Has anyone seen Whisper House? The music is from an album by Duncan Sheik, composer of Spring Awakening, which I enjoyed a great deal, but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Whisper House.
The story sounds interesting - delightfully spooky. I listened to the music last night, and liked a couple of the songs a lot. They had a bit of a later-Beatles vibe to them, and the lyrics were clever. The other songs, though, were awfully mellow, and I’m afraid I got a little bored.
I have the opportunity to see it at the Globe in a couple of weeks, and I’m wondering whether I should. Is it worth seeing for the experience, even though I didn’t love the music? Is it better live? Any thoughts?
Wow. No one’s seen it? Well, given that I am going after all, I’m going to assume no one’s been because it’s so new, and not because it’s terrible. Perhaps I’ll report back after I’ve seen it.
Well, I went last night, and enjoyed it very much. It’s unlike any other musical I’ve ever seen, in that it’s more like a play with lots of musical interludes. The main characters don’t actually do any of the singing - it’s all done by a pair of ghosts. It’s definitely not a traditional musical, but it is entertaining.
The music itself is really enjoyable, although it does drag a bit towards the middle. My son, in particular, really loved it, as it has the spooky dark humour he loves best (think Nightmare Before Christmas/ Tim Burton). The music is also not traditional musical fare. It has a pretty contemporary indie feeling.
The story is a little weak, but the historical background is fascinating, and there’s an interesting article in the playbill that elaborates on the history. The scenery, acting, costumes, etc. are all great, and although a number of early reviews mentioned problems with the sound, we noticed no such problems.
Overall, it was well worth seeing it, and I would recommend it. That being said, the ticket prices are pretty high (as they always are for the Globe, IMO) so, if you can, try to get them on Goldstar.