Entertainment on the Jewel

[lucia1024]

I will be taking my first cruise on NCL on Nov 27th. I was wondering how the entertainment and shows add up. Are they worth going to see every night? My DH and I like to relax after dinner by going to a show. What type of shows are they? Any critics are appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Dolphins]

The Jean Ann Ryan company had three production shows on our recent Norwegian Jewel 11 day cruise. While the cast was talented and energetic, especially the two dancers from Bellarus, I felt the material in two of the shows failed to achieve the desired objective they were trying to highlight. The first show "Band On The Run" featured the music of the seventies but other than a Village People medley and American Pie, few of the numbers were familiar to the audience on our cruise. They seemed to overlook a lot of popular music of that decade by the Carpenters, Manilow and Saturday Night Fever. The second show titled "Country Gold" highlighted country hits but again they selected obscure songs known to only the most fervent country fans while ignoring more easily recognizable hits.

Finally, the third show Cirque Bijou was spectacular and is not to be missed. It presented some innovative acrobatics not previously seen on any of the many cruises we have been on.

Of the performers who appeared on the other nights, pianist Juan Pablo Subirana was outstanding and if he is performing on your cruise, don't miss him.

The above is only my opinion from what I was able to glean from our passengers, an admittedly older group. Younger passengers and families may find the music of the first two shows more familiar.

[Host Kewlguy]

The entertainment on the Jewel was by far the best we have seen on any cruise we have been on. Jean Ann Ryan Company was excellent.

[newmexicoNita]

Most every show we saw on the Jewel was above and beyond what we had hoped for. The juggler, not me favorite, only because I am not totally into juggling, but he was good and funny: comedian, the very best and family oriented to boot; Of course the Jean Ryan group is always great though we, as old farts found them a little too loud. The first and third shows, especially the circus show was the best I have ever seen at sea. it was every bit as good as a $100 Vegas show. Vountry Gold, the second of the Jean Ryan productions was a disappointment to some, including us. We would have preferred some of the old country music. The one thing we felt was lacking: entertainment geared to those over 50. Still, the entertainment is as good, if not better than any we have seen on cruise ships and we have seen most of it. Do go, enjoy yourself and expect the best. NMnita

[HappyJoeCruiser]

The Jean Ann Ryan company had three production shows on our recent Norwegian Jewel 11 day cruise. While the cast was talented and energetic, especially the two dancers from Bellarus, I felt the material in two of the shows failed to achieve the desired objective they were trying to highlight. The first show "Band On The Run" featured the music of the seventies but other than a Village People medley and American Pie, few of the numbers were familiar to the audience on our cruise. They seemed to overlook a lot of popular music of that decade by the Carpenters, Manilow and Saturday Night Fever. The second show titled "Country Gold" highlighted country hits but again they selected obscure songs known to only the most fervent country fans while ignoring more easily recognizable hits.

Finally, the third show Cirque Bijou was spectacular and is not to be missed. It presented some innovative acrobatics not previously seen on any of the many cruises we have been on.

Of the performers who appeared on the other nights, pianist Juan Pablo Subirana was outstanding and if he is performing on your cruise, don't miss him.

The above is only my opinion from what I was able to glean from our passengers, an admittedly older group. Younger passengers and families may find the music of the first two shows more familiar.

 

I think the need for music to be recognized is a personal choice. I'm a professional musican myself and would most likely be glad that the shows contain selections that I haven't heard before or are not played on the radio everyday. I know from my own experiences playing out that there are a certain group of people that really only like hearing shows in which they know the songs. At the same time, we try to put together shows that introduce audiences to some new material and things they may like, but may not have heard before.

 

Don't get mad at me, but I think you may try to listen to music and not immediately consider it a bad thing if you don't happen to know the song. Every song you know you had to once hear for the first time. Why can that first time not be on the Jewel??? :o

 

The main question I would have, is the music performed well and are the arrangements fun to listen to? I know on the Sun cruise I was on, the trumpet player was very, very weak to the point that they had to use MP3 backings for the high parts he couldn't play. Many in the audience didn't even recognize this but my wife (who is not a musician) picked up on it as you would hear these break neck trumpet parts that the live performer was obviously not able to play. As a musician myself, I consider that cheesy and the arrangements should have been crafted to fit the skills of the band. The trombone player however was excellent as was the keyboardist. Vocals were almost always great. This was the Sun though, not the Jewel. I will be on the Jewel for Dec 25 out of Miami.

 

Have fun!

[Dolphins]

HappyJoeCruiser- What you say certainly has some validity but the point I was trying to make is that when you dedicate a show to the music of a particular decade, the audience looks forward to hearing the music they remember fondly from that era. The same holds for highlighting country hits. The audience expects to hear the hits they are familiar with. I don't think a show that pays tribute to a particular time or style of music is the proper venue for introducing the audience to songs they never heard of.

[DroopySails]

Good point about hearing new music, HappyJoe.

 

Your comments about the Sun show band made me smile. On our Panama Canal cruise on the Sun last year, all the musicians were competent, and some were great, with the exception of the show band. The trumpeter was indeed awful, and last year the trombonist was no musician either (perhaps they've replaced him). It was really distracting during the musicals to hear the show band frantically searching for the tune, and the late-night Big Band performances in the Observatory Lounge were out of the question if you valued your eardrums.

 

But the fabulous Fabio Zini made up for it all, and I loved Bobby Hamilton (I think that's right) on piano, too.

[newmexicoNita]

HappyJoeCruiser- What you say certainly has some validity but the point I was trying to make is that when you dedicate a show to the music of a particular decade, the audience looks forward to hearing the music they remember fondly from that era. The same holds for highlighting country hits. The audience expects to hear the hits they are familiar with. I don't think a show that pays tribute to a particular time or style of music is the proper venue for introducing the audience to songs they never heard of.

