tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post115307943793686363..comments2023-12-28T07:01:38.362-05:00Comments on <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/carolinerigoleau/gse_multipart61190.jpg">: Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-1153151668599068542006-07-17T11:54:00.000-04:002006-07-17T11:54:00.000-04:00to Lynne,Did you want to send along a review for m...to Lynne,<BR/><BR/>Did you want to send along a review for my blog? <BR/><BR/>I agree that Mrs. Fairfax doesn't need to be a comic character. She always had patter songs but in the earlier versions she also sets the tone of mystery at Thornfield which is completely absent from her character in the later versions. The show had been criticised for being too dark and depressing, so they started trying to make things more and more comical (which resulted in some really poor choices very late... You can see some of this in The Proposal clip where the audience bursts out laughing when Jane accepts Rochester because of the timing and the way she says 'yes, sir').<BR/><BR/>From what I hear, I think this last version only works on the big stage with its big effects, otherwise it will look disjointed.<BR/><BR/>I think JE has all the right materials for a musical (strong emotions are the only real basis for characters breaking into song). <BR/><BR/>I think the truth is that on Broadway they don't want to see a traditional rendering of a novel- they want spectacle and speed- and humor (after all the musical that was all the rage at the time was The Producers). I firmly believe that the show should be rewritten to include much of what was cut from its Toronto and La Jolla versions.Brontëanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-1153120835059144272006-07-17T03:20:00.000-04:002006-07-17T03:20:00.000-04:00I saw this in Blackpool and was very disappointed....I saw this in Blackpool and was very disappointed. I liked the portrayal of Bertha, but I was upset by the transformation of Mrs Fairfax into a figure of fun, a silly old woman providing some humour. I didn't think it was necessary. <BR/><BR/>I am a purist who likes any version of a classic to be faithful to the book, so whilst I understand the comments on the difficulty in staging this, for me I did not enjoy the changes which were made. <BR/><BR/>I am not entirely sure, having seen this, that Jane Eyre is suitable for turning into a musical.<BR/><BR/>LynneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-1153098873884803672006-07-16T21:14:00.000-04:002006-07-16T21:14:00.000-04:00There are a lot of possibilities here because book...There are a lot of possibilities here because books feature prominently in the production. It is also unclear if Bertha was disturbed by what she read or if she could not read it at all. It would tie, for example, with Bewick's. The Red Room is replaced with the attics at Gateshead (but Jane goes there voluntarily in order to read in peace. John Reed tears the book and she is left in the attic (although they don't say she is locked away as in the Red Room...)<BR/><BR/>Another possibility is that the book may be Paradise Lost. The work is quoted several times in the course of the show. Especially the passage about Adam and Eve walking through Eden. Jane and Helen read that passage together, and St.John reads it to her on the moors. When Jane finishes the passage for him he remarks: 'you know it well!' And she quips: 'Oh, I'm an expert at Paradise Lost...'<BR/><BR/>Although it is not unlikely that it is also tied to 'Sweet Liberty' in which Jane encourages several school girls to 'engage their minds and souls' but reading is not particularly mentioned...Brontëanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-1153096784271390662006-07-16T20:39:00.000-04:002006-07-16T20:39:00.000-04:00What do you thing Bertha's carrying a book could m...What do you thing Bertha's carrying a book could mean? Is it supposed to relate to Jane in some way? Or are they saying that she was literate and unfairly trapped?mysticgypsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419674376640859205noreply@blogger.com