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Post by distantcousin on Oct 26, 2023 16:48:00 GMT
Will write more later but generally I will say that I don’t think this is worth the gushing praise. Lots of heart and a committed cast and nice staging. Funny in places (mainly Agnes). Great to see broad representation on stage. Shoddy script, terrible lyrics, too many earnest overemoting and glib fun songs, naff choreography, weirdly offensive and patronising about disability in focussing on how everybody around Henry was feeling but little about his feelings and struggles in comparison (and not even showing him with his brush in his mouth). Felt like a touring production of Our House performed by NYMT. What a shame
Well, that's saved me some time and money then! Thanks. All things I absolutely can't stand in a musical!
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1,896 posts
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Post by distantcousin on Oct 26, 2023 16:58:33 GMT
It's a musical. The flying moments are simply used to enhance dramatic moments in a theatrical context. I don't think anyone looks at it and thinks they're claiming disabled people have special magical powers. Non-disabled people have been "flown' in many musicals - nobody thinks they can actually fly either. It doesn't have to represent anything. It's just a visually nice effect which in conjunction with singing, dancing, theatre lighting, dry ice/theatre smoke (all of which also wouldn't have been present in Henry's real life) enhances the moment. I do get the point that I also wanted it at times to be a bit more depressing and gut wrenching - but as I said upthread that genuinely seems to be Henry's story and he's a uniquely positive guy. From what I've read, the plot of the musical seems very true to his story. He did do art before the accident but only developed the passion for it afterwards. Obviously he didn't learn to mouth paint overnight, but again time in a musical is not the same as actual time! The music (to me) sounds very much the same style as the light "pop" that younger writers of musical theatre seem to go for these days. To my ear it sounds much better than Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Come From Away, Kimberly Akimbo, Fun Home and indeed most of the stuff in that genre. Do I wish there was a deluge of new musicals written in the style of ALW or CMS? Yes. Is that ever gonna happen? No. This is very typical of the way successful new non film non jukebox musicals are written.
Couldn't agree more. When is this style going to phase out? It's been like 25 years now! Anything post Rent really!
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1,896 posts
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Post by distantcousin on Oct 26, 2023 17:04:17 GMT
I see certain people are looking down on British creatives as usual. That would be me and yes, I absolutely do have a dismissive view of British creatives in terms of musicals. I would love nothing more than to find British writers whom I am convinced know the craft and can deliver close to top-notch musical theatre. Aside from LONDON ROAD, SIX and TAMMY FAYE, I can think of no other home-grown British musicals over the past decade or so that didn't make me wince at its lack of skill in terms of score, lyrics, structure or all three combined. THE LITTLE BIG THINGS was, to me, a text-book example of bad to mediocre writing dressed up as 'the next big thing'. The idea was great, the delivery was not. Musicals are capable of more than manufactured emotions and sitcom-level characterisations. Yet, this is what British writers give us again and again and again. I had no intention of seeing this show as I had sworn off new British musicals after constant disappointments. Like a fool, I took the comments here as a sign that there might be a change in the air and booked a ticket. Lesson learned.
Agreed. This is a real problem we have in the UK. Like them or not, but where is the next Andrew Lloyd Webber or Tim Rice?
British writers haven't been making waves for some time - except possibly the writers of "Jamie" and "Six" but the lack of talent and skill is very noticeable.
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Post by iwanttix on Oct 27, 2023 10:27:10 GMT
I went to see this last night. I hadn't been intending to see it but I went in and asked if they had a cheap ticket about 50 minutes before it started and they sold me row D in the stalls for £25. I'm so glad I did because I loved it. We had 3 understudies but I didn't even realise until I saw the sign when I was leaving. I found the songs catchy and the performances brilliant. As I looked around I saw a fair amount of people wiping their eyes and I admit at one point I did too. This is definitely going on my revisit list.
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Post by darreno on Oct 27, 2023 22:36:07 GMT
Caught the matinée of this on Thursday and I enjoyed it. Some catchy songs, some genuine pathos, particularly when Linzi Hateley is on stage. I would have liked a little deeper character development but I'm aware that that can be trickier when writing a true story, particularly when the people involved are still around and involved!
Best thing: Genuine feelings ahoy! Could see a lot of tears around the audience and that's one of the reasons I go to musical theatre.
Worst thing: The choreography isn't for me. Not a criticism so much as just not for me. Although I must say Jordan Benjamin gets everything possible out of it. He really gives 100% committment despite his part being limited.
A mixed bag, but I'd see it again.
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Post by BVM on Oct 27, 2023 22:50:07 GMT
It's a musical. The flying moments are simply used to enhance dramatic moments in a theatrical context. I don't think anyone looks at it and thinks they're claiming disabled people have special magical powers. Non-disabled people have been "flown' in many musicals - nobody thinks they can actually fly either. It doesn't have to represent anything. It's just a visually nice effect which in conjunction with singing, dancing, theatre lighting, dry ice/theatre smoke (all of which also wouldn't have been present in Henry's real life) enhances the moment. I do get the point that I also wanted it at times to be a bit more depressing and gut wrenching - but as I said upthread that genuinely seems to be Henry's story and he's a uniquely positive guy. From what I've read, the plot of the musical seems very true to his story. He did do art before the accident but only developed the passion for it afterwards. Obviously he didn't learn to mouth paint overnight, but again time in a musical is not the same as actual time! The music (to me) sounds very much the same style as the light "pop" that younger writers of musical theatre seem to go for these days. To my ear it sounds much better than Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Come From Away, Kimberly Akimbo, Fun Home and indeed most of the stuff in that genre. Do I wish there was a deluge of new musicals written in the style of ALW or CMS? Yes. Is that ever gonna happen? No. This is very typical of the way successful new non film non jukebox musicals are written.
Couldn't agree more. When is this style going to phase out? It's been like 25 years now! Anything post Rent really!
Dunno but I really wish it would. I do find it very frustrating. To me the whole point of a musical is amazing MUSIC. I did really enjoy The Big Little Things but was kinda in spite of the very average score, not because of it. (Having said that I do think it’s a better score than all the similar ones it’s been compared to). But yeah, I do kinda go into most new musicals knowing I’m never gonna get hooked on the CD. Despite it being flawed in various ways I went back to see Rebecca and haven’t returned to this. Cos the Rebecca score is brilliant IMHO which for me makes the return trip worth it!
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Post by audioice on Oct 28, 2023 1:13:54 GMT
Caught the matinée of this on Thursday and I enjoyed it. Some catchy songs, some genuine pathos, particularly when Linzi Hateley is on stage. I would have liked a little deeper character development but I'm aware that that can be trickier when writing a true story, particularly when the people involved are still around and involved! Best thing: Genuine feelings ahoy! Could see a lot of tears around the audience and that's one of the reasons I go to musical theatre. Worst thing: The choreography isn't for me. Not a criticism so much as just not for me. Although I must say Jordan Benjamin gets everything possible out of it. He really gives 100% committment despite his part being limited. A mixed bag, but I'd see it again. To be fair, most of the choreography is sign language isn't it?
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Post by darreno on Oct 28, 2023 10:08:29 GMT
Caught the matinée of this on Thursday and I enjoyed it. Some catchy songs, some genuine pathos, particularly when Linzi Hateley is on stage. I would have liked a little deeper character development but I'm aware that that can be trickier when writing a true story, particularly when the people involved are still around and involved! Best thing: Genuine feelings ahoy! Could see a lot of tears around the audience and that's one of the reasons I go to musical theatre. Worst thing: The choreography isn't for me. Not a criticism so much as just not for me. Although I must say Jordan Benjamin gets everything possible out of it. He really gives 100% committment despite his part being limited. A mixed bag, but I'd see it again. To be fair, most of the choreography is sign language isn't it? Yep, interesting way to incorporate BSL into a performance but it doesn't work well for me. It falls flat and sits between two things, not quite tight choreo and not quite a signed performance. The overall choreo just doesn't do it for me, although I don't expect a story like that to be Fosse of course.
