles were designed in the futuristic image which "Forbidden Planet" aims to achieve.
In conclusion, "The Return of Return to the Forbidden Planet" was a big success. It is one of the best shows I have attended as it is fun, humorous, full of surprise and excitement and has great songs, which the audience can sing and dance to. It had great music, lighting, setting, acting etc. and I think all of the actors and back stage crew did an excellent job considering the amount of work that had been put in by all of the actors and crew to make the show run as smoothly as possible. For these reasons, I recommend the show to absolutely everyone and anyone looking for a good time at the theatre..
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