From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity is a new musical by Tim Rice and with Darius in one of the lead roles. It only opened on Monday, and we bought cheap tickets before then in the spirit of adventure. As it turns out we needn’t have rushed, the upper circle wasn’t in use at all and we got upgraded to pretty good stalls seats.

The show is set in Hawaii in the run up to the Pearl Harbour attack, and follows the soldiers of G-company, most of whom have enlisted for a 30-year stretch to escape the great depression, not really expecting war. The story follows the relationships, romances, and tribulations that ultimately end in a series of tragedies almost unrelated to the violence of war. It sounds like all the right ingredients are there for a dramatic and ultimately poignant show, but it never really felt like it got going properly.

The lighting and set are noticeably very good. The quality of the singing is above average although the dancing was a little slack. The pseudo-military physicality and dance seemed weak in comparison to the National Theatre of Scotland’s “Black Watch” (which I must watch again on DVD). There are some quite cool bits where the dancers go all slow-motion which are well done. The plot evolves a little slowly and I didn’t really feel involved by any of the characters. There are some good songs, but I don’t remember the tunes today so I won’t be out to buy the soundtrack. A few of the songs seemed to be there to remind any “hard of thinking” audience members what was going on and what everyone was thinking…

A very pleasant way to pass a couple of hours, but not a musical likely to become a new classic! 3.5* from me!

These pictures are from just before the beginning and just after the end of the show.