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7,577 posts
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Post by alece10 on Nov 1, 2023 20:19:40 GMT
Appearing at the Royal Variety Performance
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2,820 posts
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Post by ceebee on Nov 12, 2023 7:58:48 GMT
Saw this Saturday afternoon and glad I did. I enjoyed the story and the staging. It was moving at times, though like others have said, I think this type of pop musical is getting a bit safe and dull now. I'm glad I saw it though.
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Post by Oobi on Nov 17, 2023 19:18:11 GMT
I saw this yesterday evening, and I'm kinda surprised by how much I disliked it. While well-staged, I found it to be a shallow, schmaltzy bore, laden with bland music and cliche characters - less "feel-good", more "Hallmark movie".
It's like... every conflict is plausibly deniable. Is the Dad working too hard? Maybe - but he doesn't seem to be neglecting his family; he's the one who does all the work to get Henry painting, for example. Is the Mom irresponsible by taking her son clubbing? Maybe - but Henry had a good time and it's not like anything bad came of it. Are Henry's brothers hiding from him out of shame? Maybe - but they all stood by him earlier in the act, working together to prepare the house for his return from the hospital. The end result is a show where every character is more or less on the same page for the entire duration, except for one scene in the second act where they all spontaneously turn into massive assholes. The writers were apparently aware that pacing-wise, the show needed a big argument at approximately that point in the script; they just had no idea how to set it up or to resolve it or to execute it.
The framing device of the two Henrys is interesting in theory but I don't think it's utilized fully. Younger Henry never mounts any serious resistance to the idea of moving forward, while older Henry never surrenders to hopelessness. For the most part, they agree with each other and work together, which doesn't lend itself to compelling drama. The script make a big deal out of younger Henry's refusal to remember the accident, but then in act 2, he sings a song about it and reveals that what happened is exactly what the audience thought happened: he jumped into the sea and landed on his head. Why was this such a big deal?
I've seen some people in this thread compare the music to Dear Evan Hansen's. While stylistically they're very similar, DEH has the advantage of tonal diversity; the somber, lullaby-esque melody of Requiem sounds nothing like the pulsing momentum of Disappear. For the most part, if you took the lyrics of one DEH song and tried to arrange them to the melody of another, the result would feel discordant.
The Little Big Things, on the other hand? I'm actually kinda stunned by just how many of the musical numbers can be summed up with "upbeat, life-affirming pop anthem sung by whole company". We've got the opening number, we've got the flashback sequence in the Portuguese bar, we've got the act 1 finale, we've got the act 2 opener, we've got the Monopoly club dance, we've got the title song... They aren't bad songs in of themselves, they just all sound the same! It would be like if every other song in DEH was You Will Be Found.
I cannot believe how much I loathed Agnes. To be a mentor character is one thing. But to be a perfectly insightful and discerning mentor character, who also gets all the funniest and cleverestest lines and immediately endears herself to every other character she meets? ... No. Just, no. This character is not real; she's a puppet, and every time she opens her mouth, you can practically see the writer pulling her strings from on high, compelling her to dispense the exact pieces of idealized wisdom the other characters need to hear in that moment. Her dialogue swings between "sagely life advice" and "snarky undercutting humor" with predictable, pendulous regularity; I feel like it could've been written by an AI trained on the dialogue of coaches from sports movies.
Also... look, I hate to play the "swap the sexes" card, but Jesus Christ, swap the sexes. Imagine if an adult male medical professional flirted openly with an underage female patient of his, visited her house wearing a fetish outfit, then took her out to a club. It's seriously f***ed up that this behavior not only went unexamined, but was consistently played for laughs.