This is exactly how we felt about country Gold; we expected some of the big hits of today and yesterday, instead we felt it was more of a disco type of show: loud, very few if any recognizatble songs. We heard several complain about it and a few who loved it. NMNita

[HappyJoeCruiser]

HappyJoeCruiser- What you say certainly has some validity but the point I was trying to make is that when you dedicate a show to the music of a particular decade, the audience looks forward to hearing the music they remember fondly from that era. The same holds for highlighting country hits. The audience expects to hear the hits they are familiar with. I don't think a show that pays tribute to a particular time or style of music is the proper venue for introducing the audience to songs they never heard of.

 

I respectively disagree.

 

I've played tribute shows to various groups and genre's and while we will of course play some songs that are the most well known, we also try to pick up some of the songs that many may have never heard before. In some ways it's a musician's way of reaching out to the real fans of the genre or artist who WILL know the song.

 

Just because YOU don't know the song, doesn't mean that a country music buff or 70's music buff would not know the song. For them, hearing that rare, but great b-side cut, let's them know that your not just some cheesy cover band that plays top 10 stuff. When putting together play lists, members of the band always debate over how much obvious stuff to play and how much not so obvious stuff to play. But no good band I've ever been in would not have at least a few suprise selections that the masses may not have heard.

 

Remember too that good musicians, for better or for worst, tend to play to the educated listeners and care less about pleasing the masses. If you go to a Winton or Branford Marsalis concert expecting to hear their "greatest hits" then you would likely be dissapointed. Musicians that are good don't care if you've heard the song before or not. They also don't care if you walk out and don't come back. That is of course why they are some of the most respected musicians in the world and not part of a cheesy cover band.

 

So I respect that the NCL band may try to mix things up a bit and play some unfamiliar tunes. That is not a negative to me.

 

Your opinion that the music needs to be recognizable to be enjoyed is shared with a lot of other people. You are certainly not alone in that belief. But also remember the masses are also the ones that buy boy band CD's and throw money at the feet of 'talent' like Britney Spears.

 

Sorry to be so defensive, I just personally don't care too much for shows that re-run the top 10 list for the genre. I like the variety and hearing new stuff so I will always be voting with the minority who like bands that take a few chances with more rare selections.

[sjbdtz]

the audience looks forward to hearing the music they remember fondly from that era.

 

 

Hmm.... not sure where you were during that era, but I knew every single song that was part of the medley.

 

It was one of the most energetic performances (though a little over-choreographed) I'd seen.....until Cirque Bijoux.

 

Don't miss either of them! And my travelling companions said that the Country show was very good too, though I didn't go.

[calmac]

It is also worth bearing in mind that what is "popular" and well-known in one country may be very obscure in another e.g. songs that are hits here in the UK may never be heard in the USA, and vice versa.

[Dolphins]

The problem I find with some musicians is that they are more concerned with demonstrating their talents than they are with pleasing their audience. What they do to some music would make the composers wince. I thought that the best musician by far on the Norwegian Jewel was the pianist Juan Pablo Subirana who demonstrated his virtuosity by playing extermely difficult and yet easily recognizable selections. His stirring rendition of "Malaguena" was unforgettable. The only mistake he made was failing to bring enough of his CD's on board. He said they were all sold out on his first cruise. To me, having the audience clamoring for more from a performer they had never seen or heard before, is my idea of a "good musician."

[lucia1024]

Thanks so much for all of your help and opinions on the entertainment. I feel that I have already experienced the shows. Some sound really get. I can't wait to see the Cirque di Sole type show. My husband and I were going to spend $100 each to see this show in FL. It sounds like I will have this experience for free. (Well almost free). I can't wait to see the shows. It's in about 3 weeks!

[Cosmopolitan]

The Jean Ann Ryan company had three production shows on our recent Norwegian Jewel 11 day cruise. While the cast was talented and energetic, especially the two dancers from Bellarus, I felt the material in two of the shows failed to achieve the desired objective they were trying to highlight. The first show "Band On The Run" featured the music of the seventies but other than a Village People medley and American Pie, few of the numbers were familiar to the audience on our cruise. They seemed to overlook a lot of popular music of that decade by the Carpenters, Manilow and Saturday Night Fever. The second show titled "Country Gold" highlighted country hits but again they selected obscure songs known to only the most fervent country fans while ignoring more easily recognizable hits.

Finally, the third show Cirque Bijou was spectacular and is not to be missed. It presented some innovative acrobatics not previously seen on any of the many cruises we have been on.

 

Of the performers who appeared on the other nights, pianist Juan Pablo Subirana was outstanding and if he is performing on your cruise, don't miss him.

The above is only my opinion from what I was able to glean from our passengers, an admittedly older group. Younger passengers and families may find the music of the first two shows more familiar.

 

I agree with your review.

Though the Bellarus dancers were enough after 2 of their performances;) Same routine..different costumes:(

 

Cirque performance was great..considering their limited space.

 

Juan Pablo Subriana ~ an emazing guy..may people went back for his 2nd performance.

[Cosmopolitan]

sorry..I tried to edit ~

 

Juan Pablo Subriana - an amazing guy..many people went back for his 2nd performance.;)

[Dolphins]

For anybody who is interested, pianist extraordinaire Juan Pablo Subirana has a web-site you can easily find on Google.

[marvholly]

There is a roll call for the 11/27 Jewel on the NCL roll calls boards. Please join us if have not already.

[lucia1024]

Hi There!

 

I would love to join the roll call for the Nov 27th cruise, but I don't know how to locate it.

 

Your help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks