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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2018 15:49:33 GMT
I'm seeing the first preview. Anyone going? Only if I get to sit next to you.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2018 13:49:19 GMT
Currently listening to the 2006 Broadway revival cast recording after a long time. God, Raúl Esparza is so good. They should have cast him as Bobby instead of doing the gender swap thing.
Oh well, at least I'm seeing Patti (fingers crossed).
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Post by ali973 on Aug 17, 2018 14:06:09 GMT
The show is very dated. I think it would only have worked out of Bobbi was a woman or if Bobby is gay. Otherwise a show in the 70s about a man who is only turning 30 and going through all of this does not have commercial hit written all over it.
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Post by Deal J on Aug 22, 2018 22:41:08 GMT
Great news via their social media accounts - "Tick Tock" will be included in this production!
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Post by jamesxxx on Aug 24, 2018 13:46:55 GMT
Whatsonstage. Interview with designer Bunny Christie. Be warned!!!
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Post by ali973 on Aug 24, 2018 14:26:20 GMT
So there will be a dancing cake.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 24, 2018 14:26:56 GMT
Whatsonstage. Interview with designer Bunny Christie. Be warned!!! I can see why you put a warning up. I completely lost it when we got to the cake bit. I am not sure who thought this interview was a good idea.
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Post by showtoones on Aug 24, 2018 15:01:07 GMT
Marianne Elliott is a prolific director and she wants to put her stamp on the show. It may not all work but I applaud them for trying something different. I for one am very excited about this. Before we rush to judgement (of which I do all the time), I am going in with an open mind and will at least give it a chance.
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Post by BoOverall on Aug 24, 2018 17:04:09 GMT
I am looking very much forward to it. Just rewatched the Donmar version from the late 90s that was broadcast (for me, my favourite version so far) but this could be so special.
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7,578 posts
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Company
Aug 24, 2018 17:26:27 GMT
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Post by alece10 on Aug 24, 2018 17:26:27 GMT
I am looking very much forward to it. Just rewatched the Donmar version from the late 90s that was broadcast (for me, my favourite version so far) but this could be so special. Is that available on dvd?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 24, 2018 17:31:54 GMT
Marianne Elliott is a prolific director and she wants to put her stamp on the show. It may not all work but I applaud them for trying something different. I for one am very excited about this. Before we rush to judgement (of which I do all the time), I am going in with an open mind and will at least give it a chance. Going with an open mind is so much easier when productions don't feel the need to tell you so much in advance of opening. It automatically sets up expectations/ideas and can trigger prejudices. It takes a very special production that has triggered a negative reaction in me to overcome it. I can only think of one so far in my theatregoing life and that was the RSC Las Vegas Merchant. When I heard talk of Elvis impersonators and showgirls, I was immediately on edge as to what the hell they had done to this very difficult play. It took less than 5 minutes from the opening chords for me to buy completely into the vision. But that has only happened once in my adult life.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2018 17:37:45 GMT
Marianne Elliott is a prolific director and she wants to put her stamp on the show. It may not all work but I applaud them for trying something different. I for one am very excited about this. Before we rush to judgement (of which I do all the time), I am going in with an open mind and will at least give it a chance. Exactly that. And she's at a place in her career where she a) doesn't have to play it safe b) is free to pursue 'passion projects' both of these things are always gambles, often they go wrong. But damn well if I don't applaud a passion project that takes a risk and goes wrong over trotting out a cookie cutter version of the same shows. I wager her Company won't be to everyone's tastes, especially those who have seen and loved the show before. The same way Angels wasn't. The same way countless other revivals haven't been. So what, wait long enough another will come along. Or dig out the cast recording/DVD of the one you do love. That said obviously Marianne is 'my girl' and I think this production will be sensational. But even if it's not, I'd much rather a director- even one I dislike push boundaries (especially if that upsets the old guard a bit) Also if nothing else the moaners will have pretty people to look at, and Miss Patti singing her face off, so it won't be an entirely lost evening.
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Post by jamesxxx on Aug 24, 2018 17:56:53 GMT
I'm excited!!!
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Post by BoOverall on Aug 24, 2018 23:46:24 GMT
I am looking very much forward to it. Just rewatched the Donmar version from the late 90s that was broadcast (for me, my favourite version so far) but this could be so special. Is that available on dvd? Sadly not, although I wish it were as my copy is on video from when I recorded it at the time of the broadcast, and is not in the best condition!!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 24, 2018 23:56:39 GMT
There are some great sequences from the production on *whispers* YouTube...
I searched 'Company Donmar'...
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 25, 2018 0:02:40 GMT
Watching those clips now reminds me of how much I loved that production. Not the best sung version ever - but performed with such passion and commitment. Sheila Gish knocks Ladies Who Lunch out of the ballpark - wonderful. Sophie Thompson is brilliant in Not Getting Married. The design is fantastic.
Perhaps this spoiled me for any other production. But I don't mind. The memories are worth it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2018 0:34:40 GMT
The Donmar 'Company' was 22 years ago?? Holy Crap.... where has the time gone?? I remember loving it when i saw it and have the cast recording, but some of those vocals, live, are rough.
