28 posts
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Post by meisner on Aug 20, 2023 23:51:14 GMT
Since seeing the casting announcement for this i am so in 2 minds whether to book and equally there hasn't been much chat on here about it. I'd be interested to hear what people's views are before deciding to part with my cash.
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 18, 2023 22:21:45 GMT
That was…interesting. It’s far from the worst thing I’ve ever seen but it certainly isn’t a great or maybe even a “good” show. Putting aside it was a first preview and the leading lady needed to call out for her lines what seemed well over a dozen times - the structure of this show is very “and then this happened”, “and then this happened”, “and then this happened”, sometimes showing it (while also saying it) while other times just saying it and that creates a very choppy form of storytelling.
The problem with jukebox musicals in general is that the story relies on lyrics written for a completely different purpose than you’re trying to tell. With a BIO musical it’s even worse, the songs can seem even more shoehorned in like they did here a lot of the time. Some of them worked though, and others just contributed to the very long run time. The show ran 3 hours tonight (around an hour twenty for act one and an hour ten for act two plus late start time, interval and pre show speech from Ben Elton) and I’m sure with time that will obviously shorten but there were more than a few times I thought “they can end it here and I’ll be fine”. It didn’t help that the theatre seemed like a sauna at times - the second show in a week I’ve been to where I’ve come out soaked through.
A two star rating for me, though.
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5,318 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 18, 2023 22:57:18 GMT
That was…interesting. It’s far from the worst thing I’ve ever seen but it certainly isn’t a great or maybe even a “good” show. Putting aside it was a first preview and the leading lady needed to call out for her lines what seemed well over a dozen times - the structure of this show is very “and then this happened”, “and then this happened”, “and then this happened”, sometimes showing it (while also saying it) while other times just saying it and that creates a very choppy form of storytelling. The problem with jukebox musicals in general is that the story relies on lyrics written for a completely different purpose than you’re trying to tell. With a BIO musical it’s even worse, the songs can seem even more shoehorned in like they did here a lot of the time. Some of them worked though, and others just contributed to the very long run time. The show ran 3 hours tonight (around an hour twenty for act one and an hour ten for act two plus late start time, interval and pre show speech from Ben Elton) and I’m sure with time that will obviously shorten but there were more than a few times I thought “they can end it here and I’ll be fine”. It didn’t help that the theatre seemed like a sauna at times - the second show in a week I’ve been to where I’ve come out soaked through. A two star rating for me, though. Wow. I thought reports of her not knowing her lines at all was an exaggeration. Seems not.
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 18, 2023 22:59:45 GMT
She seemed to get aggravated with herself in act two which (i get it, as an actor it’s awful) takes you out of it because she drops The character completely when that happens.
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5,318 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 19, 2023 8:46:11 GMT
She seemed to get aggravated with herself in act two which (i get it, as an actor it’s awful) takes you out of it because she drops The character completely when that happens. She should have learnt the lines then. She had enough time.
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Post by corblimey on Sept 19, 2023 9:42:26 GMT
I did quite enjoy it but of course needs work and did feel for Elena Skye,by the end she was begging Stu Morley for help and brought on a script and lyrics but by then I think her brain was mush and just more or less given up. Interesting story and life Twiggy has had even thought a couple of photos of Leigh Lawson her husband for 35 years no mention of him by name. The rest of the cast I quite enjoyed ,Darren Day think a bit under rehearsed too with a terrible wig as does Matt Corner as Justin de Villeneuve doing a Austen Powers impression! Previews were greatly reduced compared to usual Menier prices and Ben Elton more or less it wouldn’t be up to scratch before it started but agree it should have been in better shape guess 4 tech days isn’t much time but I doubt if Sunset Blvd is in the same shape at 1st preview when some paying £245 there will be an uproar! Hannah Jane Fox was spot on though and quite hilarious as Twiggy’s mum. I may see it again when all the kinks are worked out!
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 19, 2023 9:54:36 GMT
Sorry but why on earth is this on stage for a paying audience if the cast don't know their lines?!
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18,879 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 19, 2023 10:06:05 GMT
It’s not like they only get the script when tech starts. Why hasn’t she learned it?
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Post by ladidah on Sept 19, 2023 10:34:04 GMT
Oh god, how awful.
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 19, 2023 10:34:57 GMT
I was there front row and also really felt for Elena whose special night went from bad to worse as the show progressed. She couldn't manage the final song even with the words on a clip board. The audience were on side throughout and while a standing ovation wasn't deserved it was given and hopefully made her feel a bit better. She has a lot of dialogue and lyrics, is rarely off stage in a 150 minute plus interval show, and also has some very quick costume changes. While 99% of her performance - and look - was spot on she wasn't quite word perfect. Didn't bother me at all. Her mum stole the show last night and no doubt there were lots of hugs and a few tears afterwards.
That said I was a little disappointed overall. There's not much to the book and it's mostly in the - better - second act. Only one of the musical numbers has lyrics noticeably changed to fit the story - Right Said Fred becomes Right Said Dad - and the songs don't move the story forwards. There's Gershwin to Pat Benatar, but nothing from The Boyfriend because Sandy Wilson wouldn't release the rights. That's a shame as the scenes from My One And Only were a highlight.
It's written very much in the style of a 1970s sitcom but there's not many laughs and even with a prompt 7.30 start it wouldn't finish till at least 10.15. I think about 15 minutes could be culled from act 1 to tighten it all up.
I suspect that like The Third Man this is going to struggle for an audience to fill two months, especially if the reviews are not what Ben Elton and his cast would wish. Hopefully I'm wrong.
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18,879 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 19, 2023 10:39:38 GMT
Poll added.
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Post by ladidah on Sept 19, 2023 10:47:00 GMT
So the music is through the decades?
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Post by jarnew on Sept 19, 2023 10:49:01 GMT
I wanna see this badly, sounds like the perfect subject matter for a fun vibrant jukebox musical. Hope I can get to London once more before it closes.
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Post by aingidh on Sept 19, 2023 10:57:32 GMT
Ben Elton is notorious for last-minute script and scene changes (as seen with the recent WWRY tours and London run) so this may be an explanation.
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 19, 2023 11:06:08 GMT
So the music is through the decades? Yes, 1940s to 1980s with most from 1960s and 1970s though just a verse or two of some (eg Young Girl - cos Twiggy was apparently only 15 in her first relationship)
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 19, 2023 11:13:14 GMT
I wanna see this badly, sounds like the perfect subject matter for a fun vibrant jukebox musical. Hope I can get to London once more before it closes. In its present form it's an okay jukebox musical based around a thin storyline. I hope you get your wish to see it but if you don't live near London I wouldn't recommend a special trip.
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 19, 2023 11:17:49 GMT
The first song Twiggy sings is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. When she’s done she says “It’s got nothing to do with the story, it just happened to be #1 when I got Dame’d and I quite like it”. And at that moment I was like “ooooook, here we go.”
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Post by jarnew on Sept 19, 2023 11:30:54 GMT
I wanna see this badly, sounds like the perfect subject matter for a fun vibrant jukebox musical. Hope I can get to London once more before it closes. In its present form it's an okay jukebox musical based around a thin storyline. I hope you get your wish to see it but if you don't live near London I wouldn't recommend a special trip. Don't worry, I wouldn't come over JUST for this but i'd like to catch it when i have the chance
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Post by jarnew on Sept 19, 2023 11:34:53 GMT
The first song Twiggy sings is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. When she’s done she says “It’s got nothing to do with the story, it just happened to be #1 when I got Dame’d and I quite like it”. And at that moment I was like “ooooook, here we go.” Oh noo, I was hoping for mostly 60's-70's- poppy tunes. Anyone got a list of the songs that are in the show, cause this is scaring me lol
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 19, 2023 11:42:04 GMT
I think that’s the only “modern” song in the show.
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7,567 posts
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Post by alece10 on Sept 19, 2023 14:09:08 GMT
No excuse for not knowing the lines. Previews are to iron out any tech issues, the cast would have been in rehearsals for a good few weeks so it's a bit of a poor show.
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927 posts
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Post by max on Sept 19, 2023 22:18:37 GMT
The first song Twiggy sings is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. When she’s done she says “It’s got nothing to do with the story, it just happened to be #1 when I got Dame’d and I quite like it”. And at that moment I was like “ooooook, here we go.” If only she'd got Damed two years later, WAP could have been #1 at the time...
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 19, 2023 22:29:27 GMT
The first song Twiggy sings is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. When she’s done she says “It’s got nothing to do with the story, it just happened to be #1 when I got Dame’d and I quite like it”. And at that moment I was like “ooooook, here we go.” If only she'd got Damed two years later, WAP could have been #1 at the time... Actually rude of them not to take that into consideration.
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1,294 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 19, 2023 23:03:13 GMT
The first song Twiggy sings is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. When she’s done she says “It’s got nothing to do with the story, it just happened to be #1 when I got Dame’d and I quite like it”. And at that moment I was like “ooooook, here we go.” If only she'd got Damed two years later, WAP could have been #1 at the time... I had to Google what song WAP was an acronym for, but it turns out that was actually the track name, credited to "Cardi B Ft. Megan Thee Stallion" and apparently was a best seller in the UK for three weeks from 10 September 2020. I'm thankful that that wasn't featured in the show.
