Imagine This – what the press said:

Last night was press night for Imagine This, the new musical set in the Warsaw Ghetto. Despite our best wishes I’m afraid all did not go well.
Michael Billington in the Guardian was unimpressed

“They said it couldn’t be done: a musical about the Warsaw ghetto. And, now that I’ve seen it, I know that they were right

Oh dear

Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph was a bit more encouraging:

“At one level, the show strikes me as not bad at all. There are big soaring anthems, a strong love interest and a plot that undoubtedly grips. The production values, though far from extravagant, are effective enough, and though there are no star names, the performances are impressive … Imagine This has a certain integrity about it.

So far so good, but it didn’t stay that way:

Except, of course, for one inconvenient, incontrovertible and unpalatable fact – this is a musical that attempts to turn the Holocaust into entertainment.

And it got even worse by the end of the review:

Imagine This must finally be judged a manipulative and morally dubious show. In the present harsh economic climate, however, it is unlikely to trouble the West End for long.”

Benedict Nightingale in The Times wasn’t impressed either. He didn’t seem to have the same level of distaste for the choice of subject but he still wasn’t happy. He found many of the lines ‘clunky’ and said this was “accompanied by a major loss of nerve on everyone’s part”

Evening Standard critic Nicholas DeJong felt that the musical should come with a bad taste warning. He didn’t like the book or the score much either. He said:

In any case, the music and songs of Imagine This never do justice to its terrifying theme.”

So how can it be that those arbiters of blogging taste The West End Whingers loved the show? The Whingers are not known for their patience with anything below their undoubtedly high standards. They found themselves enjoying the show and it seems they were not alone:

Judging by the cheers of the audience at the curtain call and several who awarded standing ovations (probably Americans too – they’re on a high at the moment so it’s excused this time) it could prove to be the next surprise hit.
If the crowds who turn out for Les Miz (and God knows there are enough of them) aren’t deterred by the credit crunch The Whingers imagine this could be the just the fare they’ve been looking for. Imagine that.

Imagine This – have your say.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Have you seen the show? Do you agree with the critics or have they misjudged the show? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of Imagine This.

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Imagine This finishes its preview run and opens to the critics tonight at the New London Theatre. Good luck to the cast and producers from London Theatre Breaks Blog.

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The cast of the new musical Imagine This has just been announced. Peter Polycarpou will continue his role as Daniel from the Plymouth production.

Leila Benn-Harris (The Phantom of the Opera, Fame and Evita.) will play Daniel’s daughter Rebecca. She falls in love with Adam.

Simon Gleeson will play Adam, the mysterious stranger. Gleeson is best known in the UK for his TV work (Neighbours, and Eastenders). However he has a great musical track record in his native Australia ( Fame and Mamma Mia!)

Other Cast members for Imagine This

• Bernard Lloyd – Adolph
• Richard Cotton – Blick
• Michael Matus – Izzy
• Gary Milner – Otto
• Steven Serlin – Jan
• Sevan Stephan – Max
• Sarah Ingram – Sarah
• Cameron Leigh – Lola

**Book Imagine This London Theatre Breaks **

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Imagine This – the musical

Imagine This is a new musical set in Poland which is moving to The New London Theatre in the West End after a very successful run at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. The musical will start previews on November 4th and opens on November 19th.

**Book Imagine This London Theatre Breaks **

Imagine This – the story

The story is set in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 Poland and follows the passions, relationships and courage of a troupe of actors staging a play to try to keep hope alive in their community. The story is very much about ordinary people forced by extraordinary circumstances into making heroic decisions.
The theatre director Daniel Warshowky persuades his closest family and friends to put on a play that will inspire the community and force them to imagine a world beyond Nazi domination. He bases the play on the classic Jewish story of the martyrs of Masada. Trapped in their stronghold on top of Masada almost 1000 Jews, with their leader Eleazar ben Yair chose to commit suicide rather than give in to the Romans.

The action moves between the two stories, that of the Ghetto players and the Masada play.

Despite the grim situation the musical is full of hope, energy and optimism. Surprisingly there is also lots of humour in such tragic circumstances.

Imagine This – the music

The score is by Shuki Levy, whose previous work seems to have been mostly for children’s TV. He wrote the themes for Power Rangers, Inspector Gadget and He Man Masters of the Universe . This didn’t seem too promising but then I realised I could still remember the tunes of all these 90s classics! On further investigation I found there are samples from the Plymouth production available on the web site and I have to admit I was favourably impressed. The music is described as soaring and uplifting and from what I’ve heard that’s accurate. Juke box musical this is not! I suspect if you like the music from Marguerite you’ll like this.

The lyrics are by David Goldsmith who has worked with Levy before.

Imagine This – the cast

A full cast list for Imagine This has not yet been announced but so far we only know that Peter Polycarpou will carry on from the Plymouth production. Stephen Ashfield is unlikely to appear as he’s now in Jersey Boys and Annette McLaughlin seems to have other commitments as well.

**Book Imagine This London Theatre Breaks **

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