He's a fantastic actor, but i don't get why Adrian Lester is cast in musicals, though he did fare slightly better in the Nationals' Sweeney Todd.
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Post by sf on Aug 25, 2018 0:44:52 GMT
The Donmar 'Company' was 22 years ago?? Holy Crap.... where has the time gone?? I remember loving it when i saw it and have the cast recording, but some of those vocals, live, are rough. He's a fantastic actor, but i don't get why Adrian Lester is cast in musicals, though he did fare slightly better in the Nationals' Sweeney Todd.
I find it fascinating that British directors who would, for example, never dream of giving a major role (or any role) in a Shakespeare play to an actor who can't speak verse confidently are often only too happy to give the leading role in a musical to an actor who can't quite negotiate all the demands of the score.
Adrian Lester is a superb actor. He acted this role brilliantly. His singing was inadequate, and he was not the worst offender in this production's cast.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 25, 2018 0:56:31 GMT
On the whole, I find Sondheim can be very satisfying when performed by actors who can sing adequately rather than singers who can act adequately.
There are, of course, roles within his shows that really do need great singing to cope with the score. But it has always been about the marriage of his words and music where the magic lies - and actors who can sing have always thrilled me more in Sondheim shows.
Judi Dench is no great vocalist but her Send in the Clowns is heartbreakingly wonderful.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Aug 25, 2018 1:05:37 GMT
Interesting clip which makes it pretty clear that Elliot’s expressionist tendencies are what drew her to this particular show.
One thing that productions of Company pretty much always try and gloss over is that the scenes as written are the thoughts of Bobby as he/she artives home on her/his birthday. That is why they are episodic and so bringing out the dreamlike nature of this element of the show will be a good way in, linking the form and content organically. The framing scenes need to appear to be part of the same show so carrying through the style of that frame sounds promising.
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Post by sf on Aug 25, 2018 14:24:38 GMT
On the whole, I find Sondheim can be very satisfying when performed by actors who can sing adequately rather than singers who can act adequately. There are, of course, roles within his shows that really do need great singing to cope with the score. But it has always been about the marriage of his words and music where the magic lies - and actors who can sing have always thrilled me more in Sondheim shows. Judi Dench is no great vocalist but her Send in the Clowns is heartbreakingly wonderful.
It is, and she was spectacularly good, but of course the role of Desirée was written specifically for an actress with a limited singing voice and a very narrow vocal range. It's not the same thing - at all - as casting a Bobby in 'Company' who doesn't have quite enough voice to sock the climax of 'Being Alive' across the footlights. My recollection of Lester's performance is that in that moment, his vocal limitations compromised his acting, because his relatively weak singing voice meant he was forced to bellow the big notes at the end of the song, which meant there was no room for any kind of subtlety at all. That's as opposed to, for example, Daniel Evans when he played the role in Sheffield a few years ago - his voice is strong enough that the effort of simply producing those big notes at the end of the song did not override everything else.
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Post by callum on Sept 1, 2018 23:49:17 GMT
Any gossip on day seats/discounts? Have a date that a friend is coming down but £80 on any unrestricted non-upper circle seat seems a lot - have first rows been sold? Potentially being in the splash zone for Patti's martini does seem appealing...
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Company
Sept 2, 2018 4:17:21 GMT
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2018 4:17:21 GMT
Just bought a ticket for Halloween, row F in the stalls. 80 pounds, but what the hell, it's Patti*! Row B or C seemed too close considering the stage is high.
*let's hope she's on that night. I'm taking the risk.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2018 8:51:49 GMT
I see La LuPone is getting equal star billing above the title with Rosalie Craig on some of the posters now which is as it should be. Mel Giedroyc and especially dear Jonny B get special mention under the title which is most exciting and quite right too. It's like I've done their marketing for them.
No-one else in the cast does. Not even The Fleeshman but then I can't imagine they want to be seen advertising guns in London's glitzy West End at this moment in time.
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Post by apubleed on Sept 2, 2018 9:38:54 GMT
Just bought a ticket for Halloween, row F in the stalls. 80 pounds, but what the hell, it's Patti*! Row B or C seemed too close considering the stage is high. *let's hope she's on that night. I'm taking the risk. Patti's attendance is usually very good.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2018 14:24:39 GMT
The front of the theatre is being done up.
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Company
Sept 9, 2018 16:27:31 GMT
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2018 16:27:31 GMT
Are those three panels in the middle new electronic screens like the Prince Edward? I don’t recall noticing them before. Love the new NYC themed poster too.
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Post by Rukaya on Sept 9, 2018 16:41:44 GMT
Are those three panels in the middle new electronic screens like the Prince Edward? I don’t recall noticing them before. Love the new NYC themed poster too. They don't look electronic imo but that would be really cool if they were. I'm not a fan of the Prince Edward/Dominion screens but those panels could look very classy.
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Post by lonlad on Sept 9, 2018 21:24:53 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 10, 2018 7:22:08 GMT
Interview followed by Q&A. Perhaps @ryan could go and ask a few questions about ALW and taking photos. That would be worth £10 of anyone’s money.
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