Review-Glorious!-Sweet & Sour Productions
2-5-13
By: Meaghan McGurgan
Sweet and Sour Productions’ Glorious! is just that. It’s sweet and charming; the perfect show to bring your family to. The content is perfectly child appropriate and is well suggested for any budding performers or musicians in Hong Kong. Glorious! tells the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a real life opera singer and socialite from NYC who became infamous for being the “worst singer in the world”. She rose to “fame” by becoming a patron of the Verdi Club and gaining the support of several famous singers in her day, even Cole Porter.
Sweet and Sour Productions version of this tale is beautifully designed from a scenic and costume perspective. It looks beautiful, it looks expensive and has the quirky touches that match our leading lady. My favorite look of the costume design was most definitely the opening ensemble for Ms. Jenkins. I love the red fox... And the show’s final costume piece for the concert at Carnegie Hall is hilarious. Well done to costume designer, Clare Sterns. The set design by Ernesto Corpus is beautifully laid out. I especially loved what he did with the flats. The rich colors of Jenkins’ apartment were perfectly suited to her colorful personality. And props to the props guy for all the little details he found!
As much as I loved Corpus’ set design I was not a big fan of the lighting in tonight’s show. It was too heavy on the down light, lacked front light and overused yellow gels which turned the hilarious “bird in flight” dress from a regal purple to a sickening brown color. Dark spots plagued the stage and left us with key moments in the dark. One scene where the lighting particularly bothered me was the funeral. There was a pool of the light in the downstage but the spots where the actors stood was very dark. It was difficult to make their faces out. Cosme’s closing monologue was also a lighting moment where I begged to see Andrew Swift’s face a little more clearly.
Jacqueline Gourlay Grant is effervescent as Florence. Her portrayal lights up the stage and has a charming personality that makes you want to love her despite her lack of talent. Andrew Swift was an excellent straight man for the production. He played his part with subtlety and was a fantastic piano player.
My favorite moment of the play was the tango scene. Barry O’Rourke and Grant were hilarious. Their facial expressions really sold it. The transition from this into the next key part of the story was pretty flawless. I truly loved this moment in Act 2.
Moore’s direction at moments reminded me of 1940s comedies. The staging was very deliberate and full of little gems recalling the old black and whites I used to watch with my mom. Yes, it’s a silly story but it’s true! The fact that all of this happened to Jenkins in real life is astonishing to me. I really enjoyed the story and hearing about Jenkins’ life of decadence.
She taught me tonight to be a little braver. She inspired me. And, although I do not encourage her philosophy on banning critics and naysayers from productions, I respect it. She knew what she wanted and she had the resources to go get it. We all need a little Florence in us.
Glorious! is playing at the HK Rep Black Box in Sheung Wan through Sunday. For more information, click here.
Comments
Ernesto Maurice Corpus
Set, lighting and props Designer for "Glorious".
02 May 2013
Dear Meaghan,
Thank you for liking the set. And thank you for liking the little details that the props guy (a.k.a. MOI) found to decorate the set.
We had deliberately reduced the downstage lights for some scenes to maintain a feeling of intimacy.Although I do agree that the funeral scene was darker upstage, we have noted your comment and have made adjustments re. face lighting, while still maintaining the somber mood of the scene. As to the "Bird In Flight" dress, I'm assuming you are referring to the baroque gown worn in the Carnegie Hall scene? I must correct you in saying that is is not purple at all but an old burnished gold colour, and the yellow spots are deliberately meant to bring out a slight garishness and added humour to the whole scene. Unless you of course mean the Spanish flamenco dress worn during the Ball of The Silver Skylarks, which is in Flame Red.
Perhaps it may help if you attended shows next time with someone who is not colour-blind.brad jacobs
Loved the show. Although, I must point out to the designer who is here being rude; that there was a purple dress covered in seagulls in the party scene. The friend was wearing it. And it did turn brown under the yellow lights. Yellow lights + purple dress = brown
03 May 2013Jemma
Is it bad that one of my favorite things about this site is watching the comment section for when artists get their panties in a wad over a critique? It's bad, right? But oh so good! Keep it up hkeld!
03 May 2013acr9e
Some people can't take criticism. They think their shit don't stank. Well sometimes it does. A critic's job is to tell you things they like and don't like. Grow a pair and take it like a professional.
04 May 2013Annie
We shouldn't let Ernie's comments color our perspeption of the play. It was a good show and well deserving of 4 stars. Although, the designer needs to learn some humility.
31 May 2013