Netflix Archives - North West End UK

6Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Shrek the Musical – Netflix

When William Steig’s 1990 picture book ‘Shrek!’ was adapted for the screen in 2001, the subverted fairy tale became an ogre-whelming success. A musical version came to Broadway in 2008, which has now been made available to watch on UK Netflix for the very first time. Centred around the story of the first Shrek film, the unsociable ogre (Brian d’Arcy James) is outraged to find his swamp taken over by fairy-tale creatures, banished there by Lord Farquaad (Christopher Sieber). Travelling to Duloc, Shrek agrees to rescue and deliver Princess Fiona (Sutton Foster) to the knee-high ruler to get his home back. James’ commanding voice compliments the titular role, and he demonstrates his singing talents by making Act One finale ‘Who I’d Be’ a standout, but his Scottish accent is painfully un...

The Prom – Netflix

When Coronavirus pressed pause in March of this year many key events were missed - weddings, christenings, graduations and proms. The high-school prom - a formal dance that originated in America which has gained global popularity – celebrates the start of adult life as teenagers tear up the dance floor in all of their finery following the ritual of ‘promposals’ (ever more inventive ways to ask someone to prom), corsages and limo rides. Netflix’s latest movie musical The Prom (an adaptation of Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin’s 2016 Broadway musical) provides a heartening tale of acceptance and redemption which is well judged to entertain audiences starved of live theatre and events. In these socially distant times seeing exuberant dancers not observing a safe two met...

Ben Platt Live – Radio City Music Hall

The American actor, singer and songwriter Ben Platt began his career as a child, performing in musicals such as The Music Man and Mame. He went on to appear in The Book of Mormon and originated the titular role in Dear Evan Hansen, earning a Tony award. His film credits include Ricki And The Flash, Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. On TV he stars in the quirkily satirical Netflix series, The Politician. Netflix now bring to the screen a recording of the last night of his debut concert tour, filmed at Radio City Music Hall, New York in September 2019. If your expectation is a collection of show tunes with perhaps the odd soft rock cover to illustrate Platt’s versatility, think again. There is nothing from a musical, not even Dear Evan Hansen. The concert is composed mainly of songs co-w...