On the face of it, you could see why reviving Promises, Promises would be an appealing prospect – written by Neil Simon from a Billy Wilder film and featuring a score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. But digging even just a little deeper – a running time of nearly 3 hours and an antiquated set of gender politics made it a tough one to watch, and an even tougher one to excuse in today’s society.
PROMISES, PROMISES – Southwark Playhouse
On the face of it, you could see why reviving Promises, Promises would be an appealing prospect – written by Neil Simon from a Billy Wilder film and featuring a score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. But digging even just a little deeper – a running time of nearly 3 hours and an antiquated set of gender politics made it a tough one to watch, and an even tougher one to excuse in today’s society.
PROMISES, PROMISES – Southwark Playhouse
Promises, Promises, the hit Broadway musical based on the multi Oscar-winning 1960 film The Apartment, with music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David and book by Neil Simon, has opened its doors for the first time in London since its 1969 West End premiere.
THE GREAT JEWISH AMERICAN SONGBOOK – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Once upon a time Jews wrote the shows…Now it seems they ARE the shows, with revues and plays, some good, some Bad lining up to have the “J” word in the title. The latest pot-pourri – or should that be cholent (google it) – of kosher-themed offerings is Aria Entertainment’s rather charming, which includes many of the 20th century songwriters who composed for Broadway and Hollywood. Note “many”, but significantly, not “all”, with notable omissions on the night including Bernstein, Sondheim, Styne, Kander, Ebb.
How to Kickstart funding for a new musical…
I’m passionate about new writing and love to be involved with supporting new projects. Paradise Lost was a Kickstarter project last year. It’s an epic new musical which is a collaboration between Lee Ormsby and Jonathan Wakeham. I wanted to find out more about Lee and the Paradise lost concept. So what follows is in Lee’s own words (unedited) the answers to questions I posed to him. I hope you enjoy it as much as Lee and I have writing and reading it.