I did it!
I finally saw the legendary skating
musical
By mere chance, I happened to be at the same place
at the same time as the UK company. Our respective tours met in
Bristol and I jumped on the occasion to go. With the friend I went to
visit, we took the last two cheap seats that seemed to have an
acceptable location (my bet) and I am glad we did, the view from the
upper circle was perfect!
Originally created in 1984, the show has evolved a
lot since then and has known multiple versions.
I saw the simple version on a common stage, with the
rollerskate races projected in 3D on a big white screen. There is a
far more demanding, challenging and physical version in Germany with
a dedicated venue, specially designed for the show with a track
encircling the public for the race parts.
The show has been rearranged over the years, and as
a result, its soundtrack is quite varied, going from cheesy pop-ish
love songs, to funky disco songs, including rock'n roll, blues and
even hip-hop pieces.
The choreographies and the skate moves were quite
basic but the group parts were very well synchronized, which is not easy --
By experience, getting your bearings in a 3D environment and according to other
people is very different from freestyling solo on a 2D line of
cones...
Yet, I was strongly impressed by one of the
actors-singers-skaters of the play, embodying Electra, the electric
locomotive. Electra is played by that massive and magnetic black man
called Mykal
Rand who blew me away as soon as his first appearance, with a
wonderful one-foot toe spin perfectly balanced which I am totally
jealous of.
To keep it simple, the story is about a race between trains from different generations including steam, diesel and electric engines. There is also a love story, and the steam engine, who is obviously the underdog, triumphs in the end, winning the race and getting the girl.
Enjoy the show!
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J'avais déjà vu la vidéo mais j'avoue que c'est énorme, c'est trop kitchouss !!! :)
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