On the positive side of things, the staging was pitch-perfect. I don't think I've ever seen lighting used so densely throughout a show. The single most powerful moment of the evening for me was the momentary blackout in the accident flashback - very simple, very effective. Loved the use of harnesses too.
Finally, if you haven't seen the show, you'll just have to trust me when I say that the scene where Henry got his balls fondled by his brother was great. It felt real to me in a way that the rest of the sanitized material did not.
4/10. I'm clearly in the minority on this one though.
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Post by mkb on Nov 18, 2023 13:44:25 GMT
First Sunset, now this. Oobi you are posting some of the best critiques of shows on these forums. I can't disagree with any of your points, but, even if I did, it's healthy to hear well-articulated opinions that run counter to the prevailing mood.
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Post by Oobi on Nov 18, 2023 15:17:15 GMT
First Sunset, now this. Oobi you are posting some of the best critiques of shows on these forums. I can't disagree with any of your points, but, even if I did, it's healthy to hear well-articulated opinions that run counter to the prevailing mood. Thank you very much! I hope all my negativity doesn't make me sound too crotchety. It's often easier to write about shows you dislike, but for balance's sake I'm going to start forcing myself to leave positive feedback on shows I enjoy, even if the posts are short.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Nov 18, 2023 17:15:33 GMT
I saw this yesterday evening, and I'm kinda surprised by how much I disliked it. While well-staged, I found it to be a shallow, schmaltzy bore, laden with bland music and cliche characters - less "feel-good", more "Hallmark movie". It's like... every conflict is plausibly deniable. Is the Dad working too hard? Maybe - but he doesn't seem to be neglecting his family; he's the one who does all the work to get Henry painting, for example. Is the Mom irresponsible by taking her son clubbing? Maybe - but Henry had a good time and it's not like anything bad came of it. Are Henry's brothers hiding from him out of shame? Maybe - but they all stood by him earlier in the act, working together to prepare the house for his return from the hospital. The end result is a show where every character is more or less on the same page for the entire duration, except for one scene in the second act where they all spontaneously turn into massive assholes. The writers were apparently aware that pacing-wise, the show needed a big argument at approximately that point in the script; they just had no idea how to set it up or to resolve it or to execute it. The framing device of the two Henrys is interesting in theory but I don't think it's utilized fully. Younger Henry never mounts any serious resistance to the idea of moving forward, while older Henry never surrenders to hopelessness. For the most part, they agree with each other and work together, which doesn't lend itself to compelling drama. The script make a big deal out of younger Henry's refusal to remember the accident, but then in act 2, he sings a song about it and reveals that what happened is exactly what the audience thought happened: he jumped into the sea and landed on his head. Why was this such a big deal? I've seen some people in this thread compare the music to Dear Evan Hansen's. While stylistically they're very similar, DEH has the advantage of tonal diversity; the somber, lullaby-esque melody of Requiem sounds nothing like the pulsing momentum of Disappear. For the most part, if you took the lyrics of one DEH song and tried to arrange them to the melody of another, the result would feel discordant. The Little Big Things, on the other hand? I'm actually kinda stunned by just how many of the musical numbers can be summed up with "upbeat, life-affirming pop anthem sung by whole company". We've got the opening number, we've got the flashback sequence in the Portuguese bar, we've got the act 1 finale, we've got the act 2 opener, we've got the Monopoly club dance, we've got the title song... They aren't bad songs in of themselves, they just all sound the same! It would be like if every other song in DEH was You Will Be Found. I cannot believe how much I loathed Agnes. To be a mentor character is one thing. But to be a perfectly insightful and discerning mentor character, who also gets all the funniest and cleverestest lines and immediately endears herself to every other character she meets? ... No. Just, no. This character is not real; she's a puppet, and every time she opens her mouth, you can practically see the writer pulling her strings from on high, compelling her to dispense the exact pieces of idealized wisdom the other characters need to hear in that moment. Her dialogue swings between "sagely life advice" and "snarky undercutting humor" with predictable, pendulous regularity; I feel like it could've been written