Mobile Phones to Be Banned in Theatres?

A director has said that mobile phones could be banned in the West End to stop patrons from filming. On the Simon Morris blog this week, I ask, could this really happen?

Simon Morris Wishes He Could Throw Mobile Phones into the Thames!

We all know it’s really annoying when you’re watching a musical you’ve spent money to see, and have waited for, for ages, when someone breaks out their phone. Whether they’re answering a text, calling a friend or filming a production with plans to post it later on YouTube, it makes you want to grab the phone and throw it into the Thames.

Whilst I have blogged about how to be an audience member when watching a musical theatre production, and I did talk about mobile phones, I do recognise that we need to have them on us when we’re in a theatre. That’s why I’ve always been dubious when West End personnel have talked about banning mobile phones in theatres (and they talk about it a lot). It just seems so impractical.

He Was Only Texting His Son, Who Was Ill.

And someone else has been at it recently; this time acclaimed West End director Anthony Biggs. According to the Daily Mail (who absolutely love this kind of thing) Biggs made the suggestion due to audience members constant need to film productions.

The publication has revealed that recently, actor David Judge interrupted a performance Athol Fugard’s Statements. Why? He and Jasmine Hyde, a fellow cast member, saw a man in the front row using his phone continuously. They thought he was filming them. Turns out, he was just texting his son, who was ill.

Phones Can “Ruin the Experience” But the Audience Does Tend to Rely on Them

This lead Biggs; artistic director at Jermyn Street Theatre, where the production was based, to make the suggestion that phones should be banned in the West End. He said that phones can “ruin the experience,” for the audience, and that because of this, new measures may need to be put in place to curb mobile phone use in shows.

I get what Biggs is saying. I also think it’s highly impractical. In this day and age, people use their phones all the time, that’s just a fact. Stop them, and watch, as ticket sales plummet faster than the economy did back in 2008.

Simon Morris Suggests that Actors Just suck it up!

Simon Morris readers, I really do understand how annoying mobile phones are when you’ve invested you heard earned time and money into watching a musical in the West End. However, in modern life, you just have to suck it up and deal with it. These are some of our country’s best actors. If they can’t put up with a few mobile phones, maybe they aren’t really up to the job!

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My Top Four Movie Musical Actors of All Time

This week I want to celebrate the leading men, who have made the movie musical what it is. Here on the SimonMorris blog are my top four leading movie musical men ever!

Behind Every Great Diva is A Leading Man

We tend to focus on the women who have made the movie musical what it is. Maybe, that is because the ‘stereotypical’ movie musical audience have always admires strong divas. That’s why when we think of the genre, our minds immediately go to sirens of song such as Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand and Liza Minnelli.

But we really shouldn’t discount the men. Have you ever heard that saying, behind every great men is a great woman? Well, in this artistic field, the opposite is true. Behind every dazzlingly delightful diva is a leading man of epic proportions.

These Four Leading Men Simply Shined on Screen

Of course, not every actor was able to hold their own against the star power of icons such as Garland and Streisand. However, some matched them note for note, step for step. These four simply shined on screen:

1)      Fred Astaire: No one did it quite like Fred Astaire. Arguably one of the very first actors to make it big in movie musicals, he was a demon on the dance floor. Along with Ginger Rogers, he formed one part of tinsel town’s most memorable dancing duos, and helped make dance an integral part of the movie musical in productions such as Top Hat, Follow the Fleet and Swing Time. Every actor who came after owes Astaire a huge debt of gratitude.

2)      Gene Kelly: If Astaire was one of the first memorable movie musical lead actors, then successor Gene Kelly was arguably one of the most iconic of all time. His roles in mega movie musicals An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain were so monumental, they still stand as the ones to beat to this very day.

3)      Mickey Rooney: The last of the Hollywood movie musical leading men, Rooney sadly passed away this year. But what a life he had. A veritable silver screen icon, he shone in a number of movie musical roles, including Babe in Arms with Miss Garland herself!

4)      Hugh Jackman: Frankly, since the golden age of Hollywood, the movie musical has gone downhill. When it did wow audiences all over again, we tended to focus on the performances of the leading ladies. However, that changed with the film version of Les Miserables, with Hugh Jackman in the leading role. A musical theatre veteran, you could tell he’d been cast perfectly, and could very well revive the classic movie musical leading man role that typified Hollywood in its heyday. 

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My Top Five Favourite Movie Musical Actresses

The actress often makes the movie musical, and on the Simon Morris blog this week, I’ve listed who I believe are the top five movie musical actresses ever!

A Combination of Theatre and Silver Screen

There are many elements to the movie musical – score, costumes, script etc., but without the star power of a truly world class leading lady – who can bring the main female role to life – it’s bound to fail!

But it takes a lot to be the leading lady of a movie musical. You’re not dealing with a live audience – therefore, you not only have to have the skills required for the stage, but those required for a star of the silver screen – to bring a truly iconic leading lady to life.

Simon Morris’ Fabulous Five Leading Ladies

It’s rare that an actress- no matter how talented – can make the transition one way or the other, but in my opinion, Simon Morris readers , these top five movie musical leading ladies were more than capable of tackling the task at hand:

1)      Judy Garland: Judy Garland is the quintessential movie musical leading lady. From Wizard of Oz to Summer Stock to A Star is Born, Garland typified the versatility required of a leading lady to take on the movie musical genre. Every actress sees Judy as the one to beat.

2)      Barbara Streisand: And she has a fierce contender in arguably the most famous musical theatre actress of all time, Barbara Streisand. Bab’s has taken leading lady roles in a number of movie musicals including Funny Girl, Yentl, and a remake of Garland’s own A Star is Born. Her killer vocals, effortless charm and sheer likeability, make her the perfect movie musical leading lady.

3)      Julie Andrews: Is there anything this woman can’t do. Easily one of the most successful actresses to ever come out of the UK, Andrews is possibly most remembered for her iconic turns in movie musicals The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. The enduring popularity of both productions, shows just how suited Andrews was, and always will be, to the role of movie musical star.

4)      Liza Minnelli: In every way, she really is her mother’s daughter. Minnelli proved that she is every bit the movie musical leading lady her mother was in 1972’s smash hit Cabaret.  Her haunting vocals, infectious presence and intriguing performance make her a star among movie musical leading ladies.

Angela Lansbury: Few have had a career as distinguished as Angela Lansbury, and she’s certainly proved that she’s capable of the title ‘movie musical leading lady’ in her time. She famously starred alongside Garland in 1946 western movie musical The Harvey Girls, and has since taken heralded roles in a number of others, including Bed knobs and Broomsticks, Blue Hawaii and Sweeney Todd.

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