Monday, September 14, 2015

Aspects of Love

I didn't except to like Aspects of Love AT ALL. I hate the title song... but luckily, this musical is not just that song over and over again.

Alex, originally played by Michael Ball, is crazy. Crazy like how Romeo is crazy. Like, he just wants to be in love with SOMEONE, and he's very jealous and obnoxious. Of course, Rose is no better, and as a stereotypical actress she is flighty (albeit, French/Italian-"period" flighty) and dramatic. They seem a perfect match. They probably are, but then Rose marries Alex's uncle George and then Alex tries to kill her but eventually all is forgiven, Rose and George's old mistress Guilietta almost (or DO, in some productions) have an affair with each other, and then 15 years later Rose's daughter falls madly in love with Alex (even though she's also his cousin) and then George dies because he's so sad his beloved daughter is crushing-hard on Alex and Rose tries to take him back, but Alex instead goes with Giulietta.

WHEW.

Look, a lot happens. And it's weird. And I'm not claiming the story is the BEST or that it's not confusing, but the music isn't so bad. And in a show that's sung-through, isn't that the most important thing?

I enjoyed listening to it, even though I got lost in the plot a lot. But, ALW surprised me with this one. Besides the strange vocal style in which Michael Ball sings, he and the other cast members do a great job.

I honestly don't know if I want to see it. It might be really pretentious on stage. But, at least for now, I was pleasantly surprised.

Aspects of Love
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Don Black, Charles Hart
Book by Andrew Lloyd Webber
wikipedia article

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