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1,294 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 20, 2023 1:17:26 GMT
Close-Up may be a jukebox musical but it has a first-rate selection of pop songs. The Menier have omitted any list from the programme, but the stand-out for me was Elena Skye's rendition of the superb Leslie Gore classic You Don't Own Me that closes Act 1. There is a beautiful duet with Darren Day in Act 2 too. This show is three-star-enjoyable purely for the music. Apart from a Lewis Capaldi number, the choices are era-accurate and range from 30s to 80s.
Is there any theatrical content to justify raising the rating further? Well, yes, just about, but it suffers from having Ben Elton, who is a stranger to nuance and subtlety, serving as both writer and director. I wonder who he calls upon to tell him honestly what is working dramatically and what is not. My suspicion is no-one.
There are lines in the mouth of Twiggy that sound like they are lifted straight from an Elton stand-up monologue, including shoe-horned-in, unnecessary references to Windrush, queer politics and gender identity. A good script doctor could fix this.
To be fair, when not making political observations, Elton does provide the lead with some interesting and occasionally amusing one-liners, and her life-story zips along at pace, but with no real time to fully get to know the real character. While secondary characters are shown to have flaws, the Twiggy here remains remarkably good-natured. The narrative is driven mainly by having Twiggy act as principal narrator, and she is rarely offstage.
Tonight we also had the setting-your-expectations introduction from Elton, where he seemed to suggest they'd had only four days of serious rehearsal. His side-point that there is a whole "Off-Broadway ecosystem" feeding new musicals to the Great White Way, whereas London has only the Menier, may come as a surprise to the Almeida, Sheffield Crucible, Birmingham Rep, Manchester Opera House and countless others.
Prompting was called for only a handful of times and did not detract, save in the final number, which is still a mess.
The set is simple, and there are projections of period stills and film footage across three screens. (Although they are positioned at far left, far right and rear centre so that all audience members can see at least one screen, they do not always have the same content on each).
As to be expected at previews, mics were not always on at the right time and characters were not always lit when they should be.
The costumes were suitably colourful, and -- reminded of What's New Pussycat -- I couldn't help wondering if the Birmingham Rep, with its scope for a psychedelic production design on a much larger and more detailed set, would not have been a better choice of venue for this try-out.
Four stars (which is a tad generous, but I'm making allowance for this being a preview that was fairly priced at just £30.75).
Ben Elton introduction: 19:31-19:35 Act 1: 19:36-20:44 Act 2: 21:08-22:18
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Post by danb on Sept 20, 2023 4:54:58 GMT
I’m sorry, but no, I don’t expect those things in previews. I expect them in tech runs. I expect the odd line flub and perhaps a millisecond late lighting cue. Any production that hasn’t run enough before going in front of a paying audience gets what it deserves. It might have ONLY been £30.75 but it is still a price.
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Post by partytentdown on Sept 20, 2023 6:52:32 GMT
They should take this off until it's ready.
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18,879 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 20, 2023 7:16:32 GMT
Does the narrative suggest that Twiggy was the actual driving force behind her career or more truthfully (as is my understanding) that she was a recipient of a series of very lucky breaks and management by various svengalis? I genuinely fail to see what is interesting about this woman other than her early modelling career and that extraordinary look which lasted only 4 years which doth not a musical make in itself. The rest of it, a movie, a stage musical, a record, bit jobs here and there and years of modelling at the less than fabulous Freemans Catalogue and M&S… What is this woman good at? What am I missing?
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1,294 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 20, 2023 8:58:05 GMT
Does the narrative suggest that Twiggy was the actual driving force behind her career or more truthfully (as is my understanding) that she was a recipient of a series of very lucky breaks and management by various svengalis? I genuinely fail to see what is interesting about this woman other than her early modelling career and that extraordinary look which lasted only 4 years which doth not a musical make in itself. The rest of it, a movie, a stage musical, a record, bit jobs here and there and years of modelling at the less than fabulous Freemans Catalogue and M&S… What is this woman good at? What am I missing? Yes, this is written as Twiggy's rebuttal to all that, and in particular her dislike of "svengali".
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Post by crabtree on Sept 20, 2023 9:07:28 GMT
It's a shame that The Boyfriend is not featured as Twiggy was rather special in that, and it must have been a huge part of her life. I adore the film, in all its' different versions. Just think that there could have been a scene set backstage at a provinical musical as seen through the eyes of a Hollywood producer all the whilst at an off west end theatre.
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