Firstly, a bit of context. I approached Lazarus as a life-long DB enthusiast and also a lover of musicals. However that love has never extended to ‘jukebox musicals’ (apart from the film of Jersey Boys – but that doesn’t really count). I just don’t really get the ‘hit song’ being used by actors on a stage with actor voices in forced conditions.
So, Lazarus.
Interesting ‘new theatre space’ as it is described – bit like a fancy portacabin, but the block design reflects the simple set of the apartment interior well. It’s 1h 50mins with no interval.
I’m trying to avoid giving an opinion…
Overall I didn’t love it, maybe I liked it a bit (in parts) and I kind of respected it but also had my ‘Emperor’s New Clothes!!’ Alert flashing fast.
The staging was very impressive – making imaginative use of video projections – which seems very much the way things are going in order to make a strong artistic impression without stagehands. The band, all looking serious and hipster in black shirts, are in a faux studio at the back of the stage – this works well.
The plot? Haven’t got much of a clue beyond the bare bones – Thomas Newton being sad in his apartment, dreaming of escaping, missing Mary Lou and having visions/hallucinations/dreams. Visually not that many flashbacks to the film. The other main male lead is a murderer, but if there is another connection rather than him being a Patrick Bateman type (and a way to set up Valentine’s Day) it was lost on me.
The songs? Some work – but mainly the new ones, as I hadn’t heard them before. The reworkings were largely miss for me – too stagey and ‘ACTING’ to make the lyrics fit. The ‘I could be king’ line from Heroes delivered by Thomas in a mock medieval/regal voice and gesture was a lowlight for me. And Where Are We Now is performed faithfully against Berlin footage – but didn’t have any connection to the plot? Or I missed it??
The cast were good, given my position on the material. Particularly the 2 female leads.
Afterwards I saw the comments on Twitter…’Amazing’…’I was in bits at Where Are We Now’…’I cried like a baby’. And the programme makes Bowie’s contribution clear and interesting (he chose the songs) – his collaborators are all top notch. So, I must be wrong.
Maybe, it’s partially me and that I like my connections with an artist to feel personal rather than with a baying genuflecting crowd.
But overall, it was like ‘We Will Rock You’ as if made by BBC4.
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Moose the Mooche says
Great review. One for the (very committed) fans, I think.
timtunes says
Cheers, although I might also say the very blinkered fans. I would certainly not recommend it to a hardcore discerning fan – it will depend on their own tastes.
And of course I may have missed a whole bunch of subtleties….
ganglesprocket says
“We will rock you as if made by BBC4” That really is brilliant. “Rock Of Ages” was a ton of fun by the way…
timtunes says
Didn’t see it onstage – thought the film was OK
minibreakfast says
Sounds like a right cringe-along. Great review.
Black Type says
I’m going on the anniversary of his passing, so I’m sure the emotional punch will be that much harder. From what I’ve seen and read, I’m not going in expectation of a cohesive narrative, so I will view it as a spectacle with great tunes, and just let it wash over me. Regarding the theatre, can I ask where you were seated, whether you had a decent view and how the seating is arranged? My tickets are near to the back, and I’m hoping that there’s some kind of banked/raised arrangement.
MC Escher says
I’m going tonight, approaching it (now) with a mix of trepidation & excitement. I hope this doesn’t ruin Bowie for me…
Black Type says
Why on (the man who fell to) earth would it?
timtunes says
I am shallow, I admit it.
As a ‘hardcore’ fan (as I saw it) I sold my ticket to see him at the MK Bowl in 1983 because I was irritated by the Let’s Dance bandwagon jumpers. My loss, I guess but I did get twice the ticket price in return ;).
timtunes says
I was near the front but there is a good incline on the seats – I think you’ll be fine – the graphics will be better from there
Kaisfatdad says
Excellent review Tim. You stick to your guns! if you were underwhelmed. I am sure you are right. You make your case well certainly.
This autumn there is a plethora of DB tribute shows touring Sweden. The thin white Bowie bandwagon is bursting at the seams.
timtunes says
Listening to the soundtrack – sounds way better than in the play…just had to confess..
timtunes says
Interesting review here – he enjoyed the music more than me but had his misgivings re plot etc http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/theater/review-david-bowie-songs-and-a-familiar-alien-in-lazarus.html?_r=0
Tiggerlion says
Those last three Bowie songs are a painful listen. A mournful ballad, an industrial rage and a purgative stomper, all played brilliantly by the Blackstar band. His singing and the poignant lyrics are almost too much bear. Here is a man looking death squarely in the eye and still having the presence of mind to make chess moves.
Moose the Mooche says
When I Met you sounds like a Next Day offcut… or a bridge between the two albums. He sounds like he’s having fun on these songs, in his own way.
I think Paul Buchanan should cover the whole damn album, including these songs.
Tiggerlion says
Yes. It is more like The Next Day material (less sax). The lyrics are much darker.
When I met you (You’re feeling depressed)
I could not speak (You’re drowning in pain)
You opened my mouth (You’re walking in midst)
You opened my heart (You’re leaving again)
My spirit shows (She tore you down)
The marks and stains (Happens all the same)
Could not exist (You were afraid)
When I met you
Now it’s all the same
It’s all the same
The sun is gone
It’s all the same
MC Escher says
Whether you go and see this or not depends on your view of “jukebox musicals,” where an artists’ songs are crowbarred into something resembling a plot. Or at least an understandable one, something that Lazarus lacks, sadly. I am firmly in the “avoid” camp and that’s the reason for my stated trepidation. Bowie means more to me that any of the other bands that have had the treatment and I guess the songs consequently have more personal meaning to me, so having them presented as a plot device in a musical was never really going to be acceptable.
The fact that the story is based on the characters from The Man Who Fell To Earth also means the crowbar is having to do double duty so the writer was not free to just make up a plot, dealing a bit of a hammer blow to having the songs serve the narrative. Perhaps I’ve missed the point.
There are some positives:
The singing is excellent throughout even on very difficult numbers like “Life on Mars?”.
The staging is very clever and the use of video techniques enhances, and sometimes even explains, what is going on.
The band do full justice to the music too, Given that they are in sight (apart from the drummer) at the back of the stage nearly throughout they add just enough to the spectacle without distracting you.
timtunes says
Yep, agree with all of that.
I would say that a few days later it is has got slightly better in my memory – also the album has quite a few good spots, in particular the singing of Sophia Anne -Caruso. This one sounds authentically ‘musical’