by an AI trained on the dialogue of coaches from sports movies. Also... look, I hate to play the "swap the sexes" card, but Jesus Christ, swap the sexes. Imagine if an adult male medical professional flirted openly with an underage female patient of his, visited her house wearing a fetish outfit, then took her out to a club. It's seriously f***ed up that this behavior not only went unexamined, but was consistently played for laughs. On the positive side of things, the staging was pitch-perfect. I don't think I've ever seen lighting used so densely throughout a show. The single most powerful moment of the evening for me was the momentary blackout in the accident flashback - very simple, very effective. Loved the use of harnesses too. Finally, if you haven't seen the show, you'll just have to trust me when I say that the scene where Henry got his balls fondled by his brother was great. It felt real to me in a way that the rest of the sanitized material did not. 4/10. I'm clearly in the minority on this one though. Not in the minority. I agree with every word you articulately said here so thank you. Still baffled at the show’s success
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 18, 2023 18:03:26 GMT
I'm clearly in the minority on this one though. Although my opinion about this differs from yours Oobi, your opinion is just as valid, as mine is. There is nothing wrong with your post. You are simply expressing an opinion, which is what this board encourages. However I think the above statement you have made is incorrect. The reason I say this is because if you scroll through previous posts made earlier, there are many who, just like you, disliked the show. And other's, who like me, enjoyed it. In fact, the spit was so decisive that it was determined that this was a marmite show.
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7,577 posts
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Post by alece10 on Nov 18, 2023 18:15:40 GMT
Maybe more Bovril than Marmite.
78 4/5 stars 9 1/2 stars.
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Post by priorwalter on Nov 23, 2023 18:01:25 GMT
I was very skeptical of this and almost entirely skipped. I’m so glad I did not. While most of it is perfectly fine, the entire “Guide You” sequence left me an absolute mess. One of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced in the theatre. Overall, yes it’s mostly just fine, but go if you’d like a good cry. The final 15 minutes will do you in.
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Post by musicbox on Nov 29, 2023 0:28:45 GMT
I went to this tonight with a half price Black Friday ticket - I mainly went because I'm a fan of Linzi Hateley, but didn't expect much from the show itself after some reviews I had read.
I'm pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the show as a whole. Yes, it's a bit cliche and cheesy at times, but it's also uplifting and I'm glad actors with disabilities are being given the opportunity to shine on such a large scale.
Linzi was obviously amazing as she always is, her solo on 'One to seventeen' was the highlight for me.
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Post by seasider on Nov 29, 2023 8:08:48 GMT
Looks like the theatre restaurant has permanently closed so things not going well for them.
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2,361 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 30, 2023 7:50:41 GMT
I thought this was ace!
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Post by Someone in a tree on Nov 30, 2023 9:04:56 GMT
Looks like the theatre restaurant has permanently closed so things not going well for them. I wonder if they can get more dosh by renting the space out to a chain?
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7,577 posts
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Post by alece10 on Nov 30, 2023 10:14:39 GMT
I've had the pre theatre menu there twice and it was very good
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Post by theatrefan77 on Nov 30, 2023 10:59:10 GMT
I agree. It was also very good value. A real pity if it's closing for good
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6,381 posts
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Post by Jon on Nov 30, 2023 19:50:07 GMT
I would guess they'll rent it out to an operator to run the restaurant similar to what the NT has done with Kerb.
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Post by musicbox on Dec 2, 2023 0:09:04 GMT
My review of this show to my friend was so effective that they asked me to come with them tonight, London Theatre Direct are still offering vastly reduced tickets this week for Black Friday, for anyone who's interested (We got ours for half price).
There was an interval cast change tonight - It was announced just before the lights came down for act 2 that Jordan Benjamin was "indisposed", and that the role of Dom would now be played by Tom Oliver, with the role of Marco being taken over by George Salmon.
Well done to Tom for stepping up and not missing a beat, but I can't help but feel he is a very random choice of cover. The character of Dom is supposed to be 16 (I believe?), but Tom looks to be at least in his 30s, so it felt slightly comical and quite a few people around me got the giggles that the 'husband' was now the teenage son.
What makes me feel that this is misjudged is that George Salmon who took over as Marco looks pretty young and could quite easily pass as a teenager, so maybe those two could be swapped? I know there's much more to it than that of course, but it felt wrong. I hope Jordan is ok, he did great in the first act and didn't seem ill at all.
I really enjoyed the show again, mainly because of Linzi and the thrill of being so close to her singing when in the stalls, but I still cringed at the same parts.
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Post by FJ on Dec 2, 2023 15:33:27 GMT
What makes me feel that this is misjudged is that George Salmon who took over as Marco looks pretty young and could quite easily pass as a teenager, so maybe those two could be swapped? I know there's much more to it than that of course, but it felt wrong. I was there last night and wondered exactly the same. Especially since George is listed in the programme as covering Dom, and would have meant just replacing one character, rather than a slightly more confusing change with one actor switching characters completely, but as you say, there must have been a reason for it. But both did a great job of covering the roles mid-show. I've seen the show far too many times now and the bigger takeaway I had from last night is something in the music/band was different. I noticed it at the beginning of 3 or 4 songs, and I don't know enough about music/orchestrations/bands enough to put my finger on what it was, but to me it sounded like they had replaced a guitar in the band with a piano? I don't know if that's even possible or feasible if for some reason someone in the band was sick, but one example is in 'Sh*t Happens', the first few lines, accompanied by a guitar usually just sounded completely different to me, but the actors didn't seem to flinch, and everything carried on as usual, and once the songs picked up I wouldn't notice it anymore. But something was definitely different, and I did have a look at the castboard afterwards to see if musicians were listed to try and work something out from it but sadly no luck.
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Post by orchidman on Dec 6, 2023 2:03:47 GMT
This is bad; twee with shallow storytelling, subpar dialogue and lyrics, and music that is entirely forgettable.
Whilst obviously you hope anyone in Henry Fraser's situation is able to still find meaning and purpose in their life, if you want me to believe that someone this profoundly disabled would come to stop wishing their injury hadn't happened then you are going to have to actually deal with the realities of it and not pretend that they are still as attractive to the opposite sex as before, or that in the long term their artless paintings are likely to represent anything more than a pleasant hobby.
Could also have done without the reminder of this country's cringeing and cringe-worthy feelings towards its mediocre healthcare system.
It is all a good encapsulation of how we have imported American schmaltz and superficiality and their 'let's pretend' spirit without beginning to match their 'can do' spirit and its associated economic might. So we are supposed to pretend this third-rate piece is somehow of the same calibre of the American competition.
It does mean you can go along and sit in the round in Soho to watch people smiling and clapping along, and to all appearances finding this false and crass spectacle to be somehow life-affirming, and in that flurry of activity you can feel a little of the soul and dignity of this once magisterial nation dying.
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Post by usbuzzer on Dec 12, 2023 9:53:06 GMT
I love how despite all the criticism, the show managed to get the highest audience score among shows like Hamilton and Les Mis. And it's based on almost 350 ratings, so it's pretty believable that people just love the show. Any news on how it's selling currently?
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Post by punxsutawney on Dec 12, 2023 18:58:44 GMT
I love how despite all the criticism, the show managed to get the highest audience score among shows like Hamilton and Les Mis. And it's based on almost 350 ratings, so it's pretty believable that people just love the show. Any news on how it's selling currently? Sales never really picked up, even with the extension. You can basically get your pick of the seats for any performance, and seems they close the top tier and shuffle people down in the day or so before the show if it's not sold decently.
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3,826 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Dec 18, 2023 20:08:44 GMT
Cast recording released on 5th January 2024.
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